{{Short description|Assembly where issues are discussed and decided}} {{Other uses}}
'''Curia''' ({{plural form}}: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers,<ref>See {{cite book|last1=Palmer |first1=Robert E. A. |title=The Archaic community of the Romans |date=1970 |publisher=University Press |location=Cambridge }} for an ambitious reconstruction.</ref> they came to meet for only a few purposes by the end of the Republic: to confirm the election of magistrates with imperium, to witness the installation of priests, the making of wills, and to carry out certain adoptions.
The term is more broadly used to designate an assembly, council, or court, in which public, official, or religious issues are discussed and decided. Lesser curiae existed for other purposes. The word ''curia'' also came to denote the places of assembly, especially of the senate. Similar institutions existed in other towns and cities of Italy.
In medieval times, a king's council was often referred to as a ''curia''. Today, the most famous curia is the Curia that assists the Pope in the hierarchical government of the Catholic Church.<ref name="Code of Canon Law, can. 360">1983 Code of Canon Law, can. 360</ref>
==Origins== The word ''curia'' is thought to derive from Old Latin ''coviria'', meaning 'a gathering of men' (''co-'', 'together' = ''vir'', 'man').<ref>Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1966).</ref> In this sense, any assembly, public or private, could be called a ''curia''. In addition to the Roman curiae, voting assemblies known as curiae existed in other towns of Latium, and similar institutions existed in other parts of Italy. During the republic, local curiae were established in Italian and provincial ''municipia'' and ''coloniae''. In imperial times, local magistrates were often elected by municipal senates, which also came to be known as curiae. By extension, the word ''curia'' came to mean not just a gathering, but also the place where an assembly would gather, such as a meeting house.<ref name="OCD2">''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 2nd Ed. (1970).</ref>
==Roman curiae== In Roman times, ''curia'' had two principal meanings. Originally it applied to the wards of the ''comitia curiata''. However, over time the name became applied to the senate house, which in its various incarnations housed meetings of the Roman senate from the time of the kings until the beginning of the seventh century AD.
===''Comitia curiata''=== {{Main|Curiate Assembly}} The most important curiae at Rome were the 30 that together made up the comitia curiata. Traditionally ascribed to the kings, each of the three tribes established by Romulus, the ''Ramnes, Tities'', and ''Luceres'', was divided into ten curiae. In theory, each ''gens'' (family, clan) belonged to a particular curia, although whether this was strictly observed throughout Roman history is uncertain.<ref name="OCD2"/><ref name="Harper's">''Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities'', Second Edition, Harry Thurston Peck, Editor (1897)</ref>
Each curia had a distinct name, said to have been derived from the names of some of the Sabine women abducted by the Romans in the time of Romulus. However, some of the curiae evidently derived their names from particular districts or eponymous heroes.<ref name="Harper's"/> The curiae were probably established geographically, representing specific neighborhoods in Rome, for which reason ''curia'' is sometimes translated as 'ward'.<ref name="OCD2"/> Only a few of the names of the 30 curiae have been preserved, including ''Acculeia, Calabra, Faucia, Foriensis, Rapta, Veliensis, Tifata'', and ''Titia.''<ref>Marcus Terentius Varro, ''De Lingua Latina libri XXV''.</ref><ref name="Harper's"/>
