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153-401: They are mentioned as Lexovii ( var . Lexobii ) and Lexovios by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), Lēxobíous (Ληξοβίους) and Lēxooúioi (Ληξοούιοι) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), Lexovios ( var. lexobios , lixouios ) by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as Lēxoubíōn (Ληξουβίων; var. Λειξουβίων) and Lēxoúbioi (Ληξούβιοι; var. Λιξούβιοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD). The ethnic name Lexovii

306-525: A bloody battle at Munda on 17 March 45 BC, Caesar narrowly found victory; his enemies were treated as rebels and he had them massacred. Labienus died on the field. While one of Pompey's sons, Sextus , escaped, the war was effectively over. Caesar remained in the province until June before setting out for Rome, arriving in October of the same year, and celebrated an unseemly triumph over fellow Romans. By this point he had started preparations for war on

459-516: A certain amount, and thrown games distributing food. Many of his enemies during the civil wars were pardoned – Caesar's clemency was exalted in his propaganda and temple works – with the intent to cultivate gratitude and draw a contrast between himself and the vengeful dictatorship of Sulla. Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( Latin : Senātus Rōmānus ) was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy . With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from

612-459: A collateral manner in the trial of Gaius Rabirius by one of the plebeian tribunes – Titus Labienus – for the murder of Saturninus in accordance with a senatus consultum ultimum some forty years earlier. The most famous event of the year was the Catilinarian conspiracy . While some of Caesar's enemies, including Catulus, alleged that he participated in the conspiracy, the chance that he

765-433: A compromise where Caesar would resign his priesthood but keep his wife and chattels; Sulla's alleged remark he saw "in [Caesar] many Mariuses" is apocryphal. Caesar then left Italy to serve in the staff of the governor of Asia, Marcus Minucius Thermus . While there, he travelled to Bithynia to collect naval reinforcements and stayed some time as a guest of the king, Nicomedes IV , though later invective connected Caesar to

918-542: A constitutional impossibility – which led Caesar to distance himself from the proposals: hopes for a provincial command and need to repair relations with the aristocracy took priority. He also was engaged in the Bona Dea affair, where Publius Clodius Pulcher sneaked into Caesar's house sacrilegiously during a female religious observance; Caesar avoided any part of the affair by divorcing his wife immediately – claiming that his wife needed to be "above suspicion" – but there

1071-744: A critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire . In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus , and Pompey formed the First Triumvirate , an informal political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass political power were opposed by many in the Senate , among them Cato the Younger with the private support of Cicero . Caesar rose to become one of

1224-431: A further 100 senators. They were chosen from the minor leading families, and were accordingly called the patres minorum gentium . Rome's seventh and final king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus , executed many of the leading men in the senate, and did not replace them, thereby diminishing their number. However, in 509 BC Rome's first and third consuls , Lucius Junius Brutus and Publius Valerius Publicola chose from amongst

1377-620: A group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC. A new series of civil wars broke out and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesar's great-nephew and adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus , rose to sole power after defeating his opponents in the last civil war of the Roman Republic . Octavian set about solidifying his power, and

1530-514: A homosexual relation with the monarch. He then served at the Siege of Mytilene where he won the civic crown for saving the life of a fellow citizen in battle. The privileges of the crown – the Senate was supposed to stand on a holder's entrance and holders were permitted to wear the crown at public occasions – whetted Caesar's appetite for honours. After the capture of Mytilene, Caesar transferred to

1683-429: A last resort. At the start of 49 BC, Caesar's renewed offer that he and Pompey disarm was read to the Senate and was rejected by the hardliners. A later compromise given privately to Pompey was also rejected at their insistence. On 7 January, his supportive tribunes were driven from Rome; the Senate then declared Caesar an enemy and it issued its senatus consultum ultimum . There is scholarly disagreement as to

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1836-517: A law ( lex ) that was passed by an assembly , the law overrode the senatus consultum because the senatus consultum had its authority based on precedent and not in law. A senatus consultum , however, could serve to interpret a law. Through these decrees, the senate directed the magistrates , especially the Roman Consuls (the chief magistrates), in their prosecution of military conflicts. The senate also had an enormous degree of power over

1989-549: A legion and five cohorts in the winter of 55–54 BC produced substantial concern in Rome about Caesar's command and competence, evidenced by the highly defensive narrative in Caesar's Commentaries . The death of Caesar's daughter and Pompey's wife Julia in childbirth c.  late August 54 did not create a rift between Caesar and Pompey. At the start of 53 BC, Caesar sought and received reinforcements by recruitment and

2142-409: A longer period. Senators were entitled to wear a toga with a broad purple stripe, maroon shoes, and an iron (later gold) ring. The Senate of the Roman Republic passed decrees called senatus consulta , which in form constituted "advice" from the senate to a magistrate. While these decrees did not hold legal force, they usually were obeyed in practice. If a senatus consultum conflicted with

2295-459: A magisterial office without the emperor's approval, senators usually did not vote against bills that had been presented by the emperor. If a senator disapproved of a bill, he usually showed his disapproval by not attending the senate meeting on the day that the bill was to be voted on. While the Roman assemblies continued to meet after the founding of the empire, their powers were all transferred to

2448-415: A number of symbolic honours which saw Caesar's portrait placed on coins in Rome – the first for a living Roman – with special rights to wear royal dress, sit atop a golden chair in the Senate, and have his statues erected in public temples. The month Quintilis, in which he was born, was renamed Julius (now July). These were symbols of divine monarchy and, later, objects of resentment. The decisions on

2601-495: A one-third write-down of tax farmers' arrears for Crassus and ratification of Pompey's eastern settlements. Both bills were passed with little or no debate in the Senate. Caesar then moved to extend his agrarian bill to Campania some time in May; this may be when Bibulus withdrew to his house. Pompey, shortly thereafter, also wed Caesar's daughter Julia to seal their alliance. An ally of Caesar's, plebeian tribune Publius Vatinius moved

2754-433: A permanent veto for the entire year. This clearly violated the people's well-established legislative sovereignty and triggered a riot in which Bibulus' fasces were broken, symbolising popular rejection of his magistracy. The bill was then voted through. Bibulus attempted to induce the Senate to nullify it on grounds it was passed by violence and contrary to the auspices but the Senate refused. Caesar also brought and passed

2907-457: A place on either side of the chamber. Senate membership was controlled by the censors . By the time of Augustus , ownership of property worth at least one million sesterces was required for membership. The ethical requirements of senators were significant. In contrast to members of the Equestrian order , senators could not engage in banking or any form of public contract. They could not own

3060-591: A private deal with Pompey before two years of largely unsuccessful campaigning against Gallic insurgents. In the same year, Crassus's campaign ended in disaster at the Battle of Carrhae , culminating in his death at the hands of the Parthians . When in 52 BC Pompey started the year with a sole consulship to restore order to the city, Caesar was in Gaul suppressing insurgencies; after news of his victory at Alesia, with

