Tribune
Encyclopedia
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic
. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council
and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct
, in the sense that any assault on their person was prohibited. They had the power to veto actions taken by magistrates, and specifically to intervene legally on behalf of plebeians. The tribune could also summon the Senate
and lay proposals before it. The tribune's power, however, was only in effect while he was within Rome. His ability to veto did not affect regional governors.
Because it was legally impossible for a patrician to be a tribune of the plebeians, the first Roman emperor
, Caesar Augustus, was offered instead all of the powers of the tribunate without actually holding the office (tribunicia potestas). This formed one of the two main constitutional bases of Augustus' authority (the other was imperium proconsulare maius
). It gave him the authority to convene the Senate. Also, he was sacrosanct, had the authority to veto (ius intercessionis), and could exercise capital punishment in the course of the performance of his duties.
Most emperors' reigns were dated by their assumption of tribunicia potestas, though some emperors, such as Tiberius
, Titus
, Trajan
and Marcus Aurelius had already received it during their predecessor's reign. Marcus Agrippa and Drusus II
, though never emperors, also received tribunicia potestas. By extension from the technical Roman governmental usage, some modern politician
s have been called "tribunes of the people."
(aediles plebi).
Since the Plebeian Tribunes and Plebeian Aediles
were elected by the Plebeians (non-aristocrats that owned land) in the Plebeian Council
, rather than by all of the People of Rome
(Plebeians, the Patrician nobility, and the capite censi
, landless commoners), they were technically not "magistrates". While the term "Plebeian Magistrate" (magistratus plebeii) has been used as an approximation, it is technically a contradiction. The Plebeian Aedile functioned as the Tribune's assistant, and often performed similar duties to those of the Curule Aediles
. In time, however, the differences between the Plebeian Aediles and the Curule Aediles disappeared.
Since the Tribunes were considered to be the embodiment of the Plebeians, they were sacrosanct. Their sacrosanctity was enforced by a pledge, taken by the Plebeians, to kill any person who harmed or interfered with a Tribune during his term of office. All of the powers of the Tribune derived from their sacrosanctity. One obvious consequence of this sacrosanctity was the fact that it was considered a capital offense to harm a Tribune, to disregard his veto, or to interfere with a Tribune. The sacrosanctity of a Tribune (and thus all of his legal powers) were only in effect so long as that Tribune was within the city of Rome. If the Tribune was abroad, the Plebeians in Rome could not enforce their oath to kill any individual who harmed or interfered with the Tribune. Since Tribunes were technically not magistrates, they had no magisterial powers ("major powers" or maior potestas), and thus could not rely on such powers to veto. Instead, they relied on the sacrosanctity of their person to obstruct. If a magistrate, an assembly or the senate did not comply with the orders of a Tribune, the Tribune could 'interpose the sacrosanctity of his person' (intercessio) to physically stop that particular action. Any resistance against the Tribune was tantamount to a violation of his sacrosanctity, and thus was considered a capital offense. Their lack of magisterial powers made them independent of all other magistrates, which also meant that no magistrate could veto a Tribune.
Tribunes could use their sacrosanctity to order the use of capital punishment against any person who interfered with their duties. Tribunes could also use their sacrosanctity as protection when physically manhandling an individual, such as when arresting someone. On a couple of rare occasions (such as during the tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus
), a Tribune might use a form of blanket obstruction, which could involve a broad veto over all governmental functions. While a Tribune could veto any act of the senate, the assemblies, or the magistrates, he could only veto the act, and not the actual measure. Therefore, he had to physically be present when the act was occurring. As soon as that Tribune was no longer present, the act could be completed as if there had never been a veto.
Tribunes, the only true representatives of the people, had the authority to enforce the right of provoco ad populum, which was a theoretical guarantee of due process, and a precursor to the common law concept of habeas corpus
. If a magistrate was threatening to take action against a citizen, that citizen could yell "ego te provoco!", which would appeal the magistrate's decision to a Tribune. A Tribune had to assess the situation, and give the magistrate his approval before the magistrate could carry out the action. Sometimes the Tribune brought the case before the College of Tribunes or the Plebeian Council for a trial. Any action taken in spite of a valid provocatio was on its face illegal. In this capacity, the Tribune was the principal, and often the only, guarantor of the civil liberties of Roman citizens against arbitrary state power. The degree of liberty afforded to Roman citizens by the Tribune through the power of Provocatio was unmatched in the ancient world.
Tribunes were required to be plebeians, and until 421 BC this was the only office open to them. In the late Republic the patrician politician Clodius
arranged for his adoption by a plebeian branch of his family, and successfully ran for the tribunate. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla
was dictator
he severely curtailed the tribunes of the plebeians by invalidating their power of veto and making it illegal for them to bring laws before the Concilium Plebis without the Senate's consent. Afterwards, the tribune was restored to its former power during the consulship of Crassus
and Pompey
.
Throughout the Republic and its fall, powerful individuals used the tribunes for their personal glory and gain. Clodius and Milo
were both tribunes who used violence in the courts and government in order to achieve the needs and requests of Pompey
and Caesar
. When the Senate refused to grant Caesar's veterans lands and a further governorship of Gaul
, he turned to the tribunes with his demands and got them.
elected 24 young men in their late twenties with senatorial
ambitions to serve as Tribunes of the Soldiers (tribunes militium). These 24 were distributed six to each of the consul
s' four legion
s as the legions' commanding officer
s.
All middle-ranking officers of the legions were also titled tribunes, though they were unelected and junior to the tribunum militi. Messala
, the villain in the 1880 novel
Ben-Hur
by Lew Wallace
and its 1959 film
, was a military
tribune.
. While the three original curia
(Ramnes, Tities, and Luceres) were each headed by a Tribune, the Tribune of the Celeres did not lead any such curia. Rather, he was second in rank to the Roman King, could pass laws (lex tribunicia), and could theoretically preside over the Curiate Assembly
in an attempt to deprive the king of his constitutional powers (his imperium
), and thus his office. Occasionally, during a war, the Roman King might take command of the infantry, but delegate command of the cavalry to the Tribune of the Celeres. In this respect, the arrangement was revived after the fall of the monarchy, and during the years of the Roman Republic
, between the Roman Dictator
("Master of the Infantry") and his Master of the Horse
("Master of the Cavalry").
It was instituted by Napoleon I Bonaparte's Constitution of the Year VIII
"in order to moderate the other powers" by discussing every legislative project, sending its orateurs ("orators", i.e. spokesmen) to defend or attack them in the Corps législatif
, and asking the Senate to overturn "the lists of eligibles, the acts of the Legislative Body and those of the government" on account of unconstitutionality. Its 100 members were designated by the Senate from the list of citizens from 25 years up, and annually one fifth was renewed for a five-year term.
When it opposed the first parts of Bonaparte's proposed penal code, he made the Senate nominate 20 new members at once to replace the 20 first opponents to his politic; they accepted the historically important reform of penal law. As the Tribunate opposed new despotic projects, he got the Senate in year X to allow itself to dissolve the Tribunate. In XIII it was further downsized to 50 members. On August 16, 1807 it was abolished and never revived.
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council
Plebeian Council
The Concilium Plebis — known in English as the Plebeian Council or People's Assembly — was the principal popular assembly of the ancient Roman Republic. It functioned as a legislative assembly, through which the plebeians could pass laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. The Plebeian...
and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct
Sacrosanct
Sacrosanctity was a right of tribunes in Ancient Rome not to be harmed physically. Plebeians took an oath to regard anyone who laid hands on a tribune as an outlaw liable to be killed without penalty...
, in the sense that any assault on their person was prohibited. They had the power to veto actions taken by magistrates, and specifically to intervene legally on behalf of plebeians. The tribune could also summon the Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
and lay proposals before it. The tribune's power, however, was only in effect while he was within Rome. His ability to veto did not affect regional governors.
