Misplaced Pages

#350649

94-676: The Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis was a Roman law promulgated by the Roman Consul Pompeius Strabo in 89 BC. It was one of three laws introduced by the Romans during the Social War (91–88 BC) between Rome and her Socii (allies), where some of Rome's Italic allies rebelled and waged war against her because of her refusal to grant them Roman citizenship. This law dealt with the local communities in Transpadana ,

188-469: A war with Gabii , one of the Latin cities that had rejected the treaty with Rome. Unable to take the city by force of arms, Tarquin resorted to another stratagem. His son, Sextus, pretending to be ill-treated by his father, and covered with the bloody marks of stripes, fled to Gabii. The infatuated inhabitants entrusted him with the command of their troops, and when he had obtained the unlimited confidence of

282-434: A consul could inflict any punishment he saw fit on any soldier, officer, citizen, or ally. Each consul commanded an army, usually two legions strong, with the help of military tribunes and a quaestor who had financial duties. In the rare case that both consuls marched together, each one held the command for a day respectively. A typical consular army was about 20,000 men and consisted of two citizen and two allied legions. In

376-474: A daughter, Tarquinia , who married Octavius Mamilius , the prince of Tusculum . Tullia encouraged her husband to advance his own position, ultimately persuading him to usurp her father, King Servius. Tarquin solicited the support of the patrician senators , especially those from houses that had been raised to senatorial rank under Tarquin the Elder. He bestowed presents upon them, and spread criticism of Servius

470-486: A few days, Sextus returned to Collatia , where he implored Lucretia to give herself to him. When she refused, he threatened that if she did not yield herself to him, he would kill her, and claim that he had discovered her in the act of adultery with a slave, for which reason he had slain the unfaithful Lucretia, delivering the punishment as her husband's kinsman. To spare her husband the shame threatened by Sextus, Lucretia submitted to his desire. But when he had departed for

564-479: A force of Roman exiles, fought alongside the Latins. Once more the battle was hard-fought and narrowly decided, with both sides suffering great losses. Mamilius was slain, the master of the horse grievously injured, and Titus Tarquinius barely escaped with his life. But in the end, the Latins abandoned the field, and Rome retained her independence. After the Latin defeat and the death of his son-in-law, Tarquin went to

658-674: A part of the rite of proclamation of a new emperor from Justin II (r. 565–578) on, and is last attested in the proclamation of the future Constans II (r. 641–668) as consul in 632. In the late 9th century, Emperor Leo the Wise (r. 886–912) finally abolished the office in Novel 94 of his Basilika . By that time, the Greek titles for consul and ex-consul, " hypatos " and " apo hypaton ", had been transformed to relatively lowly honorary dignities. In

752-475: A sign of their formal importance, could only be carried out by the highest state officials. Consuls also read auguries , an essential religious ritual, before leading armies into the field. Two consuls were elected each year, serving together, each with veto power over the other's actions, a normal principle for magistracies. They were elected by the comitia centuriata , which also elected praetors and censors . However, they formally assumed powers only after

846-697: Is directly derived from the customs of the Roman Republic. Equivalent to the consuls of ancient Rome, the Captains Regent serve as dual leaders of the country. They are however not heads of government, but only heads of state without executive power. According to Roman tradition, after the expulsion of the last king, Tarquin Superbus , the powers and authority of the king were given to the newly instituted consulship. Originally, consuls were called praetors ("leader"), referring to their duties as

940-599: The Lex Plautia Papiria de Civitate Sociis Danda which granted Roman citizenship to Italian communities which had rebelled against Rome during this war. Roman Consul A consul was the highest elected public official of the Roman Republic ( c.  509 BC to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the cursus honorum —an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired—after that of

1034-506: The Second Celtiberian War , from 153 BC onwards the consuls took office on 1 January. The practice of dating years ab urbe condita (from the supposed foundation date of Rome) was less frequently used. In Latin, the ablative absolute construction is frequently used to express the date, such as " M. Messalla et M. Pupio Pisone consulibus ", translated literally as "With Marcus Messalla and Marcus Pupius Piso (being)

