Tribune bench

The tribune benches were seats on the Forum Romanum where the Tribunes of the Plebs used to sit during the day in order to be there for the Roman citizens.

Function

The tribune benches represented the typical sitting right of the Roman magistrates. The plebeian tribunes used to sit on the benches during the office hours to do their business.^[1] Sitting on the tribune benches also was part of their stand-by duty. Due to the publicity of the tribune benches it was easy for the plebs to contact the tribunes. Therefore, the Roman citizens were easily able to make use of the ius auxilii, the right of help. Because there was no kind of civil service contact points the tribunes usually were contacted personally in case of civil problems. This means that the Roman plebs had to visit the tribunes at the tribune benches to ask for their help. The negotiations have been done orally.^[2] Because of the missing writtenness the tribunes and their clients had to be in public when making a deal.^[3]

Places

First the tribunes of the plebs were not allowed to participate at the senate meetings. So their benches were placed in front of the entrance of the curia where the senate met. So the tribunes could check the senate`s decisions immediately and did not have to make use of the ius intercedendi.^[4] Later the tribune benches were placed in front of the Basilica Porcia, a public mall. Usually there was quite a lot of people to meet from every origin and status. That’s why the tribunes of the Plebs used the tribune benches as their center of organization and information search. The Forum Romanum was suited for the place of action and for delivering speeches.^[5] Furthermore, the benches were now placed near to the Tarpeian Rock, a steep cliff used as an execution site. For an execution you had to pass the tribune benches. This circumstance enabled the tribunes of the plebs to prevent every execution of a Roman citizen of the plebs by making use of the ius intercedendi.

References

1. Theodor Mommsen: Römisches Staatsrecht, Band 2: II. Die einzelnen Magistraturen. Erste Abteilung. S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1887, S. 282.
2. Wolfgang Kunkel, Roland Wittmann: Staatsordnung und Staatspraxis der Römischen Republik. Zweiter Abschnitt. Die Magistratur. (= Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaften X, Band 3,2,2), C.H. Beck, München 1995, S. 105.
3. Tacitus: Annalen 8, 28, 2.
4. Valerius Maximus 2, 2, 7.

5. Politische Agitation und Öffentlichkeit in der späten Republik. (= Europäische Hochschulschriften. Reihe 3, Band 839), Frankfurt am Main u.a. 1999, S.36-39.