On The Participation Of Judicial Trials Of Roman Equites In The Late Republic Period

Participating in judicial trials and becoming jurors in quaestiones perpetuae is a manifestation of the rise of Equites in the late Roman Republic and a means for Equites to appeal for political rights and interests.As a part of the development history of Equites,the participation of Equites in judicial trials is a tortuous history.It changed constantly in the struggle between the plebeians and the patricians at the end of the Republic,and became a bargaining chip for politicians in the later period to gain the support of Equites.Focusing on the participation of Equites in judicial trials in the Roman Republic,this paper first explores the reasons for the participation of Equites in judicial trials,which are mainly divided into the following three points: the judicial injustice caused by the corruption and malfeasance of Rome’s senatorial jurors;the claims to political rights and interests of Rome’s Equites,who had accumulated wealth and became rich during Rome’s overseas conquests;the needing of the support of the Equites against the Senate during Gaius Gracchus Continues the Revolution in 123 B.C..As a newly granted Equite’s judicial power,his ownership is not unchangeable,but it has repeatedly twists and turns in the intensified political struggle in the later historical development.The second chapter of this article will start from the political struggle involving the change of Equite’s judicial right,and explore the history of the change of Equite’s jury right in quaestiones perpetuae.Finally,this paper will explore the many influences of the participation of Equites in judicial trials on Rome at the end of the Republic.It became a boost to the rise of Equites at the end of the Roman Republic,deterred the provincial governors who searched for money,weakened the judicial right of the senate and challenged their status.However,the participation of Equites in the judicial trial also brought a series of drawbacks to the Roman Republic,which not only increased the exploitation of the people in the provinces,but also alienated the Roman politics in the provinces,and widened the cracks in the national judicial system.At the same time,the Equites order,as an important part of the late Roman Republic,participated in the Roman fierce party disputes,and to some extent,impacted it’s politics.This paper will study the above problems in detail.