levo

The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88–31 BC

The courts, the quaestiones perpetuae and the politics of prosecution

  • 2 things to know
  • Component Group 2

Overview

Recall questions on the quaestio perpetua and the first extortion court of 149 BC, the kinds of case heard, the fight over juries from Gaius Gracchus to Sulla and Cotta's law of 70 BC, the trial of Verres, private prosecution and what it offered young men, extraordinary courts, Pompey's procedure and Milo's trial in 52 BC, and the Catilinarian executions.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Explain why the composition of juries was one of the fiercest political questions of the age.

Key term

Which was the first standing court to be created, and what did it try?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define a quaestio perpetua.

    Model answer

    It is a permanent jury court dealing with one defined category of offence.

  2. 2

    Which was the first standing court to be created, and what did it try?

    Model answer

    The court established in 149 BC to hear charges that provincial governors had extorted money from those they governed.

  3. 3

    Name four kinds of case heard by the standing courts under the Sullan system.

    Model answer

    Extortion by governors, treason against the state, bribery at elections and murder or poisoning.

  4. 4

    Explain why the composition of juries was one of the fiercest political questions of the age.

    Model answer

    A jury of senators would rarely convict a senatorial governor, while an equestrian jury could be used to destroy senators, so whoever controlled the panels controlled who could be punished.

  5. 5

    To whom did Gaius Gracchus transfer the extortion juries?

    Model answer

    He transferred them to the equestrians.

  6. 6

    What did Sulla do about the juries of the standing courts?

    Model answer

    He returned them to senators alone.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

See a huge jump in your memorisation

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Relations Between Greek States and Non-Greek States, 492–404 BC
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC
The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Athens allied with Argos, and Elis.
MantineaCorinthThebes

Blank Blitz consolidates the facts

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe tradition speaks of about seventy.
BOnly around twenty can be identified with any confidence.
CThe number is a measure of his reputation rather than a count.

Build It trains answer structure

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Themistocles was ostracised in the 470s BC and Cimon in 461 BC.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88–31 BC, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.