3213-481: A proconsulship in Macedonia. Going after a less well-connected senator, he was successful the next year in prosecuting Gaius Antonius Hybrida (later consul in 63 BC) for profiteering from the proscriptions but was forestalled when a tribune interceded on Antonius' behalf. After these oratorical attempts, Caesar left Rome for Rhodes seeking the tutelage of the rhetorician Apollonius Molon . While travelling, he

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3366-453: A programme of social and governmental reform, including the creation of the Julian calendar . He gave citizenship to many residents of far regions of the Roman Republic. He initiated land reforms to support his veterans and initiated an enormous building programme. In early 44 BC, he was proclaimed "dictator for life" ( dictator perpetuo ). Fearful of his power and domination of the state,

3519-399: A sacrifice to the gods was made, and a search for divine omens (the auspices ) was taken. The senate was only allowed to assemble in places dedicated to the gods. Meetings usually began at dawn, and a magistrate who wished to summon the senate had to issue a compulsory order. The senate meetings were public and directed by a presiding magistrate (usually a consul ). While in session,

3672-417: A second consulship – first mooted in 52 as colleague to Pompey's sole consulship – and a triumph. He feared that his opponents – then holding both consulships for 50 BC – would reject his candidacy or refuse to ratify an election he won. This also was the core of his war justification: that Pompey and his allies were planning, by force if necessary (indicated in the expulsion of the tribunes ), to suppress

3825-430: A senator. Under the first method, the emperor manually granted that individual the authority to stand for election to the quaestorship, while under the second method, the emperor appointed that individual to the senate by issuing a decree. Under the empire, the power that the emperor held over the senate was absolute. The two consuls were a part of the senate, but had more power than the senators. During senate meetings,

3978-536: A ship that was large enough to participate in foreign commerce, they could not leave Italy without permission from the rest of the senate and they were not paid a salary. Election to magisterial office resulted in automatic senate membership. After the fall of the Roman Republic , the constitutional balance of power shifted from the Roman senate to the Roman Emperor . Though retaining its legal position as under

4131-417: A vote could be held, and since all meetings had to end by nightfall, a dedicated group or even a single senator could talk a proposal to death (a filibuster or diem consumere ). When it was time to call a vote, the presiding magistrate could bring up whatever proposals he wished, and every vote was between a proposal and its negative. Despite dictators holding nominal power, the senate could veto any of

4284-524: A wall, he stopped their movement near Geneva and – after raising two legions – defeated them at the Battle of Bibracte before forcing them to return to their original homes. He was drawn further north responding to requests from Gallic tribes, including the Aedui , for aid against Ariovistus – king of the Suebi and a declared friend of Rome by the Senate during Caesar's own consulship – and he defeated them at

4437-403: A well-accepted member of the aristocracy with great future prospects in his political career. Caesar decided to return shortly thereafter and on his return was elected one of the military tribunes for 71 BC. There is no evidence that Caesar served in war – even though the war on Spartacus was on-going – during his term; he did, however, agitate for the removal of Sulla's disabilities on

4590-494: A year, and by April 46 BC he was given a new dictatorship annually. The task he was assigned revived that of Sulla's dictatorship: rei publicae constituendae . These appointments, however, were not the source of legal power themselves; in the eyes of the literary sources, they were instead honours and titles which reflected Caesar's dominant position in the state, secured not by extraordinary magistracy or legal powers, but by personal status as victor over other Romans. Through

4743-531: A year-long dictatorship, after news of his victory at Pharsalus arrived to Rome. While in Alexandria, he started an affair with Cleopatra and withstood a siege by Ptolemy and his other sister Arsinoe until March 47 BC. Reinforced by eastern client allies under Mithridates of Pergamum , he then defeated Ptolemy at the Battle of the Nile and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated

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4896-504: Is a latinized form of the Gaulish ethnonym * Lexsouioi ( sing. Lexsouios ), which means 'leaning', possibly 'lame' (cf. Old Irish losc , 'lame'; Welsh llesg , 'lame', 'crippled'). It is a derivative of the adjective * leksu - ('oblique'; cf. Greek λοξός). An exact parallel has been highlighted in the Welsh llechwedd ('slope'), itself derived from an earlier *lexsouíiā . Given

5049-492: Is attested in evidence, did not intend to restructure Roman society. Ernst Badian, writing in the Oxford Classical Dictionary , noted that although Caesar did implement a series of reforms, they did not touch on the core of the republican system: he "had no plans for basic social and constitutional reform" and that "the extraordinary honours heaped upon him... merely grafted him as an ill-fitting head on to

5202-482: Is no evidence that Caesar himself was born by Caesarian section ; such operations entailed the death of the mother, but Caesar's mother lived for decades after his birth and no ancient sources record any difficulty with the birth. Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential during the middle republic. The first person known to have had the cognomen Caesar

5355-564: Is no indication that Caesar supported Clodius in any way. After his praetorship, Caesar was appointed to govern Hispania Ulterior pro consule . Deeply indebted from his campaigns for the praetorship and for the pontificate, Caesar required military victory beyond the normal provincial extortion to pay them off. He campaigned against the Callaeci and Lusitani and seized the Callaeci capital in northwestern Spain, bringing Roman troops to

5508-491: The lex Pompeia Licinia extending Caesar's command and the lex Trebonia giving them respective commands in Spain and Syria, though Pompey never left for the province and remained politically active at Rome. The opposition again unified against their heavy-handed political tactics – though not against Caesar's activities in Gaul – and defeated the allies in the elections of that year. The ambush and destruction in Gaul of

5661-446: The lex Vatinia assigning the provinces of Illyricum and Cisalpine Gaul to Caesar for five years. Suetonius' claim that the Senate had assigned to Caesar the silvae callesque ("woods and tracks") is likely an exaggeration: fear of Gallic invasion had grown in 60 BC and it is more likely that the consuls had been assigned to Italy, a defensive posture that Caesarian partisans dismissed as "mere 'forest tracks'". The Senate

5814-466: The Battle of Ilerda before forcing surrender of the third ; his legates moved into Sicily and into Africa , though the African expedition failed. Returning to Rome in the autumn, Caesar had Lepidus, as praetor, bring a law appointing Caesar dictator to conduct the elections; he, along with Publius Servilius Isauricus , won the following elections and would serve as consuls for 48 BC. Resigning

5967-796: The Battle of Vosges . Wintering in northeastern Gaul near the Belgae in the winter of 58–57, Caesar's forward military position triggered an uprising to remove his troops; able to eke out a victory at the Battle of the Sabis , Caesar spent much of 56 BC suppressing the Belgae and dispersing his troops to campaign across much of Gaul, including against the Veneti in what is now Brittany . At this point, almost all of Gaul – except its central regions – fell under Roman subjugation. Seeking to buttress his military reputation, he engaged Germans attempting to cross

