III.

People's Tribunes

In the early period all the perquisites and prerogatives of government in Rome were controlled by the patricians, while the plebeians, who constituted the majority of the population, had to bear the burdens of taxation and military service. Following the rebellion of the plebeians in 494 bc, these conditions were partly remedied when the plebeians won the right to elect their own magistrates, called tribuni plebis, to represent their interests. Although originally there were only two peoples tribunes, by 450 bc there were ten.

The people's tribunes enjoyed three important privileges: the right to defend a member of the plebeians on any charge; the right to veto any measure proposed by the Roman Senate; and personal inviolability during their terms of office. These tribunes gradually extended political rights to all the people. Roman emperors also took the title of tribune thus acquiring the constitutional rights of tribunes and a popular image. The office itself gradually lost its importance, although it continued to exist until dissolution of the western Roman Empire in the 5th century ad.