SECTION 10

#1732773400351

1128-494: The Stamp Act of 1765 . Toward the end of his speech, he inserted as a rhetorical flourish a comparison between King George III and various historical figures who were brought low by their enemies, including Charles I , Caesar , and, in some accounts, Tarquin. The cultural phenomenon known as " tall poppy syndrome ," in which persons of unusual merit are attacked or resented because of their achievements, derives its name from

1222-546: The censor , which was reserved for former consuls. Each year, the Centuriate Assembly elected two consuls to serve jointly for a one-year term. The consuls alternated each month holding fasces (taking turns leading) when both were in Rome. A consul's imperium (military power) extended over Rome and all its provinces . Having two consuls created a check on the power of any one individual, in accordance with

1316-598: The executive power of the state and headed the government of the Republic. Initially, the consuls held vast executive and judicial power. In the gradual development of the Roman legal system, however, some important functions were detached from the consulship and assigned to new officers. Thus, in 443 BC, the responsibility to conduct the Census was taken from the consuls and given to the censors . The second function taken from

1410-532: The head of government , and all the other magistrates, with the exception of the tribune of the plebs , were subordinate to them, but retained independence of office. The internal machinery of the Republic was under the consuls' supervision. In order to allow the consuls greater authority in executing laws, the consuls had the right of summons and arrest, which was limited only by the right of appeal from their judgement. This power of punishment even extended to inferior magistrates. As part of their executive functions,

1504-454: The 3rd century onwards. However, the imperial consuls maintained the right to preside at meetings of the Senate. They could also administer matters of justice, and organize games ( ludi ) and all public solemnities at their own expense. Roman dates were customarily kept according to the names of the two consuls who took office that year, much like a regnal year in a monarchy. For instance,

1598-491: The 3rd century, holding an ordinary consulate was occasionally left out of the cursus inscriptions, while suffect consulships were hardly ever recorded by the first decades of the 4th century. One of the reforms of Constantine I (r. 306–337) was to assign one of the consuls to the city of Rome , and the other to Constantinople . Therefore, when the Empire was divided into two halves on the death of Theodosius I (r. 379–395),

1692-402: The Latin's guilt was then speedily inferred. Turnus was condemned to be thrown into a pool of water in the grove with a wooden frame, or cratis , placed over his head, into which stones were thrown, drowning him. The meeting of the Latin chiefs then continued, and Tarquin persuaded them to renew their treaty with Rome, becoming her allies rather than her enemies. It was agreed that the soldiers of

1786-557: The Latins would attend at the grove on an appointed day, and form a united military force with the Roman army . Next, Tarquin instigated a war against the Volsci , taking the wealthy town of Suessa Pometia . He celebrated a triumph, and with the spoils of this conquest, he commenced the erection of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus , which Tarquin the Elder had vowed. He then engaged in

1880-516: The Latins) which had not been incorporated into the Roman Republic and to the citizens of Latin colonies. They included: A) Ius Commercii (right to trade), "a privilege granted to Latin colonies to have contractual relations, to trade with Roman citizens on equal terms and to use the form of contracts available to Roman citizens". It also allowed contracts and trade on equal terms with citizens of another Latin towns. B) Ius Connubii (right to marry),

1974-521: The Rutuli were a very wealthy nation, and Tarquin was keen to obtain the spoils that would come with victory, in hopes of assuaging the ire of his subjects. Failing to take their capital of Ardea by storm, the king determined to take the city by siege instead. With little prospect of battle, the young noblemen in the king's army fell to drinking and boasting. When the subject turned to the virtue of their wives, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus claimed to have

SECTION 20

#1732773400351

2068-410: The Senate and foreign states. The consuls could convene the Senate, and presided over its meetings. The consuls served as president of the Senate, one at a time, alternating every month. They could also summon any of the three Roman assemblies (Curiate, Centuriate, and Tribal) and presided over them. Thus, the consuls conducted the elections and put legislative measures to the vote. When neither consul

2162-405: The Senate's selections. The emperor did not assume the consulship of every year of his reign, but did nominate himself multiple times; Augustus was consul 13 times, Domitian 17, and Theodosius II 18. The proliferation of suffect consuls through this process, and the allocation of this office to homines novi tended, over time, to devalue the office. However, the high regard placed upon

2256-647: The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill . He constructed tiers of seats in the circus, and ordered the excavation of Rome's great sewer, the cloaca maxima . According to one story, Tarquin was approached by the Cumaean Sibyl , who offered him nine books of prophecy at an exorbitant price. Tarquin abruptly refused, and the Sibyl proceeded to burn three of the nine. She then offered him

2350-469: The advice of counsellors, causing fear amongst those who might think to oppose him. He made a powerful ally when he betrothed his daughter to Octavius Mamilius of Tusculum , among the most eminent of the Latin chiefs. Early in his reign, Tarquin called a meeting of the Latin leaders to discuss the bonds between Rome and the Latin towns. The meeting was held at a grove sacred to the goddess Ferentina . At

2444-401: The axes from the fasces to show that a citizen could not be executed without a trial. Upon entering the comitia centuriata , the lictors would lower the fasces to show that the powers of the consuls derive from the people. Outside the walls of Rome, the powers of the consuls were far more extensive in their role as commanders-in-chief of all Roman legions . It was in this function that

2538-412: The camp, Lucretia sent for her husband and father, revealing the whole matter, and accusing Sextus of raping her. Despite the pleas of her family, Lucretia stabbed herself to spare Collatinus any suspicion that she had betrayed him. Her grieving husband, together with his father-in-law, Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus , and his companions, Lucius Junius Brutus and Publius Valerius , swore an oath to expel

2632-458: The campaign with spoils. If the consul won an overwhelming victory, he was hailed as imperator by his troops, and could request to be granted a triumph . The consul could conduct the campaign as he saw fit, and had unlimited powers. However, after the campaign, he could be prosecuted for his misdeeds (for example for abusing the provinces, or wasting public money, as Scipio Africanus was accused by Cato in 205 BC). Abuse of power by consuls

2726-410: The celebrations attending it—above all the chariot races —had come to involve considerable expense; part of the expense had to be covered by the state. At times the consulship was given to teenagers or even children, as in the cases of Varronianus , Valentinianus Galates , Olybrius Junior , and the children of the emperor. In the 6th century, the consulship was increasingly sparsely given, until it

2820-445: The chief military commanders. By at least 300 BC the title of consul became commonly used. Ancient writers usually derive the title consul from the Latin verb consulere , "to take counsel", but this is most likely a later gloss of the term, which probably derives—in view of the joint nature of the office—from con- and sal- , "get together" or from con- and sell-/sedl- , "sit down together with" or "next to". In Greek ,

2914-405: The citizens, he sent a messenger to his father to inquire how he should deliver the city into his hands. The king, who was walking in his garden when the messenger arrived, made no reply but kept striking off the heads of the tallest poppies with his stick. Sextus took the hint, and put to death, or banished on false charges, all the leading men of Gabii, after which he had no difficulty in compelling

Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis - Misplaced Pages Continue

3008-408: The city in fear of the mob, while Sextus Tarquinius, his deed revealed, fled to Gabii, where he hoped for the protection of the Roman garrison. However, his previous conduct there had made him many enemies, and he was soon assassinated. In place of the king, the comitia centuriata resolved to elect two consuls to hold power jointly. Lucretius, the prefect of the city , presided over the election of

3102-772: The city to submit. Tarquin agreed upon a peace with the Aequi , and renewed the treaty of peace between Rome and the Etruscans . According to the Fasti Triumphales , he won a victory over the Sabines , and established Roman colonies at the towns of Signia and Circeii . At Rome, Tarquin levelled the top of the Tarpeian Rock , overlooking the Forum , and removed a number of ancient Sabine shrines to make way for

3196-430: The consuls prior to Sextius had plebeian, not patrician, names. It is possible that only the chronology has been distorted, but it seems that one of the first consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus , came from a plebeian family. Another possible explanation is that during the 5th-century social struggles, the office of consul was gradually monopolized by a patrician elite. During times of war, the primary qualification for consul

3290-474: The consuls was subordinate to the dictator. After Augustus became the first Roman emperor in 27 BC with the establishment of the Principate , the consuls lost most of their powers and responsibilities. Though still officially the highest office of the state, they were merely a symbol of Rome's republican heritage. One of the two consular positions was often occupied by emperors themselves, especially from