Because it was legally impossible for a patrician to be a tribune of the plebeians, the first Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
, Caesar Augustus, was offered instead all of the powers of the tribunate without actually holding the office (tribunicia potestas). This formed one of the two main constitutional bases of Augustus' authority (the other was imperium proconsulare maius
Imperium
Imperium is a Latin word which, in a broad sense, translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms. Imperium, referred to the sovereignty of the state over the individual...
). It gave him the authority to convene the Senate. Also, he was sacrosanct, had the authority to veto (ius intercessionis), and could exercise capital punishment in the course of the performance of his duties.
Most emperors' reigns were dated by their assumption of tribunicia potestas, though some emperors, such as Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
, Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
, Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
and Marcus Aurelius had already received it during their predecessor's reign. Marcus Agrippa and Drusus II
Julius Caesar Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina...
, though never emperors, also received tribunicia potestas. By extension from the technical Roman governmental usage, some modern politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s have been called "tribunes of the people."
Plebeian Tribune
In 494 BC, the city was at war, but the Plebeian soldiers refused to march against the enemy, and instead seceded to the Aventine hill. The Patricians quickly became desperate to end what was, in effect, a labor strike, and thus they quickly agreed to the demands of the Plebeians, that they be given the right to elect their own officials. The Plebeians named these new officials Plebeian Tribunes (tribuni plebis), and gave them two assistants, the Plebeian AedilesAedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
(aediles plebi).
Since the Plebeian Tribunes and Plebeian Aediles
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
were elected by the Plebeians (non-aristocrats that owned land) in the Plebeian Council
Plebeian Council
The Concilium Plebis — known in English as the Plebeian Council or People's Assembly — was the principal popular assembly of the ancient Roman Republic. It functioned as a legislative assembly, through which the plebeians could pass laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. The Plebeian...
, rather than by all of the People of Rome
SPQR
SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus , referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune of Rome...
(Plebeians, the Patrician nobility, and the capite censi
Capite censi
Capite censi were literally, in Latin, "those counted by head" in the ancient Roman census. Also known as "the head count", the term was used to refer to the lowest class of citizens, people not of the nobility or middle classes, owning little or no property...
, landless commoners), they were technically not "magistrates". While the term "Plebeian Magistrate" (magistratus plebeii) has been used as an approximation, it is technically a contradiction. The Plebeian Aedile functioned as the Tribune's assistant, and often performed similar duties to those of the Curule Aediles
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
. In time, however, the differences between the Plebeian Aediles and the Curule Aediles disappeared.
Since the Tribunes were considered to be the embodiment of the Plebeians, they were sacrosanct. Their sacrosanctity was enforced by a pledge, taken by the Plebeians, to kill any person who harmed or interfered with a Tribune during his term of office. All of the powers of the Tribune derived from their sacrosanctity. One obvious consequence of this sacrosanctity was the fact that it was considered a capital offense to harm a Tribune, to disregard his veto, or to interfere with a Tribune. The sacrosanctity of a Tribune (and thus all of his legal powers) were only in effect so long as that Tribune was within the city of Rome. If the Tribune was abroad, the Plebeians in Rome could not enforce their oath to kill any individual who harmed or interfered with the Tribune. Since Tribunes were technically not magistrates, they had no magisterial powers ("major powers" or maior potestas), and thus could not rely on such powers to veto. Instead, they relied on the sacrosanctity of their person to obstruct. If a magistrate, an assembly or the senate did not comply with the orders of a Tribune, the Tribune could 'interpose the sacrosanctity of his person' (intercessio) to physically stop that particular action. Any resistance against the Tribune was tantamount to a violation of his sacrosanctity, and thus was considered a capital offense. Their lack of magisterial powers made them independent of all other magistrates, which also meant that no magistrate could veto a Tribune.
Tribunes could use their sacrosanctity to order the use of capital punishment against any person who interfered with their duties. Tribunes could also use their sacrosanctity as protection when physically manhandling an individual, such as when arresting someone. On a couple of rare occasions (such as during the tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populares politician of the 2nd century BC and brother of Gaius Gracchus. As a plebeian tribune, his reforms of agrarian legislation caused political turmoil in the Republic. These reforms threatened the holdings of rich landowners in Italy...
