ProQuest Dissertations - Historia Antigua

extreme draw on the pool of magistrates already exerted by the number of colonies sentout in 194, let alone the preexisting military and governmental needs of the Roman state.Military commands were not the only magistracies that offered skills that aided inthe foundation of colonies. A significant portion of the commissioners had also served ayear as tribune of the plebs. Eight former tribunes of the plebs served on sixcommissions: two on the commission to found the five citizen colonies of Volturnum,Liternum, Puteoli, Salernum, and Buxentum (197-194); one on the college for Copia(194-3), a Latin colony; one possibly was a commissioner to found Sipontum (194), acitizen colony; one on the college for leading the supplement to Placentia and Cremonaand founding Bononia (190-189), all Latin colonies; one on the college to lead out thesupplement for Sipontum and Buxentum (186), citizen colonies; and two on the board tofound Saturnia (183), a citizen colony.Of the commissions for the Latin colonies outlined above, it seems that themagistrates had reasons for their position on the committee that had little to do with theirroles as tribune of the plebs. For Copia (194-3), the tribune of the plebs, Q. AeliusTubero, brought the motion to found both Copia and Vibo Valentia before the conciliumplebisP His position on the college to found one of the two colonies may therefore showthe support of the concilium plebis and comitia tributa: it approved the measure to such adegree as to award the proposer a place on the commission. 14In the case of thesupplement to Placentia and Cremona (190) and the foundation of Bononia (189), L.12 Keppie (1998), p. 40.13 Livy 34.53.1-214 Note that the commission did not actually found Copia until 193, so the ban on tribunes leaving Romewould not apply to Tubero, who was tribune in 194.273