3384-439: The consuls were responsible for carrying into effect the decrees of the Senate and the laws of the assemblies . Sometimes, in great emergencies, they might act on their own authority and responsibility. The consuls also served as the chief diplomats of the Roman state. Before any foreign ambassadors reached the Senate, they met with the consuls. The consul would introduce ambassadors to the Senate, and they alone negotiated between

3478-523: The consuls were vested with full imperium . When legions were ordered by a decree of the Senate, the consuls conducted the levy in the Campus Martius . Upon entering the army, all soldiers had to take their oath of allegiance to the consuls. The consuls also oversaw the gathering of troops provided by Rome's allies. Within the city a consul could punish and arrest a citizen, but had no power to inflict capital punishment. When on campaign, however,

3572-457: The consuls", with 'being' implied, as it appears in Caesar's De Bello Gallico . Consular Dating Key In Roman inscriptions, the word consul was abbreviated cos . The disappearance of the ⟨N⟩ was based on the classical Latin pronunciation of the word as /kõːsul/ or [ko:sul] since an /n/ sound before a fricative was omitted or solely nasalized the previous vowel instead. The word

3666-572: The consuls. Brutus was forced to condemn his two sons Titus and Tiberius to death because they had taken part in the conspiracy. Leaving Lucretius in charge of the city, Brutus departed to meet the king on the field of battle. At the Battle of Silva Arsia , the Romans won a hard-fought victory over the king and his Etruscan allies. Each side sustained painful losses; the consul Brutus and his cousin, Arruns Tarquinius , fell in battle against each other. After this failure, Tarquin turned to Lars Porsena ,

3760-417: The consulship and go into exile because he bore the hated name of Tarquinius. Stunned by this betrayal, Collatinus complied, and his father-in-law was chosen to succeed him. Meanwhile, the king sent ambassadors to the senate, ostensibly to request the return of his personal property, but in reality to subvert a number of Rome's leading men. When this plot was discovered, those found guilty were put to death by

3854-446: The consulship and the office of rex sacrorum . While the rex sacrorum inherited the kings' position as royal priest and various religious functions were handed off to the pontiffs , the consuls were given the remaining civil and military responsibilities. To prevent abuse of the kingly power, this authority was shared by two consuls, each of whom could veto the other's actions, with short annual terms. The consuls were invested with

Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis - Misplaced Pages Continue

3948-412: The consulship was their judicial power . Their position as chief judges was transferred to the praetors in 366 BC. After this time, the consul would only serve as judges in extraordinary criminal cases and only when called upon by decree of the Senate. For the most part, power was divided between civil and military spheres. As long as the consuls were in the pomerium (the city of Rome), they were at

4042-473: The court of Aristodemus at Cumae , where he died in 495. William Shakespeare describes the events leading to Tarquin's downfall in his long poem The Rape of Lucrece . He also alludes to Tarquin in his plays, Titus Andronicus , Julius Caesar , Coriolanus , Macbeth , and Cymbeline . In 1765, Patrick Henry gave a speech before the Virginia House of Burgesses in opposition to

4136-514: The crowd might do her violence. As she drove toward the Urbian Hill, her driver stopped suddenly, horrified at the sight of the king's body lying in the street. But in a frenzy, Tullia herself seized the reins, and drove the wheels of her chariot over her father's corpse. The king's blood spattered against the chariot and stained Tullia's clothes, so that she brought a gruesome relic of the murder back to her house. The street where Tullia disgraced

4230-599: The dead king afterwards became known as the Vicus Sceleratus, the Street of Crime. Tarquin commenced his reign by refusing to bury the dead Servius, and then putting to death several leading senators, whom he suspected of remaining loyal to Servius. By not replacing the slain senators, and not consulting the senate on matters of government, he diminished both the size and the authority of the senate. In another break with tradition, Tarquin judged capital crimes without

4324-519: The early years of the Republic, Rome's enemies were located in central Italy, so campaigns lasted a few months. As Rome's frontiers expanded, in the 2nd century BC, the campaigns became more lengthy. Rome was a warlike society and very seldom did not wage war. So the consul upon entering office was expected by the Senate and the People to march his army against Rome's enemies, and expand the Roman frontiers. His soldiers expected to return to their homes after