), a Tribune might use a form of blanket obstruction, which could involve a broad veto over all governmental functions. While a Tribune could veto any act of the senate, the assemblies, or the magistrates, he could only veto the act, and not the actual measure. Therefore, he had to physically be present when the act was occurring. As soon as that Tribune was no longer present, the act could be completed as if there had never been a veto.
Tribunes, the only true representatives of the people, had the authority to enforce the right of provoco ad populum, which was a theoretical guarantee of due process, and a precursor to the common law concept of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
. If a magistrate was threatening to take action against a citizen, that citizen could yell "ego te provoco!", which would appeal the magistrate's decision to a Tribune. A Tribune had to assess the situation, and give the magistrate his approval before the magistrate could carry out the action. Sometimes the Tribune brought the case before the College of Tribunes or the Plebeian Council for a trial. Any action taken in spite of a valid provocatio was on its face illegal. In this capacity, the Tribune was the principal, and often the only, guarantor of the civil liberties of Roman citizens against arbitrary state power. The degree of liberty afforded to Roman citizens by the Tribune through the power of Provocatio was unmatched in the ancient world.
Tribunes were required to be plebeians, and until 421 BC this was the only office open to them. In the late Republic the patrician politician Clodius
Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher was a Roman politician known for his popularist tactics...
arranged for his adoption by a plebeian branch of his family, and successfully ran for the tribunate. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
was dictator
Roman dictator
In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
he severely curtailed the tribunes of the plebeians by invalidating their power of veto and making it illegal for them to bring laws before the Concilium Plebis without the Senate's consent. Afterwards, the tribune was restored to its former power during the consulship of Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded the right wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus, provided political and financial support to Julius Caesar and entered into the political alliance known as the...
and Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
.
Throughout the Republic and its fall, powerful individuals used the tribunes for their personal glory and gain. Clodius and Milo
Titus Annius Milo
Titus Annius Milo Papianus was a Roman political agitator, the son of Gaius Papius Celsus, but adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus...
were both tribunes who used violence in the courts and government in order to achieve the needs and requests of Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
and Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. When the Senate refused to grant Caesar's veterans lands and a further governorship of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, he turned to the tribunes with his demands and got them.
Tribune of the soldiers
Each year the Tribal AssemblyRoman assemblies
The Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic were political institutions in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it was the people who had the final say regarding the election of magistrates, the enactment of new statutes, the carrying out of capital...
elected 24 young men in their late twenties with senatorial
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
ambitions to serve as Tribunes of the Soldiers (tribunes militium). These 24 were distributed six to each of the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s' four legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
s as the legions' commanding officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
s.
All middle-ranking officers of the legions were also titled tribunes, though they were unelected and junior to the tribunum militi. Messala
Messala
The name Messala , or Messalla, can refer to several people in Ancient Rome:*Marcus Valerius Messalla**The Roman general Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus.**The ancient Roman Senator Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger....
, the villain in the 1880 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (novel)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace published on November 12, 1880 by Harper & Brothers. Considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century", it was the best-selling American novel from the time of its publication, superseding Harriet Beecher Stowe's...
by Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
and its 1959 film
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
, was a military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
tribune.
Tribune of the Celeres
The Tribune of the Celeres (tribunus celerum) was the commander of the personal bodyguard of the Roman King, the "Celeres", during the days of the Roman KingdomRoman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
. While the three original curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
(Ramnes, Tities, and Luceres) were each headed by a Tribune, the Tribune of the Celeres did not lead any such curia. Rather, he was second in rank to the Roman King, could pass laws (lex tribunicia), and could theoretically preside over the Curiate Assembly
Curiate Assembly
The Curiate Assembly was the principal assembly during the first two decades of the Roman Republic. During these first decades, the People of Rome were organized into thirty units called "Curia"...
in an attempt to deprive the king of his constitutional powers (his imperium
Imperium
Imperium is a Latin word which, in a broad sense, translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms. Imperium, referred to the sovereignty of the state over the individual...
