Perduellio
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In the early days of
Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...
, ''perduellio'' () was the term for the
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
offense of
high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, although it was not well defined. The form of action on this charge changed over the course of the Roman republic. The word later became just an intensifier for the more common treason charge (''maiestas''). It was set down plainly in the Law of the Twelve Tables as follows:
The Law of the Twelve Tables orders that he who has stirred up an enemy or who has handed over a citizen to the enemy is to be punished capitally. (Marcianus, D. 48, 4, 3).
Under the terms of this law, those convicted of ''perduellio'' were subject to death either by being hanged from the ''arbor infelix'' (a tree deemed to be unfortunate) or by being thrown from the
Tarpeian Rock The Tarpeian Rock (; Latin: ' or '; it, Rupe Tarpea) is a steep cliff on the south side of the Capitoline Hill, which was used in Ancient Rome as a site of execution. Murderers, traitors, perjurors, and larcenous slaves, if convicted by the '' ...
. Their families were not allowed to mourn them and their houses were razed.


History

As the concept of
national sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...
took hold in Rome, ''perduellio'' also came to mean an offense which “injured or brought into danger the dignity, supremacy, and power of the
commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...
oman State Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
��. This included such things as losing an army, violating the rights of the
tribunes of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of ...
, or usurping a function of the State (as in the case of
Horatius Horatius may refer to: People Roman era * several ancient Roman men of the '' gens Horatia'', including: ** Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the poet known in English as Horace ** one of the Horatii, three members of the ''gens Horatia'' who fought to the ...
). In the ''
Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...
'',
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
recorded the first instance of both a trial of ''perduellio'' and appeal:
It enraged the fiery youth to hear his sister’s lamentations in the hour of his own victory and the nation’s great rejoicing. And so, drawing his sword and at the same time angrily upbraiding her, he ran her through the body…The king…said: “In accordance with the law I appoint duumvirs to pass judgment upon Horatius for treason erduellio The dread formula or the law ran thus: ‘Let the duumvirs pronounce him guilty of treason; if he shall appeal from the duumvirs, let the appeal be tried; if the duumvirs win, let the lictor veil his head, let
he lictor He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
suspend him with a rope from a barren tree 'arbor infelix'' let
he lictor He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
scourge him either within or without the ''
pomerium The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome ...
''.’ Even though the duumvirs found Horatius guilty, Horatius was allowed to appeal (to the people) and by them was acquitted. However, Horatius’ father had to perform expiatory rites and Horatius himself was forced to pass under the yoke.
But over time with the expansion of the rights of
Roman citizens Citizenship in ancient Rome ( Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws ...
, the use of corporal punishment lessened until the time of
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
when conviction only carried with it the punishment of ''aquae et ignis interdictio'' (exile). In the kingdom and the early republic, trials were conducted the ''duumviri perduellionis'', who during the
Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy ...
were appointed by the
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...
. Later on during the Republic they were proposed by the
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...
s and formally appointed by the ''comitia'' ('' comitia curiata'' or ''
comitia centuriata The Centuriate Assembly (Latin: ''comitia centuriata'') of the Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred ...
''). Judgement of the ''duumviri'' was not subject to ''
provocatio The Valerian and Porcian laws were Roman laws passed between 509 BC and 184 BC. They exempted Roman citizens from degrading and shameful forms of punishment, such as whipping, scourging, or crucifixion. They also established certain rights for R ...
'' (appeal). By the third century BC, prosecutions were led by the
plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power ...
s before the assembly but by the late republic, this form of action had become obsolete due to the formation of the permanent court on treason. While obsolete, it could still be revived: eg the case of Gaius Rabirius in 63 BC. During the empire, ''perduellio'' became the designation for a particularly odious type of ''maiestas''.


References

; Citations ; References * {{refend Roman law