4418-418: The elder Tarquin's assassination in 579 BC, Tanaquil placed Servius Tullius on the throne, in preference to her own sons or grandsons. According to an Etruscan tradition, the hero Macstarna, usually equated with Servius Tullius, defeated and killed a Roman named Gnaeus Tarquinius , and rescued the brothers Caelius and Aulus Vibenna from captivity. This may recollect an otherwise forgotten attempt by

4512-463: The emperor of each half acquired the right of appointing one of the consuls—although on occasion an emperor did allow his colleague to appoint both consuls for various reasons. In the Western Empire , some Eastern consuls were never recognized by the emperor, who became a puppet of powerful generals such as Stilicho . The consulship, bereft of any real power, continued to be a great honor, but

4606-436: The end of his consulship. Transferring his consular imperium to proconsular imperium , the consul would become a proconsul and governor of one (or several) of Rome's many provinces. As a proconsul, his imperium was limited to only a specified province and not the entire Republic. Any exercise of proconsular imperium in any other province was illegal. Also, a proconsul was not allowed to leave his province before his term

4700-412: The end of the 3rd century, much had changed. The loss of many pre-consular functions and the gradual encroachment of the equites into the traditional senatorial administrative and military functions, meant that senatorial careers virtually vanished prior to their appointment as consuls. This had the effect of seeing a suffect consulship granted at an earlier age, to the point that by the 4th century, it

4794-491: The episode in Livy in which Tarquin is said to have instructed his son Sextus to weaken the city of Gabii by destroying its leading men. The motif of using an unwitting messenger to deliver such a message through the metaphor of cutting the heads off the tallest poppies may have been borrowed from Herodotus , whose Histories contain a similar story involving ears of wheat instead of poppies. A passage concerning Livy's version of

SECTION 50

#1732773400351

4888-477: The exiled Roman king. Tarquin's final attempt to regain the Roman kingdom came in 499 or 496 BC, when he persuaded his son-in-law, Octavius Mamilius, dictator of Tusculum, to march on Rome at the head of a Latin army. The Roman army was led by the dictator Aulus Postumius Albus and his Master of the Horse , Titus Aebutius Elva , while the elderly king and his last remaining son, Titus Tarquinius , accompanied by

4982-471: The first consuls, Brutus and Collatinus. When word of the uprising reached the king, Tarquin abandoned Ardea and sought support from his allies in Etruria. The cities of Veii and Tarquinii sent contingents to join the king's army, and he prepared to march upon Rome. Meanwhile, Brutus prepared a force to meet the returning army. In a surprising reversal, Brutus demanded that his colleague Collatinus resign

5076-502: The individual relocated to another city. In other words, it facilitated migration by the acquisition of citizenship of another Latin town. In addition to this, the law granted Roman citizenship to the magistrates (officials) of the local towns. This measure was preceded by the Lex Iulia de Civitate Latinis et Socii Danda of 90 BC which granted Roman citizenship to all the citizens of Italic towns which had not rebelled against Rome, and

5170-481: The king and his family from Rome. As Tribune of the Celeres , Brutus was head of the king's personal bodyguard, and entitled to summon the Roman comitia. This he did, and by recounting the various grievances of the people, the king's abuses of power, and by inflaming public sentiment with the tale of the rape of Lucretia, Brutus persuaded the comitia to revoke the king's imperium and send him into exile. Tullia fled

5264-424: The king of Clusium . Porsena's march on Rome and the valiant defence of the Romans achieved legendary status, giving rise to the story of Horatius at the bridge , and the bravery of Gaius Mucius Scaevola . Accounts vary as to whether Porsena finally entered Rome, or was thwarted, but modern scholarship suggests that he was able to occupy the city briefly before withdrawing. Ultimately, his efforts were of no avail to

5358-420: The king outside and flung him down the steps of the senate house and into the street. The king's retainers fled, and as he made his way towards the palace, the aged Servius was set upon and murdered by Tarquin's assassins, perhaps on the advice of his own daughter. Tullia drove in her chariot to the senate house, where she was the first to hail her husband as king. But Tarquin bade her return home, concerned that

5452-440: The king. In time, Tarquin felt ready to seize the throne. He went to the senate house with a group of armed men, sat himself on the throne, and summoned the senators to attend upon him. He then spoke to the senators, denigrating Servius as a slave born of a slave; for failing to be elected by the senate and the people during an interregnum , as had been the tradition for the election of kings of Rome; for having become king through

