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A re-examination of the Tribunate of the Plebs in the Roman Republic (494-23 BC). This thesis is a re-examination of the office of the tribunate of the plebs during the Roman Republic (494-23 B.C.). This project is in two major parts. The major part of the thesis involves an examination of the holders of the tribunate. Far from being an aristocratic preserve, I believe that the office was held by different categories of men; ranging from the senatorial aristocracy down to the common urban plebeian. This range of abilities, backgrounds and intentions deeply affects the role of the tribunate and the running of it, on a year by year basis. The second part of my research is an examination of the nature and role that evolution played on the tribunate, throughout the Republic, in terms of its powers and position. Only by examining both areas; the evolving nature of the office and the running of it in practice, can we fully understand the most unique political offices that the ancient world possessed.