Module 3

ROMAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

ROMAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

➢ The Roman civilisation was almost centred in Italy and it was considered a kind of
bridge through which the Greeks and the farther east travelled to Europe.
➢ Italy is a peninsula that projects into the Mediterranean sea to the west of Greece.
➢ The river Tiber on which this city of Rome is located runs through the central part
of the peninsula.
➢ The Alps protect the peninsula from cold wind.
➢ The low lying coast is easily approachable by sea.
➢ The first inhabitants of Italy came from North Africa, Spain and France.
➢ After 2000 B.C. groups of Indo-Europeans started migrating from over the Alps.
➢ Later a number of Greeks settled in South Italy.
➢ The early Italians learned much from the Greeks—their alphabet, religious beliefs
and art.
➢ The name Italia itself was Greek.
➢ The Roman civilisation started developing around the 6th century BC and reached
its glory after the decline of Greek civilisation.

ROMAN CIVILIZATION

➢ The city of Rome was founded about 1000 BC.

➢ In the district of Latium, south of the Tiber river.
➢ The language of the ancient Romans, Latin, gets its name from Latium.
➢ Rome with its citadel on a high hill became- dominant in the region.
➢ The early Romans had
1. King
2. An assembly
3. Senate.

➢ Towards the end of 6th century BC a Republic was established.

➢ Roman society was divided into two classes-
1. Patricians
2. Plebeians.

➢ The early Romans lived mostly on agriculture and raised sheep and cattle.
 ➢ They made their own clothes from wool and used utensils of clay or wood.
➢ The Romans like the Greeks and the Indo-Aryans, wore simple clothing.
➢ They attached great importance to family life.
➢ For Romans, religious worship was a public duty and not a private matter
➢ The Roman Society was divided into four main classes-
1. the aristocrats
2. wealthy merchants / bankers
3. the plebeians
4. the slaves

➢ Roman law and principles of governance are Rome’s greatest contributions to the
world.
➢ The idea of Republicanism was developed by the Romans.

ROMAN CONCEPT OF STATE

➢ The political institutions and the legal system of Rome have profoundly
influenced the western political and judicial system.
➢ The Romans were essentially a practical people.
➢ Romans believed in the natural origin of state and considered it a necessary
institution.
➢ The Roman law assumed that the state exists to protect the rights of the
individuals from encroachment of other individuals and state.
➢ In fact the state was recognised as a legal person as much as the individual.
➢ They believed that the people were sovereign and the emperor was the
representative of the people
➢ But the emperor was the source of law as the sovereign had delegated the law
making power to him through a governmental contract which Was irrevocable.
➢ This authority was extended to public officials also.
➢ The disguise of popular sovereignty the emperor ruled by divine will and
considered the impartial authority as a divine gift

ROMAN CONCEPT OF GOVERNMENT

➢ The history of Rome is the story of the amazing development of small peasant
farming community into an empire
➢ In 27 BC Octavian became the first emperor of Rome. He took the title
Augustus and that of ‘Princeps’ or leading citizen
➢ Augustus and his successors retained republican form of Government and titles.

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 ➢ To govern this empire, the Romans adapted their constitution to cover the
administration of their provinces.
➢ The subject communities of Rome were grouped as provinces and was assigned
to a magistrate.
➢ Some of these communities were technically free states
➢ It not subject to the control of the provincial Governor, permitted to follow their
own laws and free from liability to pay tribute.
➢ Their main obligations were to follow Rome in her foreign policy
➢ And to supply her with military contingents.
➢ Others were tributary states subject to the jurisdiction of the governor
➢ The governor was responsible for the administration of province
1. Monarchic city state
2. Roman republic
3. Imperialistic & despotic

Monarchic city state:

➢ During the royal period, at the head of the state was the king
➢ who was at once the hereditary chief and patriarchal chief
➢ the chief priest of the community and the elected ruler of the state.
➢ On the death of the king, the sovereignty reverted to the Council of Elders.
➢ The powers of the king were unlimited both in time of peace and war
➢ There were however, two customary limitations to these powers.
a) the king was expected to consult the Council of Elders and to follow their
advice.
b) all cases involving Capital punishment were submitted to the people, for
their final decision.