5546-479: The machinations of a woman; for favouring the lower classes of Rome over the wealthy, and for taking the land of the upper classes for distribution to the poor; and for instituting the census so that the wealth of the upper classes might be exposed in order to excite popular envy. When word of this brazen deed reached Servius, he hurried to the curia to confront Tarquin, who levelled the same accusations against his father-in-law, and then in his youth and vigour carried

5640-413: The meeting, Turnus Herdonius inveighed against Tarquin's arrogance, and warned his countrymen against trusting the Roman king. Tarquin then bribed Turnus' servant to store a large number of swords in his master's lodging. Tarquin called together the Latin leaders, and accused Turnus of plotting his assassination. The Latin leaders accompanied Tarquin to Turnus' lodging and, the swords then being discovered,

5734-463: The most dedicated of spouses. With his companions, they secretly visited each other's homes, and discovered all of the wives enjoying themselves, except for Lucretia , the wife of Collatinus, who was engaged in domestic activities. Lucretia received the princes graciously, and together her beauty and virtue kindled the flame of desire in Collatinus' cousin, Sextus Tarquinius, the king's son. After

SECTION 60

#1732773400351

5828-454: The office's duties every month and could act without direct interference. In the next month, the consuls would switch roles with one another. This would continue until the end of the consular term. Another point which acted as a check against consuls was the certainty that after the end of their term they would be called to account for their actions while in office. There were also three other restrictions on consular power. Their term in office

5922-463: The ordinary consulate remained intact, as it was one of the few offices that one could share with the emperor, and during this period it was filled mostly by patricians or by individuals who had consular ancestors. If they were especially skilled or valued, they may even have achieved a second (or rarely, a third) consulate. Prior to achieving the consulate, these individuals already had a significant career behind them, and would expect to continue serving

6016-521: The overthrow of the Roman Kingdom . The elder sister, Tullia Major, was of mild disposition, yet married the ambitious Tarquin. Her younger sister, Tullia Minor, was of fiercer temperament, but her husband Arruns was not. She came to despise him, and conspired with Tarquin to bring about the deaths of Tullia Major and Arruns. After the murder of their spouses, Tarquin and Tullia were married. They had three sons: Titus , Arruns , and Sextus , and

6110-430: The proconsuls of Africa and Asia, or the urban prefect of Rome. It was a post that would be occupied by a man halfway through his career, in his early thirties for a patrician, or in his early forties for most others. Emperors frequently appointed themselves, or their protégés or relatives, as consuls, even without regard to the age requirements. Caligula once said that he would appoint his horse Incitatus consul, which

6204-402: The province of senators—the automatic awarding of a suffect consulship to the equestrian praetorian prefects (who were given the ornamenta consularia upon achieving their office) allowed them to style themselves cos. II when they were later granted an ordinary consulship by the emperor. All this had the effect of further devaluing the office of consul, to the point that by the final years of

6298-551: The purposes of the consular elections, there came to be just a single "assembly of the people" which elected all the magisterial positions of the state, while the consuls continued to be nominated by the princeps. The imperial consulate during the Principate (until the 3rd century) was an important position, albeit as the method through which the Roman aristocracy could progress through to the higher levels of imperial administration—only former consuls could become consular legates,

6392-443: The ratification of their election in the older comitia curiata , which granted the consuls their imperium by enacting a law, the lex curiata de imperio . If a consul died during his term (not uncommon when consuls were in the forefront of battle) or was removed from office, another would be elected by the comitia centuriata to serve the remainder of the term as consul suffectus ("suffect consul"). A consul elected to start

6486-567: The region north of the River Po , (and possibly some Ligurian communities south of this river, along its western course). It granted Latin Rights ( ius Latii ) to these peoples as a reward for siding with the Rome during the Social War. This gave the inhabitants of the region the legal benefits associated with these rights, which were previously restricted to the towns of Latium (land of

6580-541: The remaining books, but at the same price. He hesitated, but refused again. The Sibyl then burned three more books before offering him the three remaining books at the original price. At last, Tarquin accepted, in this way obtaining the Sibylline Books . In 509 BC, having angered the Roman populace through the pace and burden of constant building, Tarquin embarked on a campaign against the Rutuli . At that time,

