Historiae Romanorum

Tribune

An office held by Plebeians, first created in the early Republic to ensure the rights of the plebeian class, and so all elected Tribunes were required to be of that class.  First created during the early Republic, they had the extraordinary power of veto (in Latin, I forbid) over any action of the Senate.  The office of Tribune was considered sacred, and so anyone who harmed one would immediately be put to death.

This was also a rank of officer in the army, held typically by men of the plebeian class, somewhat akin to a lieutenant in a modern army.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.