Roman as a Republic :

➢ Monarchy in Rome came to an end in 510 BC, and republican form of government
replaced it
➢ Civil and military powers were vested in two officers called the consuls elected
annually.
➢ But it did not mean equal political rights for all citizens.
➢ The plebeian were subject to political, economic and social disabilities.
➢ They could not hold any public office and the patricians had entire control of the
administration and of law.
➢ The public land and pastures were allotted to them.

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Imperialistic & despotic:

➢ By the middle of the Second century, the republic came to disrepute.

➢ Division of authority disappeared and despotism began to reign. By this time Rome
had extended over England, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, the Balkans,
Greece, Asia Minor, and the whole of Mediterranean coast.
➢ The governors sent to rule over distant lands enjoyed, wide discretionary powers
and were practically independent of the Home government

ROMAN LEGAL SYSTEM

➢ The legacy of Roman law is regarded by many as the greatest contribution made by
Rome to civilization
➢ The law of most European countries and many elsewhere have been based to a great
extent on those of Rome.
➢ In 449 BC, but the most important codification is made in the 6th century AD.
➢ The Byzantine emperor Justinian reduced a mass of material to orderly form.
➢ The foundation of Roman law can be traced to the Republic,
➢ It was Rome that had first embodied in one comprehensive and unified code the
distinctive order of the state.
➢ To the protection of law had been a political privilege, fully available only to the
citizens.

Different types of Roman Law

1. Jus.Civil :-

➢ Jus civil was the laws that applied only to Roman citizens
➢ These laws did not apply to foreigners living in Rome or to citizens of
territories occupied by the Roman Empire.
➢ Jus. Civil is a legal code containing about 12 tables
➢ It was through this law that family property rights were determined

2. Jus. Gentium :-

➢ In the early days Roman laws applied only to the Roman people
➢ But with the expansion of the Roman Empire, it had to mix with different
cultures .

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 ➢ And these different cultures created conflicts in the society which led to the
formulation of a law that applied equally to all cultures.
➢ Its basis was human equality.
➢ This law was universal.
➢ This law was based on natural justice.
➢ Magistrate is appointed to make such a law
➢ A comprehensive law was slowly and steadily established in Rome, taking
into account the customs, practices, traditions, and disputes connected with
all these existing under the magistrates.
➢ These laws were equally applicable to all classes and had to be observed by
their own citizens and foreigners alike

3. Jus. Natural:-

➢ On top of Jus. Gentium and Jus. Civil is the code of Just Natural
➢ which is related to the nature of man and is the natural path of man.
➢ Since the meaning of nature is not clear, so is the content of natural law
➢ Natural law is related to philosophy and therefore the work of philosophies is
said to be natural.
➢ Laws of nature greatly influenced Roman law makers

4. Roman Law :-

➢ The expansion of the Roman Empire led to the need for a new legal order.
➢ As part of this, legal experts were appointed to legislate and they combined
jus civil, jus natural and jus Gentium to form a new law.

5. The code of Justinian:-

➢ The Code of Justinian is the set of laws that he developed during the time of
code of Justinian
➢ It greatly influenced Western civilization.
➢ The main laws included in Justin’s Code were:
a) The institute – The Institute is said to have been the legal achievement
of the Roman jurist Gains, Maxian, Florentines

b) The Digest – Laws that incorporate passages from well-known

pronouncements of well-known legal pronouncements are said to be
the Digest

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 c) The Decrease – With the law included the laws of the previous rulers

d) The Novelli – Justinian’s laws are known in the Novelli

THE ROMAN CONTRIBUTION OF LAW

a) Secularisation of Law ;
• Law was separated from religion and morality.
• Laws were not seen as products of religion and morality.
• Roman law applied equally to all religious groups

b) Universal nature of law ;

• The peculiarity of Roman law was universal and applied to all religions in all
regions.

c) Individual as the centre legal thought ;

• Roman law is about individuals.
• It doesn’t care about religion or race.
• It is made for everyone.
• The Roman law was made for every individual in every society.
• Every individual has their own duties and rights and it is the duty of the state to
protect them.

d) State assembly a legal person ;

• The state exists as a legal entity with certain restrictions.
• A state is considered as a legal entity that exercises power within certain limits and
its ultimate goal is to protect human rights.