6674-653: The republican belief that the powers of the former kings of Rome should be spread out into multiple offices. To that end, each consul could veto the actions of the other consul. After the establishment of the Empire (27 BC), the consuls became mere symbolic representatives of Rome's republican heritage and held very little power and authority, with the Emperor acting as the supreme authority. The practice of dual leaders ( diarchy ) continues to this day in San Marino and

6768-545: The same time as that for the ordinary consuls. During reigns of the Flavian and Antonine emperors, the ordinary consuls tended to resign after a period of four months, and the elections were moved to 12 January of the year in which they were to hold office. Election of the consuls were transferred to the Senate during the Flavian or Antonine periods, although through to the 3rd century, the people were still called on to ratify

6862-403: The sons of Tarquin the Elder to reclaim the throne. To forestall further dynastic strife, Servius married his daughters, known to history as Tullia Major and Tullia Minor , to Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the future king, and his brother Arruns . One of Tarquin's sisters, Tarquinia , married Marcus Junius Brutus, and was the mother of Lucius Junius Brutus , one of the men who would later lead

6956-442: The state, filling in the post upon which the state functioned. Consequently, holding the ordinary consulship was a great honor and the office was the major symbol of the still relatively republican constitution. Probably as part of seeking formal legitimacy, the break-away Gallic Empire had its own pairs of consuls during its existence (260–274). The list of consuls for this state is incomplete, drawn from inscriptions and coins. By

7050-433: The title was originally rendered as στρατηγὸς ὕπατος , strategos hypatos ("the supreme general"), and later simply as ὕπατος ( hypatos ). The consulship was believed by the Romans to date back to the traditional establishment of the Republic in 509 BC, but the succession of consuls was not continuous in the 5th century BC, when the consulship was supposedly replaced with a board of consular tribunes , which

7144-577: The west, the rank of consul was occasionally bestowed upon individuals by the Papacy. In 719, the title of Roman consul was offered by the Pope to Charles Martel , although he refused it. About 853, Alfred the Great , then a child aged four or five, was made a Roman consul by the Pope. Traditionally, after the expulsion of the kings, all the powers that had belonged to the kings were transferred to two offices:

7238-447: The year 59 BC in the modern calendar was called by the Romans "the consulship of Caesar and Bibulus", since the two colleagues in the consulship were Gaius Julius Caesar and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus , although Caesar dominated the consulship so thoroughly that year that it was jokingly referred to as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar". The date the consuls took office varied: from 222 BC to 153 BC they took office 15 March, and due to

7332-563: The year—called a consul ordinarius ("ordinary consul")—held more prestige than a suffect consul, partly because the year would be named for ordinary consuls (see consular dating ). According to tradition, the consulship was initially reserved for patricians and only in 367 BC did plebeians win the right to stand for this supreme office, when the Licinio-Sextian rogations provided that at least one consul each year should be plebeian. The first plebeian consul, Lucius Sextius ,

7426-461: Was allowed to lapse under Justinian I (r. 527–565): the western consulship lapsed in 534, with Decius Paulinus the last holder, and the consulship of the East in 541, with Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius . Consular dating had already been abolished in 537, when Justinian introduced dating by the emperor's regnal year and the indiction . In the eastern court, the appointment to consulship became

7520-404: Was being held by men in their early twenties, and possibly younger, without the significant political careers behind them that was normal previously. As time progressed, second consulates, usually ordinary, became far more common than had been the case during the first two centuries, while the first consulship was usually a suffect consulate. Also, the consulate during this period was no longer just

7614-412: Was complete or before the arrival of his successor. Exceptions were given only on special permission of the Senate. Most terms as governor lasted between one and five years. In times of crisis, when Rome's territory was in immediate danger, a dictator was appointed by the consuls for a period of no more than six months, after the proposition of the Senate. While the dictator held office, the imperium of

7708-500: Was elected the following year. Nevertheless, the office remained largely in the hands of a few families, as only about fifteen novi homines ("new men" with no consular background) were elected to the consulship until the election of Cicero in 63 BC. Modern historians have questioned the traditional account of plebeian emancipation during the early Republic (see Conflict of the Orders ), noting for instance that about thirty percent of