The assertion that the plebeians were not members of the curiae, or that only the dependents (''clientes'') of the patricians were admitted, and not entitled to vote, is expressly contradicted by Dionysius.<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' iv. 12, 20.</ref> This argument is also refuted by Mommsen.<ref>Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen, ''Römische Forschungen''.</ref>
Each curia had its own ''sacra'', in which its members, known as ''curiales,'' worshipped the gods of the state and other deities specific to the curia, with their own rites and ceremonies.<ref>Sextus Pompeius Festus, epitome of Marcus Verrius Flaccus, ''De Verborum Significatu''.</ref> Each curia had a meeting site and place of worship, named after the curia.<ref name="OCD2"/> Originally, this may have been a simple altar, then a ''sacellum'', and finally a meeting house.<ref name="Harper's"/>
The curia was presided over by a ''curio'' ({{plural form}}: ''curiones''), who was always at least 50 years old, and was elected for life.<ref name="OCD2"/> The ''curio'' undertook the religious affairs of the curia. He was assisted by another priest, known as the ''flamen curialis''.<ref name="Harper's"/> When the 30 curiae gathered to make up the ''comitia curiata'', they were presided over by a ''curio maximus'', who until 209 BC was always a patrician.<ref name="OCD2"/><ref name="Harper's"/> Originally, the ''curio maximus'' was probably elected by the ''curiones'', but in later times by the people themselves.<ref name="Harper's"/> Each curia was attended by one lictor; an assembly of the ''comitia curiata'' was attended by thirty lictors.<ref name="Harper's"/><ref>Marcus Tullius Cicero, ''De Lege Agraria contra Rullum''</ref>
The ''comitia curiata'' voted to confirm the election of magistrates by passing a law called the ''lex curiata de imperio''. It also witnessed the installation of priests, and adoptions, and the making of wills. The Pontifex Maximus may have presided over these ceremonies.<ref name="OCD2"/> The assembly probably possessed much greater authority before the establishment of the ''comitia centuriata'', which gradually assumed many of the curiate assembly's original functions.<ref name="OCD2"/>
=== Meeting places ===
A ''curia'' could also be a building in which assemblies were held, such as for the senate. However, ''curiae'' for other municipal organisations also existed, such as the ''Curia Athletarum'', which was the headquarters of organised sport at Rome, as well as some temples for worship.<ref>{{harvnb|Richardson|1992|pp=101–6}}, noting the ''curiae'' ''Acculeia'', ''Calabra'' (next to the ''casa Romuli''), ''Novae'', ''Octaviae'', ''Saliorum Colinorum'', ''Saliorum Palatinorum'', ''Tifata'', and ''Veteres'' as temples for the various curiate divisions.</ref>
All places at which the senate met were {{lang|la|templum}} (an inaugurated space).{{sfn|Lintott|1999|p=72}} Some of them where also called ''curiae'',{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=105, citing Varro, ''Ling.'' 5.155, for the statement that there were "two sorts [of curia], one being a place such as the Curiae Veteres, where priests attended to matters of religion, the other a place where the senate attended to human affairs"}} as was the senate itself by metonymy.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=curia |title=Oxford Latin Dictionary |year=1968 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/aa.-vv.-oxford-latin-dictionary-1968/page/474/mode/2up 474] |volume=1 |via=Internet Archive }}</ref>
==== Senate houses in the forum ==== thumb|This coin shows the chalcidicum in front of the ''curia Julia'' of Augustus' day. thumb|Rendering of the Diocletanic ''curia Julia'' as it would have appeared as built. The Diocletanic ''curia Julia'' stands to the present.
