THE ROMAN MAGISTRATES
In the Roman Republic, magistrates took the king’s place. Magistracies spread power more widely among the rich and powerful, which is perhaps why so many cities eventually discarded their kings. The frequent replacement of kings by elected officials, moreover, may well be a sign that the aristocratic families of many Italian cities had never become fully reconciled to the rule of one man; in later periods, at least, resistance to monarchy and tyranny would be a central element in their ideology.
Rome would eventually possess a hierarchy of offices, each with its own tasks and powers. Each office was annual its occupants served only for a year—and collegial; more than one individual shared the pow¬ers of the position at the same time, and each could check improper actions by a colleague. Later, limited terms and shared tenure in office would be seen as a chief prop of liberty, and this may well have been true from an early date. Other cities, too, came to rely on officials like those at Rome, although there were significant variations in the number of magistrates and in their powers.
For much of the fifth century, there was some instability and experimentation in Rome’s offices and in the rules surrounding them. Roman historians later would identify the Republic with the two consuls who were elected yearly (see Chapter Three). The predominance of the consulship, however, would not become fixed until the fourth century. During the second half of the fifth and early in the fourth centuries, the Romans chose military tribunes with consular powers (tribuni militum consulari potestate). At first these tribunes served in groups of three or four, but eventually six would be chosen in most years. Later Roman historians thought that the consular tribunate was inferior to the office of consul in its powers and its religious prerogatives; why the Romans resorted to it for a period remains obscure. Perhaps having a larger number of officeholders was occasion-ally more important than having fewer, but more powerful, magistrates.