e) People the source of law ;

• The sovereigns of the nation are the people.
• The ruler is only an agent of the people.
• He is responsible to the people.

f) Contractual Nature of law ;

• Roman law is a contract between parties and laws.
• People accept the laws proposed by the jurists.
• Laws are never imposed on people
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 g) Power of the community ;
• Imperium was a concept developed by the Romans without the help of Greece.
• Imperium means sovereignty.
• The imperium of Rome was of the people.
• The real contribution of the Romans was that imperium, everything else came from
Greek.

h) Changing nature of power ;

• During the monarchy, sovereignty was restricted to the king.
• the death of the king, sovereignty passed to his successors.
• During the republican government, sovereignty was vested in officials who were
responsible to the people.

POLYBIUS (204 BC – 122 BC)

➢ Polybius is considered the first Roman political thinker

➢ 369 BC Rome defeats Marxidon and takes about a thousand Greeks as Roman
prisoners, among them Polybius
➢ Most of them were later killed, but Polybius was among the 300 who escaped
➢ Polybius was a very learned man, so he studied the functioning of the Roman
government during this period.
➢ He soon became a friend of the Romans.
➢ Realizing his knowledge and skills, the Romans appointed him as the ruler of the
Greek city-states.
➢ He has visited various countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.
➢ He studied how their governments functioned
➢ He studied how Rome became a great empire.
➢ Rome was not just a city-state but within 53 years Rome had become an empire.
➢ Therefore, he himself included in his writings the factors that contributed to the
success of Rome
➢ His major work is Histories, it includes 40 volumes
➢ According to him, there is only one reason for the success of the Roman Empire and
that is the constitution of the government
➢ Rome’s great constitution and government made great before the world

CLASSIFICATION OF GOVERNMENT

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 ➢ Polybius has classified the constitutions or government on the line set forth by
Aristotle.
➢ According to Polybius normally government are divided into kingship, aristocracy
and democracy.
➢ Besides these divisions other varieties are also found in some states “we should
therefore, assert that there are six kinds of governments. Those are, besides three
mentioned above are Monarchy, aristocracy and democracy.”
➢ The growth of Monarchy is natural and unaided. Kingship is a derivative of
Monarchy.
➢ So according to Polybius the primary form of government is Monarchy.
➢ Tyranny is the offshoot of Monarchy.
➢ Over a period of time Monarch degenerate and defies justice and morality and
become a tyrant.
➢ The abolition of both Monarchy and tyranny clears the way for the emergence of
aristocracy.
➢ Aristocracy, by its very nature degenerate into oligarchy.
➢ When the Common man take Vengeance on this government, democracy comes
into being. In due course, democracy turns into a kind of mob-rule.
➢ Therefore, Polybius observes that a particular form of government is not permanent
or stable.
➢ When democracy crosses, its limits, it gives birth to a new despot who rules the
community by force. The cycle of changes starts here.

REASON FOR POLITICAL CHANGE

➢ According to Polybius, a particular state cannot be called the best state.

➢ A state is likely to change from one form to another at any moment.
➢ According to Polybius, the true and natural form of government is monarchy.
➢ Monarchy is the oldest form of government.
➢ It was based on the use of force, but over time it gained a general acceptance.
➢ According to him, regime change is cyclical.

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 ➢ When the monarchy ignored morality and moral values, it became tyranny.
➢ He opined that oligarchy is not good, it is the process by which a few rule their
own.
➢ Democracy is also not good, he opined, because it is a kind of mob.
➢ According to Polybius, there are many reasons for revolution against the state.
1. Desires for the throne lead to conspiracy against the king.
2. There may be disputes between members of the royal family for power.
➢ According to him, luxurious life leads to loss of power and prestige.
➢ Irrational behavior and so on lead to enmity against the king among the
members of the royal family.
➢ When power is concentrated in a few hands, it also leads to revolution.
➢ According to him, everyone should have equal access to power, but the right to
power should not be concentrated in only a few hands.

BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT

➢ Polybius believes that the best form of government is a great combination of

different government system
➢ It promotes a consistent system and borrows the best features from each system.
➢ This creates a relatively good governance system.
➢ So Polybius suggests that a mixed government is better.
➢ The government is a mixture of monarchy and democracy.
➢ The best form of government is one that incorporates the best elements of all three
forms of government.
➢ The Roman government has these three elements

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 ➢ The Roman government is classified into three categories.
1) Consuls
2) Senate
3) Popular Assembly

Consuls:-

➢ military service will be under the Consuls.

➢ It represents the monarchy.
➢ It contains absolute power, but not only the support of the people is essential but
also the support of the state in many matters.

Senate :-

➢ The senate represented the aristocracy.

➢ The distribution of foodstuffs was under the control of the senate, as were matters
related to such necessities of life as clothing.
➢ They controlled the finances.
➢ Consecutive military action of any kind required authorization.

Popular Assembly:-

➢ This category represents democracy.

➢ These three debts were closely related.

➢ It was a healthy arrangement.
➢ All the three debts had their respective powers checked against each other.
➢ The senate controlled the power of the consul.
➢ The Senate wields administrative and fiscal powers.
➢ But these powers were under the control of the Popular Assembly.
➢ The Popular Assembly could not exercise its powers without the assistance of
consuls and soldiers.
➢ It shows the system of checks and balances.
➢ According to Polybius, ancient rulers lost many battles.
➢ That was because there was no other factor to control them.
➢ But with the advent of constitutional government, many wars have been won
because of the checks and balances of the government.
➢ It is never a form of government that protects the freedom of the people, it is the
character, morals and virtues of a person that determine his freedom.

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APPRECIATION OF POLYBIUS

➢ Polybius as a very practical observer

➢ His philosophies and understandings were based on established concepts
➢ His original contribution is said to be mixed government, which he borrowed from
Plato.
➢ He was the first thinker to give a scientific form to mixed governance.
➢ His cyclical nature of government is related to Aristotle’s concept of balance of
power and is related to the modern constitution.
➢ According to him, the balance of power rests with governments and not with the
people.
➢ Polybius was the first political thinker to put forward the system of balance of
power.
➢ The framers of the American Constitution adopted his idea.
➢ Polybius gave more importance to the goal of stability of the state.

CICERO (106 – 43 BC)

➢ Born on 3 January 106 BC.

➢ Cicero was a lawyer, statesman and orator.
➢ He was instrumental in spreading Stoic ideas of Universal brotherhood.
➢ Influenced by writings of Plato, Aristotle and Polybius.
➢ His books
• De Republica
• De Legibus (On the Laws)
➢ Died December 7, 43 B.C.E

INFLUENCE OF CICERO

➢ The greatest influence on Cicero was Polybius

➢ He supported the concept of mixed form of Constitution.
➢ Cicero also classified governments into normal and perverted forms
Normal form. Perverted form
Monarchy Tyranny
Aristocracy Oligarchy

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 Democracy Military

➢ According to him, a mixed form is the best form of government.

➢ According to Cicero, only the mixed form of government can check abuse of
power.
➢ It only can check the tendency of degeneration.
➢ Cicero was influenced by Plato’s Republic also.
➢ He was very much influenced by the concept of Justice.
➢ The stoic ideas of law of nature also influenced him.
➢ He tried to spread the stoic ideas of universal brotherhood and world citizenship.
His Ideal view was of a world city and a Roman Empire.
➢ He believed in the natural equality of man and the natural law.

SUMMARY ON STATE

▪ The individual is prior to the State

➢ The state is not prior to the individual.
➢ The ultimate objective of Cicero was to elevate the individual above the State.
➢ While doing so, he emphasized that the State consists of the individuals.
➢ The state is formed by individuals.
➢ If the State was to be formed by the individuals, the individual should be prior to
the State.

▪ Society is prior to the State.

➢ Society and State are different from each other and they are different entities.
➢ By saying so, Cicero was emphasizing the legal personality of the State.
➢ When individuals come together for a common life, it is only the society. It
does not constitute the State
➢ But certain changes necessitated the formation of the State.
➢ Legally, the state is different from the society and the individual.
➢ Therefore, the state acquires a legal personality not available to the
Society.
▪ Authority of state does not rely on a particular individual or a group of individuals.
➢ Authority of state does not rely on a particular individual or a group of
individuals, it relies on the people as a whole.
➢ The people are the source of law and authority.
➢ Cicero wanted to give emphasis on the essential equality of men.
➢ He also wanted to negate the superiority of certain classes of people in the
State.

