centuriata

Centuriata, in Latin often called the comitia centuriata, refers to the centuriate assembly of ancient Rome. It derived its name from the centuries, military units that formed the voting body. The assembly was organized primarily by wealth and status, grouping citizens into centuries that cast a single vote. In practice, this structure gave greater weight to the wealthier and more capable classes.

Members and organization: All male Roman citizens eligible to vote could participate, but voting occurred by centuries rather than by individual citizens. The centuries were arranged into groups associated with property classes and the equestrian order, a system that together produced the total number of voting units used for decision making. Voting order and the distribution of centuries endowed the influential classes with disproportionate impact on outcomes.

Functions and powers: The comitia centuriata had several key roles in the Republic. It elected the most senior magistrates with imperium, notably the consuls and praetors, and it could also choose censors in certain periods. It possessed the authority to pass laws (leges) binding the Roman state and its citizens, and it had responsibilities related to war and peace, such as declaring war or ratifying treaties. In its earlier phase, the assembly also exercised judicial functions in certain capital cases or matters of treason, though legal procedures and jurisdiction evolved over time.

History and decline: The comitia centuriata was a dominant political institution in the early to mid-R Republic, especially in electing magistrates and approving major measures. As political power shifted toward the Senate, other assemblies, and eventually the imperial structure, the practical influence of the centuriata diminished. By the late Republic and into the Empire, it functioned more as a formal body with limited real authority, its active operation gradually fading from political life.

See also: Roman constitutional history, comitia, Senate, lex.