6120-486: The Black Sea in northern Anatolia. His invasion had swept aside Caesar's legates and the local client kings, but Caesar engaged him at Zela and defeated him immediately, leading Caesar to write veni, vidi, vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), downplaying Pompey's previous Pontic victories. He then left quickly for Italy. Caesar's absence from Italy put Mark Antony, as magister equitum , in charge. His rule

6273-468: The Cimbri . According to Plutarch's narrative, the trophies were restored overnight to the applause and tears of joy of the onlookers; any sudden and secret restoration of this sort would not have been possible – architects, restorers, and other workmen would have to have been hired and paid for – nor would it have been likely that the work could have been done in a single night. It is more likely that Caesar

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6426-640: The Commune of Rome attempted to establish a new senate in opposition to the temporal power of the nobles and the pope ; as part of this plan, the Commune constructed a new senate house (the Palazzo Senatorio  [ it ] ) on the Capitoline Hill (apparently in the mistaken belief that this was the site of the ancient senate house). Most sources state that there were 56 senators in

6579-607: The Parthians to avenge Crassus' death at Carrhae in 53 BC, with wide-ranging objectives that would take him into Dacia for three or more years. It was set to start on 18 March 44 BC. Prior to Caesar's assumption of the title dictator perpetuo in February 44 BC, he had been appointed dictator some four times since his first dictatorship in 49 BC. After occupying Rome, he engineered this first appointment, largely to hold elections; after 11 days he resigned. The other dictatorships lasted for longer periods, up to

6732-504: The civil war (82 BC), Cinna's acta were annulled. Sulla consequently ordered Caesar to abdicate and divorce Cinna's daughter. Caesar refused, implicitly questioning the legitimacy of Sulla's annulment. Sulla may have put Caesar on the proscription lists , though scholars are mixed. Caesar then went into hiding before his relatives and contacts among the Vestal Virgins were able to intercede on his behalf. They then reached

6885-578: The death of Crassus in 53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. In 49 BC, Caesar openly defied the Senate's authority by crossing the Rubicon and marching towards Rome at the head of an army. This began Caesar's civil war , which he won, leaving him in a position of near-unchallenged power and influence in 45 BC. After assuming control of government, Caesar began

7038-433: The 3rd century BC the senate also played a pivotal role in cases of emergency. It could call for the appointment of a dictator (a right resting with each consul with or without the senate's involvement). However, after 202 BC, the office of dictator fell out of use (and was revived only two more times) and was replaced with the senatus consultum ultimum ("ultimate decree of the senate"), a senatorial decree that authorised

7191-524: The Athenian playwright Menander , in Greek, " let the die be cast ". Pompey and many senators fled south, believing that Caesar was marching quickly for Rome. Caesar, after capturing communication routes to Rome, paused and opened negotiations, but they fell apart amid mutual distrust. Caesar responded by advancing south, seeking to capture Pompey to force a conference. Pompey withdrew to Brundisium and

7344-461: The Atlantic and seizing enough plunder to pay his debts. Claiming to have completed the peninsula's conquest, he made for home after having been hailed imperator . When he arrived home in the summer of 60 BC, he was then forced to choose between a triumph and election to the consulship: either he could remain outside the pomerium (Rome's sacred boundary) awaiting a triumph or cross

7497-572: The Galli against Caesar (52 BC); but their force was only 3000 men. ( B. G. vii. 75.) In Berthouville were found three coins engraved with the name of a Gallo-Roman god Mercurius Canatonnessis ( Mercurio Kanetonnessi, M[ercurio] C[anetonnessi], Merc[urio] Can[e]t[onnessi] ). At the border of the civitas of the Lexovii and Viducasses, in Jort (ancient *Divo-ritum , named after the * Diva river),

7650-553: The Mediterranean and also supported the lex Manilia in 66 BC to reassign the Third Mithridatic War from its then-commander Lucullus to Pompey. Four years after his aunt Julia's funeral, in 65 BC, Caesar served as curule aedile and staged lavish games that won him further attention and popular support. He also restored the trophies won by Marius, and taken down by Sulla, over Jugurtha and

7803-519: The Ostrogothic leader Theodahad found himself at war with Emperor Justinian I and took the senators as hostages. Several senators were executed in 552 as revenge for the death of the Ostrogothic king, Totila . After Rome was recaptured by the imperial ( Byzantine ) army, the senate was restored, but the institution (like classical Rome itself) had been mortally weakened by the long war. Many senators had been killed and many of those who had fled to

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7956-477: The Rhine, which marked it as a Roman frontier; displaying Roman engineering prowess, he here built a bridge across the Rhine in a feat of engineering meant to show Rome's ability to project power. Ostensibly seeking to interdict British aid to his Gallic enemies, he led expeditions into southern Britain in 55 and 54 BC, perhaps seeking further conquests or otherwise wanting to impress readers in Rome; Britain at

8109-439: The Senate at the end for execution. During his year as praetor, Caesar first attempted to deprive his enemy Catulus of the honour of completing the rebuilt Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus , accusing him of embezzling funds, and threatening to bring legislation to reassign it to Pompey. This proposal was quickly dropped amid near-universal opposition. He then supported the attempt by plebeian tribune Metellus Nepos to transfer

8262-575: The Senate from reassigning his command in Transalpine Gaul, even if his position in Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum was guaranteed by the lex Vatinia until 54 BC. His success was evidently recognised when the Senate voted state funds for some of Caesar's legions, which until this time Caesar had paid for personally. The three allies' relations broke down in 57 BC: one of Pompey's allies challenged Caesar's land reform bill and

8415-435: The Senate in hope that it would take up the matter to show its beneficence for the people, there was little opposition and the obstructionism that occurred was largely unprincipled, firmly opposing it not on grounds of public interest but rather opposition to Caesar's political advancement. Unable to overcome Cato's filibustering, he moved the bill before the people and, at a public meeting, Caesar's co-consul Bibulus threatened

8568-459: The Senate of Constantinople was made up of all current or former holders of senior ranks and official positions, plus their descendants. At its height during the 6th and 7th centuries, the Senate represented the collective wealth and power of the Empire, on occasion nominating and dominating individual emperors. In the second half of the 10th century a new office, proedros ( Greek : πρόεδρος ),

8721-514: The Senate stalled and was regardless dropped. He stayed near the city until some time around mid-March. During the Gallic Wars, Caesar wrote his Commentaries thereon, which were acknowledged even in his time as a Latin literary masterwork. Meant to document Caesar's campaigns in his own words and maintain support in Rome for his military operations and career, he produced some ten volumes covering operations in Gaul from 58 to 52 BC. Each

8874-574: The Veneti. A few days after Sabinus reached the country of the Unelli, the Aulerci Eburovices and the Lexovii murdered their council or senate, as Caesar calls it, because they were against the war; and they joined Viridovix , the chief of the Unelli. The Gallic confederates were defeated by Sabinus, and compelled to surrender. ( B. G. iii. 17–19.) The Lexovii took part in the great rising of

9027-605: The Younger , mother of Nero , had been listening to Senate proceedings, concealed behind a curtain, according to Tacitus ( Annales , 13.5). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the senate continued to function under the Germanic chieftain Odoacer , and then under Ostrogothic rule. The authority of the senate rose considerably under barbarian leaders, who sought to protect the institution. This period

9180-418: The allies had a poor showing in the elections that year. With a real threat to Caesar's command and acta brewing in 56 BC under the aegis of the unfriendly consuls, Caesar needed his allies' political support. Pompey and Crassus too wanted military commands. Their combined interests led to a renewal of the alliance; drawing in the support of Appius Claudius Pulcher and his younger brother Clodius for

9333-457: The ancient Roman Kingdom . The word senate derives from the Latin word senex , which means "old man"; the word thus means "assembly of elders". The prehistoric Indo-Europeans who settled Italy in the centuries before the founding of Rome in 753 BC were structured into tribal communities, and these communities often included an aristocratic board of tribal elders. The early Roman family

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9486-410: The autumn, Cicero and others sought disarmament by both Caesar and Pompey, and on 1 December 50 BC this was formally proposed in the Senate. It received overwhelming support – 370 to 22 – but was not passed when one of the consuls dissolved the meeting. That year, when a rumour came to Rome that Caesar was marching into Italy, both consuls instructed Pompey to defend Italy, a charge he accepted as

9639-456: The body of the traditional structure". The most important of Caesar's reforms was to the calendar, which saw the abolition of the traditional republican lunisolar calendar and its replacement with a solar calendar now called the Julian calendar . He also increased the number of magistrates and senators (from 600 to 900) to better administer the empire and reward his supporters with offices. Colonies also were founded outside Italy – notably on

9792-479: The boundary, giving up his command and triumph, to make a declaration of consular candidacy. Attempts to waive the requirement for the declaration to be made in person were filibustered in the Senate by Caesar's enemy Cato, even though the Senate seemed to support the exception. Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship. Caesar stood for the consulship of 59 BC along with two other candidates. His political position at

9945-622: The case of Eugenius , who was later defeated by forces loyal to Theodosius I . The senate remained the last stronghold of the traditional Roman religion in the face of the spreading Christianity, and several times attempted to facilitate the return of the Altar of Victory (first removed by Constantius II ) to the senatorial curia. According to the Historia Augusta ( Elagabalus 4.2 and 12.3) emperor Elagabalus had his mother or grandmother take part in Senate proceedings. "And Elagabalus

10098-403: The civil government in Rome. This was especially the case with regard to its management of state finances, as only it could authorize the disbursal of public funds from the treasury. As the Roman Republic grew, the senate also supervised the administration of the provinces, which were governed by former consuls and praetors , in that it decided which magistrate should govern which province. Since

10251-539: The civil war. Some of the Sullan nobles – including Quintus Lutatius Catulus – who had suffered under the Marian regime objected, but by this point depictions of husbands in aristocratic women's funerary processions was common. Contra Plutarch, Caesar's action here was likely in keeping with a political trend for reconciliation and normalisation rather than a display of renewed factionalism. Caesar quickly remarried, taking

10404-404: The command against Catiline from the consul of 63, Gaius Antonius Hybrida, to Pompey. After a violent meeting of the comitia tributa in the forum, where Metellus came into fisticuffs with his tribunician colleagues Cato and Quintus Minucius Thermus , the Senate passed a decree against Metellus – Suetonius claims that both Nepos and Caesar were deposed from their magistracies; this would have been

10557-406: The consuls to employ any means necessary to solve the crisis. While senate meetings could take place either inside or outside the formal boundary of the city (the pomerium ), no meeting could take place more than a mile (in the Roman system of measurement, now approx. 1.48 km) outside it. The senate operated while under various religious restrictions. For example, before any meeting could begin,

10710-631: The consulship of 54 BC, they planned second consulships with following governorships in 55 BC for both Pompey and Crassus. Caesar, for his part, would receive a five-year extension of command. Cicero was induced to oppose reassignment of Caesar's provinces and to defend a number of the allies' clients; his gloomy predictions of a triumviral set of consuls-designate for years on end proved an exaggeration when, only by desperate tactics, bribery, intimidation and violence were Pompey and Crassus elected consuls for 55 BC. During their consulship, Pompey and Crassus passed – with some tribunician support –

10863-502: The decline of the prestigious institution, suggesting that by this date, the senate had officially ceased to function as a body. Although the Gregorian register of 603 mentions the senate in reference to the acclamation of new statues of Emperor Phocas and Empress Leontia , scholars such as Ernst Stein and André Chastagnol have argued that this mention was likely nothing more than a ceremonial flourish. In 630, any remnants of

11016-418: The dictator's decisions. At any point before a motion passed, the proposed motion could be vetoed, usually by a tribune . If there was no veto, and the matter was of minor importance, it could be put to either a voice vote or a show of hands. If there was no veto and no obvious majority, and the matter was of a significant nature, there was usually a physical division of the house, with senators voting by taking

11169-540: The dictatorship after eleven days, Caesar then left Italy for Greece to stop Pompey's preparations, arriving in force in early 48 BC. Caesar besieged Pompey at Dyrrhachium , but Pompey was able to break out and force Caesar's forces to flee. Following Pompey southeast into Greece and to save one of his legates, he engaged and decisively defeated Pompey at Pharsalus on 9 August 48 BC. Pompey then fled for Egypt; Cato fled for Africa; others, like Cicero and Marcus Junius Brutus , begged for Caesar's pardon. Pompey

11322-527: The early 7th century, when Rome was under the dominion of the Exarchate of Ravenna . Records that in both 578 and 580, the politically-impotent senate of Rome sent envoys to Constantinople along with pleas for help against the Lombards , who had invaded Italy ten years earlier. Later, in 593, Pope Gregory I would give a sermon in which he bemoaned the almost complete disappearance of the senatorial order and

11475-535: The east chose to remain there, thanks to favorable legislation passed by Emperor Justinian, who, however, abolished virtually all senatorial offices in Italy. The importance of the Roman senate thus declined rapidly, and it likely ceased to function as an institution with any real legislative power shortly after this time. It is not known exactly when the Roman senate disappeared in the West, but it appears to have been in

11628-566: The election of magistrates to recall Cicero from exile on the condition that Cicero would refrain from criticism or obstruction of the allies. Politics in Rome fell into violent street clashes between Clodius and two tribunes who were friends of Cicero. With Cicero now supporting Caesar and Pompey, Caesar sent news of Gaul to Rome and claimed total victory and pacification. The Senate at Cicero's motion voted him an unprecedented fifteen days of thanksgiving. Such reports were necessary for Caesar, especially in light of senatorial opponents, to prevent

11781-432: The emperor sat between the two consuls, and usually acted as the presiding officer. Senators of the early empire could ask extraneous questions or request that a certain action be taken by the senate. Higher ranking senators spoke before those of lower rank, although the emperor could speak at any time. Besides the emperor, consuls and praetors could also preside over the senate. Since no senator could stand for election to

11934-436: The era of the Roman Empire began. Caesar was an accomplished author and historian as well as a statesman; much of his life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns. Other contemporary sources include the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust . Later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also important sources. Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of

12087-466: The extremely influential Gaius Marius , he also served on the Saturninian land commission in 103 BC and was elected praetor some time between 92 and 85 BC; he served as proconsular governor of Asia for two years, likely 91–90 BC. Caesar's father did not seek a consulship during the domination of Lucius Cornelius Cinna and instead chose retirement. During Cinna's dominance, Caesar

12240-743: The first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Senate of the Roman Kingdom , to the Senate of the Roman Republic and Senate of the Roman Empire and eventually the Byzantine Senate of the Eastern Roman Empire , existing well into the post-classical era and Middle Ages . During the days of the Roman Kingdom , the Senate was generally little more than an advisory council to

12393-478: The greatest military commanders in history. His cognomen was subsequently adopted as a synonym for " Emperor "; the title " Caesar " was used throughout the Roman Empire, giving rise to modern descendants such as Kaiser and Tsar . He has frequently appeared in literary and artistic works . Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a patrician family, the gens Julia on 12 July 100 BC. The family claimed to have immigrated to Rome from Alba Longa during

12546-510: The hand of Sulla's granddaughter Pompeia . For much of this period, Caesar was one of Pompey 's supporters. Caesar joined with Pompey in the late 70s to support restoration of tribunician rights; his support for the law recalling the Lepidan exiles may have been related to the same tribune's bill to grant lands to Pompey's veterans. Caesar also supported the lex Gabinia in 67 BC granting Pompey an extraordinary command against piracy in

12699-414: The king could make new laws, although he often involved both the senate and the curiate assembly (the popular assembly) in the process. When the Republic began, the Senate functioned as an advisory council. It consisted of 300–500 senators who served for life. Only patricians were members in the early period, but plebeians were also admitted before long, although they were denied the senior magistracies for

12852-468: The king. However, as Rome was an electoral monarchy , the Senate also elected new Roman kings . The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus , was overthrown following a coup d'état led by Lucius Junius Brutus , who founded the Roman Republic . During the early Republic, the Senate was politically weak, while the various executive Roman magistrates who appointed the senators for life (or until expulsion by Roman censors ) were quite powerful. Since

13005-427: The later sources assert he instead wanted the conspirators imprisoned pending trial. Most accounts agree that Caesar supported confiscation of the conspirators' property. Caesar likely advocated the former, which was a compromise position that would place the Senate within the bounds of the lex Sempronia de capite civis , and was initially successful in swaying the body; a later intervention by Cato , however, swayed

13158-401: The leading equites new men for the senate, these being called conscripti , and thus increased the size of the senate to 300. The senate of the Roman Kingdom held three principal responsibilities: It functioned as the ultimate repository for the executive power, it served as the king's council, and it functioned as a legislative body in concert with the people of Rome . During the years of

13311-481: The liberty of the Roman people to elect Caesar and honour his accomplishments. Around 10 or 11 January 49 BC, in response to the Senate's "final decree", Caesar crossed the Rubicon – the river defining the northern boundary of Italy – with a single legion, the Legio XIII Gemina , and ignited civil war . Upon crossing the Rubicon, Caesar, according to Plutarch and Suetonius, is supposed to have quoted

13464-476: The minutes of the Senate and the assemblies, signalling the Senate's accountability to the public. He then brought in the Senate a bill – crafted to avoid objections to previous land reform proposals and any indications of radicalism – to purchase property from willing sellers to distribute to Pompey's veterans and the urban poor. It would be administered by a board of twenty (with Caesar excluded), and financed by Pompey's plunder and territorial gains. Referring it to

13617-464: The monarchy, the senate's most important function was to elect new kings. While the king was nominally elected by the people, it was actually the senate who chose each new king. The period between the death of one king and the election of a new king was called the interregnum , during which time the Interrex nominated a candidate to replace the king. After the senate gave its initial approval to

13770-414: The most powerful politicians in the Roman Republic through a string of military victories in the Gallic Wars , completed by 51 BC, which greatly extended Roman territory. During this time he both invaded Britain and built a bridge across the river Rhine . These achievements and the support of his veteran army threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after

13923-427: The need for a single leader, and so they elected a king ( rex ), and vested in him their sovereign power. When the king died, that sovereign power naturally reverted to the patres . The senate is said to have been created by Rome's first king, Romulus , initially consisting of 100 men. The descendants of those 100 men subsequently became the patrician class. Rome's fifth king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus , chose

14076-456: The nominee, he was then formally elected by the people, and then received the senate's final approval. At least one king, Servius Tullius , was elected by the senate alone, and not by the people. The senate's most significant task, outside regal elections, was to function as the king's council, and while the king could ignore any advice it offered, its growing prestige helped make the advice that it offered increasingly difficult to ignore. Only

14229-419: The normal operation of the state – justice, legislation, administration, and public works – were concentrated into Caesar's person without regard for or even notice given to the traditional institutions of the republic. Caesar's domination over public affairs and his competitive instinct to preclude all others alienated the political class and led eventually to the conspiracy against his life. Caesar, as far as

14382-477: The outbreak of the Third Mithridatic War over the winter of 75 and 74 BC; Caesar is alleged to have gone around collecting troops in the province at the locals' expense and leading them successfully against Mithridates' forces. While absent from Rome, in 73 BC, Caesar was co-opted into the pontifices in place of his deceased relative Gaius Aurelius Cotta . The promotion marked him as

14535-772: The papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor during the second half of the twelfth century. From 1192 onward, the popes succeeded in reducing the 56-strong senate down to a single individual, styled Summus Senator , who subsequently became the head of the civil government of Rome under the pope's aegis. Although the 56-member senate would be restored soon thereafter in 1197, the institution would come to be composed largely of nobles. The senate continued to exist in Constantinople, although it evolved into an institution that differed in some fundamental forms from its predecessor. Designated in Greek as synkletos , or assembly,

14688-434: The period after Pharsalus, the Senate showered Caesar with honours, including the title praefectus moribus ( lit.   ' prefect of morals ' ) which historically was associated with the censorial power to revise the Senate rolls. He was also granted power over war and peace, usurping a power traditionally held by the comitia centuriata . These powers attached to Caesar personally. Similarly extraordinary were

14841-410: The plebeian tribunate and for those who supported Lepidus' revolt to be pardoned. These advocacies were common and uncontroversial. The next year, 70 BC, Pompey and Crassus were consuls and brought legislation restoring the plebeian tribunate's rights; one of the tribunes, with Caesar supporting, then brought legislation pardoning the Lepidan exiles. For his quaestorship in 69 BC, Caesar

14994-409: The pontifical election before the tribes , Caesar faced two influential senators: Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Publius Servilius Isauricus . Caesar came out victorious. Many scholars have expressed astonishment that Caesar's candidacy was taken seriously, but this was not without historical precedent. Ancient sources allege that Caesar paid huge bribes or was shamelessly ingratiating; that no charge

15147-694: The remaining anti-Caesarian leaders, including Metellus Scipio and Juba, also committed suicide shortly thereafter. Labienus and two of Pompey's sons, however, had moved to the Spanish provinces in revolt. Caesar started a process of annexing parts of Numidia and then returned to Italy via Sardinia in June 46 BC. Caesar stayed in Italy to celebrate four triumphs in late September, supposedly over four foreign enemies: Gaul, Egypt, Pharnaces (Asia), and Juba (Africa). He led Vercingetorix, Cleopatra's younger sister Arsinoe, and Juba's son before his chariot; Vercingetorix

15300-415: The republic, in practice the actual authority of the imperial senate was negligible, and the emperor held the true power in the state. As such, membership in the senate came to be sought after by individuals seeking prestige and social standing, rather than actual authority. During the reigns of the first emperors, legislative, judicial, and electoral powers were all transferred from the Roman assemblies to

15453-469: The rest of the magistrates for 47 BC – no elections had yet been held – and also for those of 46 BC. Caesar would serve with Lepidus as consul in 46; he borrowed money for the war, confiscated and sold the property of his enemies at fair prices, and then left for Africa on 25 December 47 BC. Caesar's landing in Africa was marked with some difficulties establishing a beachhead and logistically. He

15606-406: The revived senate, and modern historians have therefore interpreted this to indicate that there were four senators for each of the fourteen regiones of Rome . These senators elected as their leader Giordano Pierleoni , son of the Roman consul Pier Leoni , with the title patrician , since the term consul had been deprecated as a noble styling. The Commune came under constant pressure from

15759-469: The semantic connotation of the name, Lexovii was probably an exonym , meaning that it was given by outsiders to this tribe. The city of Lisieux , attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Lexoviorum (' civitas of the Lexovii', Loxovias in 614, Lisiue in 1024), and the region of Lieuvin , attested in the 6th c. as Luxoviensis ( pagus Lisvinus in 802, Liévin in 1155), are named after the Gallic tribe. At

15912-477: The senate elected new magistrates, the approval of the emperor was always needed before an election could be finalized. Around 300 AD, the emperor Diocletian enacted a series of constitutional reforms. In one such reform, he asserted the right of the emperor to take power without the theoretical consent of the senate, thus depriving the senate of its status as the ultimate repository of supreme power. Diocletian's reforms also ended whatever illusion had remained that

16065-432: The senate had independent legislative, judicial, or electoral powers. The senate did, however, retain its legislative powers over public games in Rome, and over the senatorial order. The senate also retained the power to try treason cases, and to elect some magistrates, but only with the permission of the emperor. In the final years of the western empire, the senate would sometimes try to appoint their own emperor, such as in

16218-416: The senate had the power to act on its own, and even against the will of the presiding magistrate if it wished. The presiding magistrate began each meeting with a speech, then referred an issue to the senators, who would discuss it in order of seniority. Senators had several other ways in which they could influence (or frustrate) a presiding magistrate. For example, every senator was permitted to speak before

16371-430: The senate now held jurisdiction over criminal trials. In these cases, a consul presided, the senators constituted the jury, and the verdict was handed down in the form of a decree ( senatus consultum ), and, while a verdict could not be appealed, the emperor could pardon a convicted individual through a veto. The emperor Tiberius transferred all electoral powers from the assemblies to the senate, and, while theoretically

16524-460: The senate were swept away when the Curia Julia was converted into a church ( Sant'Adriano al Foro ) by Pope Honorius I . Subsequently, the word "senate" was used by the nobility of Rome to describe themselves as a collective class. This usage was not intended to link them institutionally with the ancient senate, but rather continued the long-standing Roman tradition that the city's nobility

16677-415: The senate, and so senatorial decrees ( senatus consulta ) acquired the full force of law. The legislative powers of the imperial senate were principally of a financial and an administrative nature, although the senate did retain a range of powers over the provinces. During the early Roman Empire, all judicial powers that had been held by the Roman assemblies were also transferred to the senate. For example,

16830-410: The senate. However, since the emperor held control over the senate, the senate acted as a vehicle through which he exercised his autocratic powers. The first emperor, Augustus , reduced the size of the senate from 900 members to 600, even though there were only about 100 to 200 active senators at one time. After this point, the size of the senate was never again drastically altered. Under the empire, as

16983-429: The seventh century BC after the third king of Rome , Tullus Hostilius , took and destroyed their city. The family also claimed descent from Julus, the son of Aeneas and founder of Alba Longa. Given that Aeneas was a son of Venus, this made the clan divine. This genealogy had not yet taken its final form by the first century, but the clan's claimed descent from Venus was well established in public consciousness. There

17136-479: The sites of Carthage and Corinth, which had both been destroyed during Rome's 2nd century BC conquests – to discharge Italy's population into the provinces and reduce unrest. The royal power of naming patricians was revived to benefit the families of his men and the permanent courts jury pools were also altered to remove the tribuni aerarii , leaving only the equestrians and senators. He also took further administrative actions to stabilise his rule and that of

17289-454: The specific reasons why Caesar marched on Rome. A very popular theory is that Caesar was forced to choose – when denied the immunity of his proconsular tenure – between prosecution, conviction, and exile or civil war in defence of his position. Whether Caesar actually would have been prosecuted and convicted is debated. Some scholars believe the possibility of successful prosecution was extremely unlikely. Caesar's main objectives were to secure

17442-562: The staff of Publius Servilius Vatia in Cilicia before learning of Sulla's death in 78 BC and returning home immediately. He was alleged to have wanted to join in on the consul Lepidus ' revolt that year but this is likely literary embellishment of Caesar's desire for tyranny from a young age. Afterward, Caesar attacked some of the Sullan aristocracy in the courts but was unsuccessful in his attempted prosecution of Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella in 77 BC, who had recently returned from

17595-505: The state. Caesar reduced the size of the grain dole from 320,000 down to around 150,000 by tightening the qualifications; special bonuses were offered to families with many children to stall depopulation. Plans were drawn for the conduct of a census. Citizenship was extended to a number of communities in Cisalpine Gaul and to Cádiz . During the civil wars, Caesar had also instituted a novel debt repayment programme (no debts would be forgiven but they could be paid in kind), remitted rents up to

17748-482: The support of Pompey he received twenty days of thanksgiving and, pursuant to the "Law of the Ten Tribunes", the right to stand for the consulship in absentia. From the period 52 to 49 BC, trust between Caesar and Pompey disintegrated. In 51 BC, the consul Marcellus proposed recalling Caesar, arguing that his provincia (here meaning "task") in Gaul – due to his victory against Vercingetorix in 52 –