7802-453: Was elected whenever the military needs of the state were significant enough to warrant the election of more than the usual two consuls. These remained in place until the office was abolished in 367 BC and the consulship was reintroduced. Consuls had extensive powers in peacetime (administrative, legislative, and judicial), and in wartime often held the highest military command. Additional religious duties included certain rites which, as

7896-520: Was later changed to 32 during the Empire. Beginning in the late Republic, after finishing a consular year, a former consul would usually serve a lucrative term as a proconsul , the Roman governor of one of the senatorial provinces . It would not be uncommon for the patrician consuls of the early Republic to intersperse public office with agricultural labor. In Cicero's words: in agris erant tum senatores, id est senes : 'In those days senators—that is, seniors—would live on their farms'. This practice

7990-420: Was military skill and reputation, but at all times the selection was politically charged. With the passage of time, the consulship became the normal endpoint of the cursus honorum , the sequence of offices pursued by the Roman who chose to pursue a political career. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla regulated the cursus by law, the minimum age of election to consul became 43 or 42 years of age. This age requirement

8084-401: Was obsolete by the 2nd century. Although throughout the early years of the Principate the consuls were still formally elected by the comitia centuriata , they were de facto nominated by the princeps . As the years progressed, the distinction between the comitia centuriata and the comitia populi tributa (which elected the lower magisterial positions) appears to have disappeared, and so for

8178-466: Was prevented with each consul given the power to veto his colleague consul. Therefore, except in the provinces as commanders-in-chief where each consul's power was supreme, the consuls could only act not against each other's determined will. Against the sentence of one consul, an appeal could be brought before his colleague, which, if successful, would see the sentence overturned. In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts, only one consul would actually perform

8272-488: Was probably a joke intended to belittle the Senate's authority. The need for a pool of men to fill the consular positions forced Augustus to remodel the suffect consulate, allowing more than the two elected for the ordinary consulate. During the reigns of the Julio-Claudians, the ordinary consuls who began the year usually relinquished their office mid-year, with the election for the suffect consuls occurring at

8366-437: Was said to have been either the son or grandson of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus , the fifth king of Rome, and to have gained the throne through the murders of both his wife and his elder brother, followed by the assassination of his predecessor, Servius Tullius . His reign has been described as a tyranny that justified the abolition of the monarchy . The most ancient sources, such as that of Quintus Fabius Pictor , assert Tarquin

8460-412: Was short (one year); their duties were pre-decided by the Senate; and they could not stand again for election immediately after the end of their office. Usually a period of ten years was expected between consulships. After leaving office, the consuls were assigned by the Senate to a province to administer as governor . The provinces to which each consul was assigned were drawn by lot and determined before

8554-432: Was sometimes spelled cosol in antiquity. Particularly in the imperial era, additional consulships after the first were noted by a trailing Roman numeral : twice consul was abbreviated cos ii , thrice consul cos iii , four times consul cos iiii or iv , etc. For a complete list of Roman consuls, see: Tarquinius Superbus Ancient accounts of the regal period mingle history and legend. Tarquin

8648-423: Was the right to conclude a marriage recognised by law, ius connubii of both parties was necessary for the validity of the marriage. Later it was extended to citizens of foreign communities "either generally, or by special concession". In the case of Latin rights it made marriages between citizens of different Latin towns legal. C) Ius migrationis (right to migrate), the right to retain one’s level of citizenship if

8742-414: Was the son of Tarquinius Priscus , but modern historians believe that to be "impossible" under the traditional chronology, indicating either he was Priscus' grandson or that the traditional chronology itself is "unsound". His mother supposedly was Tanaquil . Tanaquil had engineered her husband's succession to the Roman kingdom on the death of Ancus Marcius . When the sons of Marcius subsequently arranged

8836-414: Was within the city, their civic duties were assumed by the praetor urbanus . Each consul was accompanied in every public appearance by twelve lictors , who displayed the magnificence of the office and served as his bodyguards. Each lictor held a fasces , a bundle of rods that contained an axe. The fasces symbolized the military power, or imperium . When inside the pomerium , the lictors removed

#350649