Senate of the Roman Kingdom
Politics of ancient Rome |
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Periods |
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Constitution |
Political institutions |
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Ordinary magistrates |
Extraordinary magistrates |
Public law |
Senatus consultum ultimum |
Titles and honours |
The Senate of the Roman Kingdom was a political institution in the ancient
The early Romans were deeply patriarchal. The early Roman family was called a
Origin and development
According to Livy, The senate was created by Rome's first king, Romulus and consisted of 100 men. The descendants of those 100 men subsequently became the patrician class.[7]
100 more were added to the Senate by Rome's fifth king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, from amongst the minor leading families.[8]
Powers of the senate
The senate of the
The
While the king was technically elected by the people, it was actually the senate who chose each new king. Since the consolidated authority of the patres of the senate chose the king, the king became the embodiment of that authority. Since the authority of each pater over his family was absolute,[4] the king was vested with the absolute authority over those families (and thus over the entire state). Since the king derived his authority from the patres, he (theoretically) could not pass that power on to an heir upon his death. Thus, the authority reverted to the senate when the king died.
The period between the death of one king, and the election of a new king, was called the interregnum.[10] The interregnum was the only period during which the senate exercised its sovereign power. During the first interregnum after the death of Romulus, the senate, comprised at that time of 100 men, arranged itself into ten decuries, and each decurio governed Rome for five days as interrex. The decurios continued to rotate the government amongst themselves for a year until the senate elected Numa Pompilius as king.[10]
The practice eventually evolved that, when a king died, it was a member of the senate (the Interrex) who nominated a candidate to replace the king.[11] If the senate gave its approval, then in practice, the people were unlikely to reject the nominee.[12] The formal election of the king by the people, however, did serve to confirm to the senate that the people (many of whom fought in the armies that were commanded by the king) found their new potential commander-in-chief to be acceptable.[11] After the senate gave its final approval, the Interrex declared the individual king, and then returned to the ranks of the senate.[11] In effect, the senate chose the king, the people ratified that choice, and the senate finalized the decision.
See also
- Roman Kingdom
- Roman Republic
- Roman Empire
- Roman law
- Plebeian Council
- Centuria
- Curia
- Roman consul
- Praetor
- Roman censor
- Quaestor
- Aedile
- Roman dictator
- Master of the Horse
- Roman Senate
- Cursus honorum
- Byzantine Senate
- Pontifex Maximus
- Princeps senatus
- Interrex
- Promagistrate
- Acta Senatus
References
- Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics (ISBN 0-543-92749-0).
- Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office, Senate Document 103–23.
- Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws. Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes. By Francis Barham, Esq. London: Edmund Spettigue. Vol. 1.
- ISBN 0-19-926108-3).
- Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. By James Hampton. Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter. Fifth Edition, Vol 2.
- ISBN 0-472-08125-X).
Notes
Further reading
- Ihne, Wilhelm. Researches Into the History of the Roman Constitution. William Pickering. 1853.
- Johnston, Harold Whetstone. Orations and Letters of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and Index. Scott, Foresman and Company. 1891.
- Mommsen, Theodor. Roman Constitutional Law. 1871-1888
- Tighe, Ambrose. The Development of the Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co. 1886.
- Von Fritz, Kurt. The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York. 1975.
- The Histories by Polybius
- Cambridge Ancient History, Volumes 9–13.
- A. Cameron, The Later Roman Empire, (Fontana Press, 1993).
- M. Crawford, The Roman Republic, (Fontana Press, 1978).
- E. S. Gruen, "The Last Generation of the Roman Republic" (U California Press, 1974)
- F. Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World, (Duckworth, 1977, 1992).
- A. Lintott, "The Constitution of the Roman Republic" (Oxford University Press, 1999)
Primary sources
- Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two
- Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius