ProQuest Dissertations - Historia Antigua

Valerius Tappo, the former tribune of the plebs, was praetor of Sicily in 192 andpropraetor in 191, and thus his role as commander may have carried more weight than hisprevious tribunate. In contrast, where citizen colonies had one or more tribunes, often thetribunes had held no or few other offices before becoming triumvir.For the five citizen colonies, both tribunes of the plebs were also curule aedilesbefore the commission; for Sipontum, the tribunate was the only magistracy M. BaebiusTamphilus held before becoming triumvir. In the case of the supplement for Sipontumand Buxentum, the tribune of the plebs was later a plebeian aedile and a praetor. ForSaturnia, one only of the former tribunes of the plebs was solely a tribune; the other waslater a praetor. 15Moreover, Q. Aelius Tubero (Copia), M. Baebius Tamphilus(Sipontum), and perhaps T. Sempronius Gracchus (Saturnia) were still in their tribunateswhen they were on the commission to found their colonies, which indicates two things:that they still possessed the full power of the tribunate for that year, and that they couldnot leave Rome, which suggests that the commissioners may have split the duties offoundation amongst themselves to accommodate those magistrates forbidden to leaveRome. 16The placement of tribunes in most of the commissions to found citizen coloniessuggests that the concilium plebis conceived of the former tribunes as having the interestsVolturnum, Liternum, Puteoli, Salernum, Buxentum: The tresviri were M. Servilius Pulex Geminus C.fP.n., Q. Minucius Thermus Q.f L.n., and T. Sempronius Longus Ti.f C.n (Livy 32.29.3-4, 34.45.1-2, Veil.Pat. 1.15.2, Jer. Chron. 191 pl36 Helm, CIL I 2 .2.698 (Puteoli)). Sipontum: The college included M.Helvius, D. Iunius Brutus, and M. Baebius Tamphilus Q.f Cn.n. (Livy 34.45.3-5). Sipontum and Buxentum(suppl.): The commissioners were L. Scribonius Libo, M. Tuccius, and Cn. Baebius Tamphilus Q.f Cn.n.(Livy 39.23.3-4). Saturnia: The tresviri were Q. Fabius Labeo Q.f Q.n., C. Afranius Stellio, and T.Sempronius Gracchus P.f Ti.n. (Livy 39.55.9)16 MacKendrick (1952), p. 142 suggests some sort of rotation of office for the three years, but I think therecould equally have been a division of duties independent of the calendar year. For other magistrates tied toRome or out in the field for part or all of the three-year period before the foundation of their colony, seeAppendix 3, the Colonial Commissioners Chart.274