17901-476: The three so-called triumvirs sought to maintain the goodwill of the extremely popular Publius Clodius Pulcher , who was plebeian tribune in 58 BC and in that year successfully sent Cicero into exile. When Clodius took an anti-Pompeian stance later that year, he unsettled Pompey's eastern arrangements, started attacking the validity of Caesar's consular legislation, and by August 58 forced Pompey into seclusion. Caesar and Pompey responded by successfully backing

18054-556: The time of the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), the Lexovii were part of the civitates Aremoricae . Their chief town was Noviomagus (modern Lisieux). When the Veneti and their neighbours were preparing for Julius Caesar 's attack (56 BC), they applied for help to the Osismii , Lexovii, Namnetes , and others. ( B. G. iii. 9, 11.) Caesar sent Quintus Titurius Sabinus against the Unelli , Curiosolites , and Lexovii, to prevent their joining

18207-446: The time was strong: he had supporters among the families which had supported Marius or Cinna; his connection with the Sullan aristocracy was good; his support of Pompey had won him support in turn. His support for reconciliation in continuing aftershocks of the civil war was popular in all parts of society. With the support of Crassus, who supported Caesar's joint ticket with one Lucius Lucceius , Caesar won. Lucceius, however, did not and

18360-539: The time was to the Romans an "island of mystery" and "a land of wonder". He, however, withdrew from the island in the face of winter uprisings in Gaul led by the Eburones and Belgae starting in late 54 BC which ambushed and virtually annihilated a legion and five cohorts. Caesar was, however, able to lure the rebels into unfavourable terrain and routed them in battle. The next year, a greater challenge emerged with

18513-405: The transition from monarchy to constitutional rule was most likely gradual, it took several generations before the Senate was able to assert itself over the executive magistrates. By the middle Republic, the Senate had reached the apex of its republican power. The late Republic saw a decline in the Senate's power, which began following the reforms of the tribunes Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus . After

18666-658: The transition of the Republic into the Principate , the Senate lost much of its political power as well as its prestige. Following the constitutional reforms of Emperor Diocletian , the Senate became politically irrelevant. When the seat of government was transferred out of Rome, the Senate was reduced to a purely municipal body. That decline in status was reinforced when Constantine the Great created an additional senate in Constantinople . After Romulus Augustulus

18819-481: The uprising of most of central Gaul, led by Vercingetorix of the Averni . Caesar was initially defeated at Gergovia before besieging Vercingetorix at Alesia . After becoming himself besieged, Caesar won a major victory which forced Vercingetorix's surrender; Caesar then spent much of his time into 51 BC suppressing any remaining resistance. In the initial years from the end of Caesar's consulship in 59 BC,

18972-579: The victory with a triumphal procession on the Nile . He stayed in Egypt with Cleopatra until June or July that year, though the relevant commentaries attributed to him give no such impression. Some time in late June, Cleopatra gave birth to a child by Caesar, called Caesarion . When Caesar landed at Antioch , he learnt that during his time in Egypt, the king of what is now Crimea, Pharnaces , had attempted to seize what had been his father's kingdom, Pontus, across

19125-457: The voters returned Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus instead, one of Caesar's long-standing personal and political enemies. After the elections, Caesar reconciled Pompey and Crassus, two political foes, in a three-way alliance misleadingly termed the "First Triumvirate" in modern times. Caesar was still at work in December of 60 BC attempting to find allies for his consulship and the alliance

19278-432: The year. This opposition caused serious political difficulties to Caesar and his allies, belying the common depiction of triumviral political supremacy. Later in the year, however, Caesar – with the support of his opponents – brought and passed the lex Julia de repetundis to crack down on provincial corruption. When his consulship ended, Caesar's legislation was challenged by two of the new praetors but discussion in

19431-434: Was a participant is extremely small. Caesar won his election to the praetorship in 63 BC easily and, as one of the praetor-elects, spoke out that December in the Senate against executing certain citizens who had been arrested in the city conspiring with Gauls in furtherance of the conspiracy. Caesar's proposal at the time is not entirely clear. The earlier sources assert that he advocated life imprisonment without trial;

19584-565: Was a praetor in 208 BC during the Second Punic War . The family's first consul was in 157 BC, though their political fortunes had recovered in the early first century, producing two consuls in 91 and 90 BC. Caesar's homonymous father was moderately successful politically. He married Aurelia , a member of the politically influential Aurelii Cottae , producing – along with Caesar – two daughters. Buoyed by his own marriage and his sister's marriage (the dictator's aunt) with

19737-414: Was able to escape to Greece, abandoning Italy in face of Caesar's superior forces and evading Caesar's pursuit. Caesar stayed near Rome for about two weeks – during his stay his forceful seizure of the treasury over tribunician veto put the lie to his pro-tribunician war justifications – and left Lepidus in charge of Italy while he attacked Pompey's Spanish provinces. He defeated two of Pompey's legates at

19890-556: Was allotted to serve under Gaius Antistius Vetus in Hispania Ulterior . His election also gave him a lifetime seat in the Senate. However, before he left, his aunt Julia, the widow of Marius died and, soon afterwards, his wife Cornelia died shortly after bearing his only legitimate child, Julia . He gave eulogies for both at public funerals. During Julia's funeral, Caesar displayed the images of his aunt's husband Marius, whose memory had been suppressed after Sulla's victory in

20043-791: Was also persuaded to assign to Caesar Transalpine Gaul as well, subject to annual renewal, most likely to control his ability to make war on the far side of the Alps. Some time in the year, perhaps after the passing of the bill distributing the Campanian land and after these political defeats, Bibulus withdrew to his house. There, he issued edicts in absentia, purporting unprecedentedly to cancel all days on which Caesar or his allies could hold votes for religious reasons. Cato too attempted symbolic gestures against Caesar, which allowed him and his allies to "feign victimisation"; these tactics were successful in building revulsion to Caesar and his allies through

20196-522: Was an on-going struggle between two tribes in central Gaul which collaterally involved Roman alliances and politics. The divisions within the Gauls – they were no unified bloc – would be exploited in the coming years. The first engagement was in April 58 BC when Caesar prevented the migrating Helvetii from moving through Roman territory, allegedly because he feared they would unseat a Roman ally. Building

20349-416: Was by this point a purely honorific title and does not reflect the continued existence of the classical Senate. The Eastern Senate survived in Constantinople through the 14th century. The Roman Senate was not the ancestor or predecessor of modern parliamentarism and senates of our time in any sense, because the Roman senate was not a de jure legislative body. The senate was a political institution in

20502-461: Was called a gens or "clan", and each clan was an aggregation of families under a common living male patriarch, called a pater (the Latin word for "father"). When the early Roman gentes were aggregating to form a common community, the patres from the leading clans were selected for the confederated board of elders that would become the Roman senate. Over time, the patres came to recognize

