Founding colonies and fostering careers in the middle republic

During the middle Republic, boards of Roman colonial commissioners, tresviri coloniae deducendae, founded colonies throughout the Italian peninsula. The boards' composition suggests that there were several ways to create the commission beyond assumed senatorial appointment, including prearranged, cooperative boards or direct election of individuals. The commissioners each had a personal combination of motivations to seek a place on one of these boards, such as regional affiliations or the hope of increased clientele, political favor or economic resources. The combination of these perquisites establishes the colonial commission as a valuable, if optional, tool in aristocratic competition during the middle Republic.