), and thus his office. Occasionally, during a war, the Roman King might take command of the infantry, but delegate command of the cavalry to the Tribune of the Celeres. In this respect, the arrangement was revived after the fall of the monarchy, and during the years of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, between the Roman Dictator
Roman dictator
In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
("Master of the Infantry") and his Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse
The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
("Master of the Cavalry").
Cohort commander
- Tribunus Cohortis: commander of military unit.
- Tribunus Cohortis Urbanae: urban cohort commander.
Tribune of the treasury
The duties of the tribunes of the treasury (tribuni aerarii) are somewhat shrouded in mystery. Originally they seem to have been tax collectors, but this power was slowly lost to other officials. By the end of the Republic it was a class of people slightly below the equites in wealth. In 70 BC the makeup of Roman juries was reformed, and 1/3 of all members were to be tribunes of the treasury.Various offices
Tribunal: a raised platform in front of the HQ used for addressing the troops or administering justice.- Tribunus: senior officer. In the late Roman armyLate Roman armyThe Late Roman army is the term used to denote the military forces of the Roman Empire from the accession of Emperor Diocletian in 284 until the Empire's definitive division into Eastern and Western halves in 395. A few decades afterwards, the Western army disintegrated as the Western empire...
, alternatively called a comesComesComes , plural comites , is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus, especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" +...
, he was a commander of a cavalry regiment. The title survived in the East Roman armyEast Roman armyThe East Roman army refers to the army of the Eastern section of the Roman Empire, from the empire's definitive split in 395 AD to the army's reorganization by themes after the permanent loss of Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs in the 7th century...
until the early 7th century, hellenized as tribounos. - Tribunus angusticlavius: "narrow-striped officer"; equestrian legionary officer, five to each legionRoman legionA Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
. - Tribunus comitiatus: officer elected as tribunus militum by the comitia.
- Tribunus laticlaviusTribunus LaticlaviusIn the Roman army of the late Republic and the Principate, the tribunus laticlavius was one of the six military tribunes in a legion....
: "broad-striped officer"; senatorialRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
legionary officer, second in command of a legionRoman legionA Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
. - Tribunus militum: senior legionary officer.
- Tribunus militum a populo: senior legionary officer appointed by popular assembly.
- Tribunus rufulus: officer picked by the commander.
- Tribunus sexmestris: tribune serving a tour of duty of only six months; note that there is absolutely no evidence at all to identify this officer as commander of the legionary cavalry as sometimes stated in modern literature.
- Tribunus vacans: Late Roman unassigned tribune; staff officer.
French revolutionary tribunat
The "Tribunat", the French word for tribunate, derived from the Latin term tribunatus, meaning the office or term of a Roman tribunus (see above), was a collective organ of the young revolutionary French Republic composed of members styled tribun (the French for tribune), which, despite the apparent reference to one of ancient Rome's prestigious magistratures, never held any real political power as an assembly, its individual members no role at all.It was instituted by Napoleon I Bonaparte's Constitution of the Year VIII
Constitution of the Year VIII
The Constitution of the Year VIII was a national constitution of France, adopted December 24, 1799 , which established the form of government known as the Consulate...
"in order to moderate the other powers" by discussing every legislative project, sending its orateurs ("orators", i.e. spokesmen) to defend or attack them in the Corps législatif
Corps législatif
The Corps législatif was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body.-History:The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a corps législatif...
, and asking the Senate to overturn "the lists of eligibles, the acts of the Legislative Body and those of the government" on account of unconstitutionality. Its 100 members were designated by the Senate from the list of citizens from 25 years up, and annually one fifth was renewed for a five-year term.
When it opposed the first parts of Bonaparte's proposed penal code, he made the Senate nominate 20 new members at once to replace the 20 first opponents to his politic; they accepted the historically important reform of penal law. As the Tribunate opposed new despotic projects, he got the Senate in year X to allow itself to dissolve the Tribunate. In XIII it was further downsized to 50 members. On August 16, 1807 it was abolished and never revived.