TRESVIRI or TRIUMVIRI, in Rome, a board of three, either ordinary officials or extraordinary commissioners.
Tresviri capitales, whose duty it was to assist the higher magistrates in their judicial functions, especially criminal, were first appointed about 289 B.C. They possessed no criminal jur isdiction or ius prensionis (right of arrest) in their own right. They kept watch over prisoners and carried out the death sen tence; took accused or suspected persons into custody; and exer cised general control over the city police. They went the rounds by night to maintain order, and had to be present at outbreaks of fire. They assisted the aediles in burning forbidden books. They had to collect the sacraments (deposit forfeited by the losing party in a suit) and examined the plea of exemption put forward by those who refused to act as jurymen. In imperial times most of their functions passed into the hands of the praefectus vigilum.
a priestly body, assisted at public ban quets. They were first created in 196 B.C. to superintend the
epulum lovis (banquet of Jupiter) on the Capitol, but their services were also requisitioned on the occasion of triumphs, im perial birthdays, the dedication of temples, games given by pri vate individuals, and so forth, when entertainments were provided for the people.
3. Tresviri monetales were superintendents of the mint, up to the Social War occasional, afterwards permanent, officials. As they acted for the senate they only coined copper money under the empire, the gold and silver coinage being under the exclusive control of the emperor.
was the title bestowed upon Octavianus, Lepidus and Antony for five years by the lex Titia, 43 B.c. The coalition of Julius Caesar, Pompey and Cras sus has also been called a "triumvirate," but they never had the title tresviri, and were not a formally appointed commission.