ProQuest Dissertations - Historia Antigua

offices (until after 180), but based either on his position in the Roman oligarchy or onprevious general success as measured by his popularity with the elite and masses.Nonetheless, each office had a specific set of duties which the newly electedmagistrate was expected to perform, whether or not he had previously come into contactwith that sort of military, political, or religious responsibility. The magistrate could relyupon advice from former office-holders, but mostly he was expected to learn as heperformed his duties with the assistance of his subordinates. 5Thus, I use the term 'skill'or 'skill-set' to denote those specific duties that a magistrate or priest has performedwhile in office, and 'experience' to designate the knowledge gained through being aparticular sort of magistrate or religious official. The men who utilized their new-foundskills most successfully were elected to further offices because of their experience eitherin that office or their success in other positions. In forming a colonial commission,priority seems to have been given to men who had military experience because it wasparallel to the skill-set needed to found a colony.II.The Basis for the Selection of TresviriThe tresviri coloniae deducendae organized all aspects of colonial foundation accordingto the lex coloniae, or colonial law, instituted by the council of the people often at thedirection of the senate by means of a senatus consultum. In general, the commissionersthemselves were elected by the tribal assembly out of a nominated group of men until the5 These may have included his familia or servi publici. See below, p. 111 n. 42, for further discussion.6 See Gargola (1995), pp. 52-58 for a detailed discussion of how me senatus consultum recommending acolonial law led to a plebiscite, which in turn mandated the foundation of the colony.99