The most well known of the senate houses are those which were erected in the Roman Forum. The first known is the ''curia Hostilia'' which was the original senate house. According to Varro it was built by Tullus Hostilius, but it likely at various times had been rebuilt due to fire.{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=102, noting it must have been rebuilt after the Gallic sack}} Aligned with the cardinal points and located north of the ''comitium'', with that assembly place as essentially a forecourt, it was expanded by the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BC. In 52 BC, it burned during the riotous funeral of Publius Clodius Pulcher, following which it was rebuilt and expanded by Faustus Sulla, son of the dictator. The name ''curia Cornelia'' has been ascribed to both mens' ''curiae'' but that appellation is not attested in ancient sources.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Voter en Grèce, à Rome et en Gaule: pratiques, lieux et finalités |date=2019 |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02000080/document |publisher=MOM éditions |isbn=978-2-35668-062-4 |location=Lyon |page=285 n. 47 |quote=Le nom de ''curia Cornelia'' n'est pas attesté dans les textes. }}</ref> It was decided to demolish Faustus Sulla's ''curia'' in 44 BC as part of Julius Caesar's forum renovations.{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=102}} The reasons for its demolition are not entirely clear: Dio claims that the senate wished to erase the memory of Sulla; another claim, that the site was to be used for a temple to Felicitas, is not supported archaeologically.{{sfn|Richardson|1992|pp=102–3, citing: Dio, 44.5.2}}
Caesar's renovation plans included the construction of a new ''curia Julia''. However, Caesar was assassinated before it could be completed. It was eventually completed in 29 BC by Octavian, Caesar's heir, with a chalcidicum (a porch covered colonnade) before it. The emperor Domitian had it rebuilt as part of the construction of the Forum Transitorium, likely also moving to its current position at an angle from the rest of the Forum. The Domitianic ''curia Julia'' was destroyed in AD 283 by fire during the reign of Carinus.{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=104, indicating that Gellius (14.7.7) still called the post-Domitianic building ''Julia''}} The building, approximately {{convert|25.20 x 17.61|m|ft}}, that still stands was built by the emperor Diocletian; it was converted into a church by Pope Honorius I ({{reigned|AD 625|638}}) but was deconsecrated and restored to its ancient form in 1935–38. The bronze doors of the Diocletianic structure, however, were removed to the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in the 17th century.{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=103}}
=== Other senate houses === Other ''curia'' for senatorial use also existed around Rome. The ''curia Pompeii'' (the Curia of Pompey) was constructed as part of Pompey's theatre and was the location where Julius Caesar was assassinated. The ''curia in Palatio'', probably the Library of Palatine Apollo, was commonly used for senate meetings late in the reign of Augustus.{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=104, citing for the ''curia in Palatio'': Suetonius, ''Iulius'', 29.3}} A ''curia Pompiliana'' is also discussed in the ''Historia Augusta'', though this is usually identified with the ''curia Julia''.{{sfn|Richardson|1992|p=104}}
===''Curiae Veteres''=== The ''Curiae Veteres'' was the earliest sanctuary of the thirty curiae. It is discussed by both Varro and by Tacitus, who mentions it as one point of the Palatine pomerium of ''Roma quadrata''.<ref>Tac. ''Annales'' 12.24</ref> It is probable that this shrine was located at the northeast corner of the Palatine Hill. Its remains have likely been identified in excavations carried out by Clementina Panella.<ref>C. Panella. "Curiae Veteres. Nuovi dati sulla frequentazione del santuario in età tardo-repubblicana." Scienze dell'antichità. Storia, archeologia, antropologia 25 Fasc.1, p. 41-71 (2019)</ref> As the Republic continued, the curiae grew too large to meet conveniently at the ''Curiae Veteres'', and a new meeting place, the ''Curiae Novae'', was constructed. A few of the curiae continued to meet at the ''Curiae Veteres'' due to specific religious obligations.<ref>''CIL'' VI.975</ref><ref>A.F. Ferrandes, 2013. "Il ripristino delle Curiae Veteres." In ''Scavare nel centro di Roma. Storia, uomini, paesaggi'', edited by C. Panella, 118-23. Rome.</ref>
===Municipal curiae=== {{Main|Local government (ancient Roman)}}
In the Roman Empire a town council was known as a curia, or sometimes an ''ordo'', or ''boule''. The existence of such a governing body was the mark of an independent city. Municipal curiae were co-optive, and their members, the decurions, sat for life. Their numbers varied greatly according to the size of the city. In the Western Empire, one hundred seems to have been a common number, but in the East five hundred was customary, on the model of the Athenian Boule. However, by the fourth century, curial duties had become onerous, and it was difficult to fill all the posts; often candidates had to be nominated. The emperor Constantine exempted Christians from serving in the curiae, which led to many rich pagans claiming to be priests in order to escape these duties.<ref>A. H. M. Jones, ''The Later Roman Empire'', p. 724.</ref>
==Other curiae== The concept of the curia as a governing body, or the court where such a body met, carried on into medieval times, both as a secular institution, and in the church.
