On This Day: Dies Comitialis—Debate and Decisions
September 12 on the Roman calendar: the city’s gates swing open for debate—today is a dies comitialis.
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) — "Christ Healing the Blind" (ca. 1570), public domain
A day for voices and votes.
On September 12, the Roman calendar marked a dies comitialis. This was no ordinary date—custom and law allowed the people to gather, debate, and make binding decisions about Rome’s future. The forum buzzed with hope and threat.
No lawsuits, just laws.
Unlike the dies fastus or dies nefastus, a dies comitialis was reserved for political action. Consuls and tribunes could summon the people, propose new laws, or even try to overturn old ones. The stakes could be enormous.
On a dies comitialis like September 12, Romans could propose laws, assemble in the forum, and shift the city’s fate with a vote—all under the watchful eyes of Jupiter and the crowd.