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 ➢ Therefore, it was very essential to state that the authority of the state does not
rely on a particular class of people in the State.
➢ It has to rely on the people as a whole.

▪ All individuals are equal.

➢ From a very practical point of view, Cicero wanted to strengthen the Roman
state system.
➢ He wanted to protect the cosmopolitan nature of the Roman state.
➢ Therefore, it was very essential to adhere to a stand point that men are equal
and no race or class is superior than the other.

▪ All men are members of the commonwealth.

➢ Cicero did not conceive of a system whereas only men of Roman origin
would be considered as citizens and others would enjoy only secondary
status.
➢ His idea of a commonwealth was truly cosmopolitan in character.

▪ Law of the state is common to law.

➢ All the people belong to the commonwealth.
➢ It is a collective power.
➢ Such a stand point was very essential for the maintenance of law and order in
a cosmopolitan state.

▪ The state should be subject to the law of nature.

➢ The laws of the state should be according to the laws of nature.
➢ It was impossible to rely on a particular set of law which could be applicable
to the varied populations of the Roman Empire.
➢ Cicero wanted to establish a common ground for law making.
➢ According to him, nothing other than natural law is the best bet to make a
foundation for a legal system which could be applicable to all alike.

▪ The best form of government is the mixed form.

➢ According to Cicero, each system of government had its own strengths and
weaknesses.
➢ According to him, a combination of the best characteristics of each system would
make a good system of governance.
➢ Therefore, he wanted take the best from all the three systems of governance.

▪ For the convenience of rule, there shall be a kind of sovereignty in the State.

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 ➢ But the ultimate authority of the state resides in the people and not in the sovereign
authority.
➢ This concept of Cicero makes the people all powerful.
➢ It also paves the way for the formation of an efficient system of governance based
on sound principles.

LAW

➢ According to him, law is supreme.

➢ Therefore, law is essential to the existence of a house, a city, a human race, physical
nature, and the universe.
➢ Law is supreme reason.
➢ Reason is common to man and God.
➢ Therefore, the whole universe is controlled by God’s power.
➢ Man is a part of the universe
➢ He is made by God.
➢ Man is the only living being with the power of thought.
➢ The law is the supreme manifestation of the God of Reason.
➢ Law is the principles to guide the universe.
➢ Law enables people to do the right thing.
➢ Law can prevent wrongdoing by one.
➢ What is right and what is wrong can be determined by law.
➢ Law is divine, law is the mind of God.
➢ But justice means submission to the law.
➢ Therefore righteousness is submission to God.
➢ The law controls the magistrates who control the people

COMMEN WEALTH

➢ Commonwealth is a great idea of his.

➢ The commonwealth is inclusive of all.
➢ The human race is not a race of isolated individuals, but the commonwealth of all
human beings as social beings.
➢ Therefore, society is natural to him.
➢ Nation is also natural to him.
➢ Therefore reason is instinctive, and it is based on reason that binds men together.
➢ The law that holds them together is related to natural law.
➢ So they help each other.
➢ It also provides a fair and just government.
➢ It is good and desirable.
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 ➢ The people are the rulers of the nation and all powers are restricted to the people.
➢ Power should never be confined to a single group of individuals.
➢ People hold power on the basis of natural law.
➢ Therefore, it is a moral institution among nations.
➢ According to him mixed government is the best government.
➢ It should be the combination of monarchy and aristocracy and democracy.
➢ For these three categories, the composition should be formed by including the
strong features and excluding the weak ones.

ESTIMATE OF CICERO

➢ Cicero’s ideas became very popular.

➢ All because they were revolutionary ideas.
➢ The people are the sovereigns of the nation.
➢ The power of the nation rests in the hands of the people.
➢ The state can exercise its power only through law.
➢ The law of the nation should be based on natural law
➢ The contemporary politics of his time were greatly influenced
➢ It was a period of war between the upper classes.
➢ Because of that, he wanted to maintain the old state characteristics
➢ Only then could a peaceful society and a stable government be maintained in Rome

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