===Medieval curiae=== {{Main|Curia regis}}
In medieval times, a king's court was frequently known as the ''curia regis'', consisting of the king's chief magnates and councilors. In England, the ''curia regis'' gradually developed into Parliament. In France, the ''curia regis'' or Conseil du Roi developed in the twelfth century, with the term gradually becoming applied to a judicial body, and falling out of use by the fourteenth century.
=== Catholic Church=== {{Main|Roman Curia}}
{{See also|Diocesan chancery}} In the Catholic Church, the administrative body of the Holy See is known as the ''Roman Curia''. It is through this Curia that the Roman Pontiff conducts the business of the Church as a whole.<ref name="Code of Canon Law, can. 360"/>
Among older religious orders, the governing council of the Superior General or Regional Superior and his or her assistants is referred to their Curia.
===Modern usage=== thumb|right|100px|Emblem of the Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union uses "CURIA" (in roman script) in its official emblem.
The term ''curia'' may refer to separate electoral colleges in a system of reserved political positions (reserved seats), e.g. during the British mandate of Palestine at the third election (1931) of the Asefat HaNivharim there were three curiae, for the Ashkenazi Jews, the Sephardi Jews and for the Yemeni Jews.<ref>Fannie Fern Andrews, ''The Holy Land under mandate'', Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company – The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1931, 2 vol. (ch. XIV – Building a Jewish corporate life, vol. II, 1–32)</ref><ref>Moshe Burstein, ''Self-government of the Jews in Palestine since 1900'', Tel Aviv, Hapoel Hatzair, 1934</ref><ref>ESCO Foundation for Palestine, Inc., ''Palestine. A study of Jewish, Arab and British policies'', New Haven, Yale University Press, 1947, 2 vol. (The growth and organization of the Jewish community, vol.II, 404–414)</ref><ref>Jacob C. Hurewitz, ''The struggle for Palestine'', New York, Norton and Company, 1950 (ch. 3 – The political structure of the Yishuv, 38–50)</ref>
In the United States Supreme Court an interested third party to a case may file a brief as an amicus curiae.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/amicus_curiae|title=Amicus Curiae}}</ref>
Under the Fundamental Law adopted in 2011, Hungary's supreme court is called the Curia.
The Federal Palace of Switzerland, the seat of the Swiss Confederation, bears the inscription ''Curia Confœderationis Helveticæ''.
==See also== * Constitution of the Roman Republic * Bouleuterion * Altar of Victory
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography == {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last1=Lintott |first1=Andrew |title=The Constitution of the Roman Republic |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-926108-3}} Reprinted 2003, 2009. * {{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=L |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_qjo30tjHAC |title=A new topographical dictionary of ancient Rome |date=1992 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-4300-6 }} {{refend}}
==Further reading== * Bond, Sarah E. 2014. "Curial Communiqué: Memory, Propaganda, and the Roman Senate House". ''Aspects of Ancient Institutions and Geography: Studies in Honor of Richard J.A. Talbert''. Impact of Empire, 19. Edited by Lee L. Brice and Daniëlle Slootjes. Leiden: Brill, 84-102. * Crofton-Sleigh, Lissa. 2018. "The Curia in Aeneid 7". ''Illinois Classical Studies'', 43.1. * Gorski, Gilbert J. and James E. Packer. 2015. ''The Roman Forum: A Reconstruction and Architectural Guide''. New York: Cambridge University Press. * Heinzelmann, Michael. 2011. "The Imperial Building Complex of S. Maria Antiqua in Rome: An Incomplete Senate Building of Domitian?". ''Anales de Arqueología Cordobesa'', 21-22: 57–80. * Millar, Fergus. 1989. "Political Power in Mid-Republican Rome. Curia or Comitium?". ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' LXXIX, 138–150. * Santangeli Valenzani, Riccardo. 2006. "The Seat and Memory of Power: Caesar's Curia and Forum". ''Julius Caesar in Western Culture''. Edited by Maria Wyke. Oxford: Blackwell, 85–94.
==External links== {{Commons category|Curiae}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Curia |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }} * {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Curia |short=x}} {{Roman Forum}} {{Ancient Rome topics}}
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