20655-520: Was characterized by the rise of prominent Roman senatorial families, such as the Anicii , while the senate's leader, the princeps senatus , often served as the right hand of the barbarian leader. It is known that the senate successfully installed Laurentius as pope in 498, despite the fact that both King Theodoric and Emperor Anastasius supported the other candidate, Symmachus . The peaceful coexistence of senatorial and barbarian rule continued until

20808-666: Was complete; it evidently was incomplete as Caesar was that year fighting the Bellovaci and regardless the proposal was vetoed. That year, it seemed that the conservatives around Cato in the Senate would seek to enlist Pompey to force Caesar to return from Gaul without honours or a second consulship. Cato, Bibulus, and their allies, however, were successful in winning Pompey over to take a hard line against Caesar's continued command. As 50 BC progressed, fears of civil war grew; both Caesar and his opponents started building up troops in southern Gaul and northern Italy, respectively. In

20961-583: Was created as head of the senate by Emperor Nicephorus Phocas . Up to the mid-11th century, only eunuchs could become proedros, but later this restriction was lifted and several proedri could be appointed, of which the senior proedrus, or protoproedrus ( Greek : πρωτοπρόεδρος ), served as the head of the senate. There were two types of meetings practised: silentium , in which only magistrates currently in office participated and conventus , in which all syncletics ( Greek : συγκλητικοί , senators) could participate. The Senate in Constantinople existed until at least

21114-501: Was defeated by Titus Labienus at Ruspina on 4 January 46 BC and thereafter took a rather cautious approach. After inducing some desertions from the republicans, Caesar ended up surrounded at Thapsus . His troops attacked prematurely on 6 April 46 BC, starting a battle ; they then won it and massacred the republican forces without quarter . Marching on Utica, where Cato commanded, Caesar arrived to find that Cato had killed himself rather than receive Caesar's clemency. Many of

21267-591: Was deposed in 476, the Senate in the Western Empire functioned under the rule of Odoacer (476–489) and during Ostrogothic rule (489–535). It was restored to its official status after the reconquest of Italy by Justinian I but the Western Senate ultimately disappeared after 603, the date of its last recorded public act. Some Roman aristocrats in the Middle Ages bore the title senator , but it

21420-488: Was equated to its senate. Occasionally in the Early Middle Ages , the title "senator" was used by those in positions of power—for instance, it was held by Crescentius the Younger (d. 998) and, in its feminine form ( senatrix ), by Marozia (d. 937)—but it appears to have been regarded at that time as simply a title of nobility. Usage of the "senator" title in a more traditional sense was revived in 1144, when

21573-466: Was ever laid alleging this implies that bribery alone is insufficient to explain his victory. If bribes or other monies were needed, they may have been underwritten by Pompey, whom Caesar at this time supported and who opposed Catulus' candidacy. Many sources also assert that Caesar supported the land reform proposals brought that year by plebeian tribune Publius Servilius Rullus , however, there are no ancient sources so attesting. Caesar also engaged in

21726-467: Was executed. According to Appian, in some of the triumphs, Caesar paraded pictures and models of his victories over fellow Romans in the civil wars, to popular dismay. The soldiers were each given 24,000 sesterces (a lifetime's worth of pay); further games and celebrations were put on for the plebs. Near the end of the year, Caesar heard bad news from Spain and, with an army, left for the peninsula, leaving Lepidus in charge as magister equitum . At

21879-458: Was finalised only some time around its start. Pompey and Crassus joined in pursuit of two respective goals: the ratification of Pompey's eastern settlement and the bailing out of tax farmers in Asia, many of whom were Crassus' clients. All three sought the extended patronage of land grants, with Pompey especially seeking the promised land grants for his veterans. Caesar's first act was to publish

22032-512: Was found a bronze stylus found carved with the name of the Celtic god Toutatis ( Toutati ). Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate , Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war , and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played

22185-406: Was in charge of the remaining republicans; they allied with Juba of Numidia ; what used to be Pompey's fleet also raided the central Mediterranean islands. Caesar's governor in Spain, moreover, was sufficiently unpopular that the province revolted and switched to the republican side. Caesar demoted Antony on his return and pacified the mutineers without violence before overseeing the election of

22338-430: Was intercepted and ransomed by pirates in a story that was later much embellished. According to Plutarch and Suetonius, he was freed after paying a ransom of fifty talents and responded by returning with a fleet to capture and execute the pirates. The recorded sum for the ransom is literary embellishment and it is more likely that the pirates were sold into slavery per Velleius Paterculus . His studies were interrupted by

22491-463: Was killed when he arrived in Alexandria , the capital of Egypt . Caesar arrived three days later on 2 October 48 BC. Prevented from leaving the city by Etesian winds , Caesar decided to arbitrate an Egyptian civil war between the child pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Cleopatra , his sister, wife, and co-regent queen. In late October 48 BC, Caesar was appointed in absentia to

22644-417: Was likely produced in the year following the events described and was likely aimed at the general, or at least literate, population in Rome; the account is naturally partial to Caesar – his defeats are excused and victories highlighted – but it is almost the sole source for events in Gaul in this period. Gaul in 58 BC was in the midst of some instability. Tribes had raided into Transalpine Gaul and there

22797-475: Was merely restoring his family's public monuments – consistent with standard aristocratic practice and the virtue of pietas – and, over objections from Catulus, these actions were broadly supported by the Senate. In 63 BC, Caesar stood for the praetorship and also for the post of pontifex maximus , who was the head of the College of Pontiffs and the highest ranking state religious official. In

22950-421: Was named as flamen Dialis (a priest of Jupiter ) which led to his marriage to Cinna's daughter, Cornelia . The religious taboos of the priesthood would have forced Caesar to forgo a political career; the appointment – one of the highest non-political honours – indicates that there were few expectations of a major career for Caesar. In early 84 BC, Caesar's father died suddenly. After Sulla 's victory in

23103-429: Was the case during the late republic, one could become a senator by being elected quaestor (a magistrate with financial duties), but only if one were already of senatorial rank. In addition to quaestors, elected officials holding a range of senior positions were routinely granted senatorial rank by virtue of the offices that they held. If an individual was not of senatorial rank, there were two ways for him to become

23256-440: Was the only one of all the emperors under whom a woman attended the senate like a man, just as though she belonged to the senatorial order" (David Magie's translation). According to the same work, Elagabalus also established a women's senate called the senaculum , which enacted rules to be applied to matrons regarding clothing, chariot riding, the wearing of jewelry, etc. ( Elagabalus 4.3 and Aurelian 49.6). Before this, Agrippina

23409-403: Was unpopular: Publius Cornelius Dolabella , serving as plebeian tribune in 47 BC, agitated for debt relief and after that agitation got out of hand the Senate moved for Antony to restore order. Delayed by a mutiny in southern Italy, he returned and suppressed the riots by force, killing many and delivering a similar blow to his popularity. Cato had marched to Africa and there Metellus Scipio

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