What values of the Roman republic were revealed in the establishment of the role of tribune?

Answer 1

If you are referring to the plebeian tribunes, rather than the military tribunes, their establishment reflected social divisions and conflict, rather than values. These tribunes were established during the first rebellion by plebeian movement (594 BC) which started the 200-year long Conflict of the Orders between the patricians (the aristocracy) and the plebeians (the commoners).

The poor plebeians rebelled because the Roman state, which at that time was patrician-controlled, refused to meet their demand for protection for defaulting creditors who imprisoned them, tortured them and sometimes sold them as slaves. At that time the rich ensured labour from the poor through debt bondage/slavery (nexus). The poor were locked into perpetual indebtedness at unaffordable levels so that debt was repaid through labour services. This was a system which lent itself to the abuse mentioned above.

During the first rebellion the plebeians created their own assembly to deliberate of their issues (the Plebeian Council) and leaders for their movement (the plebeian tribunes). In the negotiations to end the rebellion, the plebeians obtained the recognition of their assembly and their leaders by the Roman state. The plebeian tribunes were recognised as representatives of the plebeians, but not as officers of state and were not integrated in the patrician-controlled Roman state. Their authority was derived from what was effectively a lynch law.

The plebeians swore to obey their leaders and to defend them to the death: that is, they would kill anyone who would try to harm them. This was legitimised through the lex sacrata. This was a religious rule according to which someone who harmed the gods was declared sacer esto (let him be accursed) and became forfeit to the gods. Anyone who killed such an offender carried out a sacred duty and was exempted from penalties. This rule was applied to the plebeian tribunes, who became sacrosanct (inviolable). This was instituted because the plebeians vowed retribution in case of attacks on their leaders.

The plebeian tribunes' inviolability through the lex sacrata gave them extensive powers, which included enforcing their will by coercion (coercitio, which was a right otherwise held only by the officers of state to compel reluctant citizens to obey their orders) imposing penalties, imprisonment or even the death penalty. These powers were restricted to cases when their authority was challenged or there was a verbal of physical attack on them. The plebeian tribunes also had a special right to provocation (calling out). This was a right Roman citizens had to appeal to the people against an officer of state's arbitrary use of power. The citizen could shout "provoco ad populum" (I call out to the people) to have the action stopped. The plebeian tribunes could stop an action which they deemed harmful to the plebeians or rescue the plebeians by using provocatio on their behalf. By doing so he gave assistance (auxilium) to the plebeians. This was an extra-legal procedure which was made enforceable through the dire consequences of the lex sacrata and the inviolability of the plebeian tribunes. It required the physical presence of the plebeian tribunes and was not applicable outside the city walls.