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I've alluded to this idea in another thread, but I wanted to give it its own due. Of course, this is another one of my explorations into tweaking the Roman Constitution to see how it could have evolved differently.

Background
Previously, I'd posited that Rome might have avoided the Latin War by expanding the number of Consuls to three, one for Patricians, one for Plebeians, and one for Latins. I then used this idea in my Legacy of the Three Alexanders timeline. However, this solution seemed far too cute and innovative for the Romans. Particularly when it came to a position as hallowed as the Consulship. They really only played around with innovations at that high a level during moments of extreme crisis. Beyond that, the idea of having what were then technically foreigners in the highest office would have truly horrified all Romans, I'm sure.

In particular, the Romans had apparently already tried to have more than 2 chief magistrates. During the prior century, the Romans replaced the Consulship with Military Tribunes of Consular Authority (or Consular Tribunes), and they would number anywhere from 3 to 8 in a given year. This formula didn't seem to work out that well for the Romans, possibly due to having too many magistrates that could veto each other. So, there's all the reasons why the Romans wouldn't screw around with the Consulship.

So, whats below a Consul? Well, a Praetor. Now, according to our histories of the era (which, of course, might not be perfect with the dates), when the office of Consul was formally opened up to Plebeians and it was mandated that one Consul each year be a Plebeian (that doesn't perfectly match the historical record, but lets let that slide), the Romans also created a new office: Praetor (just to add to the confusion, the original Consuls were actually called Praetors themselves, but thats neither here nor there). The theory at the time was that this would give Patricians another office to pursue, so that losing one Consulship to the Plebeians wouldn't limit their prospects as much. It was also important for alleviating the Consuls of their judicial responsibilities, so they could focus on more executive tasks. This all happened in 367/366 BC.

In 337 BC, the Praetorship was opened to Plebeians. In 245 BC, a second Praetorship was added, two more were created after the First Punic War, and two more created after the Second Punic War. These expansions of the office were necessary, as the Romans preferred to appoint exiting Praetors and Consuls to the governorship of the provinces. To that end, Sulla had increased the number to 8, and Caesar possibly all the way up to 16, to manage the ever growing empire.

Of course, the duties of the Praetors varied. You had the Urban Praetor, managing affairs in the city when the Consuls were away and judging cases between citizens. The Peregrine Praetor, who judged cases involving non-citizens.

AH Proposition
So, what if, when confronted with the looming conflict with the Latins, where, supposedly, a Consulship for the Latins was demanded, the Romans offered them a Praetorship, instead? That was literally the next best thing, since the only people who outranked a Praetor were the Consuls, and being Praetor would make one eligible to be Consul himself, as well as be a Senator. Plus, as we mention, the Romans were going to add more Praetors as they progressed anyway.

This could set a precedent for other nations that join the Romans more willingly. Submit, and you might receive a praetorship for your people (most likely, only for the more civilized societies in the East, such as the Hellenistic states). That would, in turn, provide a moderately more cosmopolitan body in the Senate, but, more importantly, a more cosmopolitan pool from which to draw Governors. In turn, the outlying regions (at least those awarded a Praetorship) would likely be even more bound to the Romans.
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