In Ambitione Artifices: Electioneering and Elections in the Roman Republic

Elections constituted the core of the political system of the Roman Republic. Each year, Roman citizens elected numerous magistrates of varying rank, and the outcome of these elections played a decisive role in shaping the political trajectory of individual candidates within the cursus honorum. This volume examines the nature of Roman Republican elections, analysing their structures, complexities, and exceptions; the scope of political participation; the avenues of access to lower-ranking offices and minor magistracies; and the ways in which architectural space was employed to frame the populus as a voting body. It also considers the reliability of our sources for Republican electoral practices, the role of campaign promises and policy pledges, and the potential influence of both soldiers and women on electoral outcomes. Taken together, the contributions of this volume provide an essential intervention in the ongoing scholarly debate on the character and functioning of the Roman Republic.