Roman Senate

Examples of Roman Senate in the following topics:

• Julius Caesar

  • Julius Caesar was a Late Republic statesman and general who waged civil war against the Roman Senate, defeating many patrician conservatives before he declared himself dictator.
  • He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
  • Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed by the conservative ruling class within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger and Cicero.
  • Civil War ensued, with Pompey representing the Roman Senate forces against Caesar, but Caesar quickly defeated Pompey in 48 and dispatched Pompey's supporters in the following year.
  • Upon bringing the Roman state out of trouble, the dictator would then resign and restore power back to the Senate.

• Structure of the Republic

  • The Roman Republic was composed of the senate, a number of legislative assemblies, and elected magistrates.
  • The focus of the Roman Senate was usually foreign policy.
  • Censors conducted the Roman census, during which time they could appoint people to the Senate.
  • "SPQR" (senatus populusque romanus) was the Roman motto, which stood for "the Senate and people of Rome".
  • The Curia Julia in the Roman Forum, the seat of the imperial Senate.

• Roman Society Under the Republic

  • The bulk of Roman politics prior to the first century BCE focused on inequalities among the orders.
  • In the first few centuries of the Roman Republic, a number of developments affected the relationship between the government and the Roman people, particularly in regards to how that relationship differed across the separate strata of society.
  • The Roman Senate initially refused them this right, but ultimately a compromise was reached in which consular command authority was granted to a select number of military tribunes, who in turn were elected by the centuriate assembly with veto power being retained by the senate.
  • Nonetheless, it remained difficult for a plebeian from an unknown family to enter the senate.
  • Roman senators, most of whom were also creditors, refused to give in to the plebeians’ demands, resulting in the first plebeian secession to Janiculum Hill.

• The Seven Kings

  • There, members would vote on candidates that had been nominated by a chosen member of the senate called an interrex.
  • Romulus selected 100 of the most noble men to form the Roman senate as an advisory council to the king.
  • Numa Pompilius, a Sabine, was eventually chosen by the senate to succeed Romulus on account of his reputation for justice and piety.
  • His reign is best remembered for the introduction of Etruscan symbols of military distinction and civilian authority into the Roman tradition, including the scepter of the king, the rings worn by senators, and the use of the tuba for military purposes.
  • Tarquin's reign, however, is best remembered for his use of violence and intimidation in his attempts to maintain control over Rome as well as his disrespect of Roman custom and the Roman senate.

• Crises of the Roman Empire

  • Twenty-six men were officially accepted by the Roman Senate as emperor during this period, and thus became legitimate emperors.
  • The Roman provinces of Gaul, Britain and Hispania broke off to form the Gallic Empire.
  • In particular, the right of succession had never been clearly defined in the Roman Empire, leading to continuous civil wars as competing factions in the military, Senate, and other parties put forward their favoured candidate for emperor.
  • In doing so, they became a half-free class of Roman citizen known as coloni.
  • Describe the problems afflicting the Roman Empire during the third century

• Crises of the Republic

  • The Crises of the Roman Republic refers to an extended period of political instability and social unrest that culminated in the demise of the Roman Republic and the advent of the Roman Empire from about 134 BCE to 44 BCE.
  • Optimates were a traditionalist majority of the late Roman Republic.
  • He bypassed the Roman senate and passed a law limiting the amount of land belonging to the state that any individual could farm, which resulted in the dissolution of large plantations maintained by rich landowners on public land.
  • The senators adopted Pompey as their champion, and on January 7, Pompey was granted dictatorial powers over the Republic by the Senate.
  • Explain how crises in the first century BCE further destabilized the Roman Republic

• The Establishment of the Roman Republic

  • Subsequently, the Roman Republic was established.
  • Following these actions, he refused to replace the senators he executed and refused to consult the Senate in matters of government going forward, diminishing the size and influence of the Senate greatly.
  • What is known for certain is that he replenished the senate to its original number of 300 senators, recruiting men from among the equestrian class.
  • The two consuls continued to be elected annually by Roman citizens and advised by the senate.
  • After the praetor, the censor was established, who assumed the power to conduct the Roman census.

• Early Roman Society

  • Roman society was extremely patriarchal and hierarchical.
  • The status of freeborn Romans was established by their:
  • The most important division within Roman society was between patricians, a small elite who monopolized political power, and plebeians, who comprised the majority of Roman society.
  • These designations were established at birth, with patricians tracing their ancestry back to the first Senate established under Romulus.
  • Under Roman law, slaves were considered property and held no rights as such.

• Art and Literature in the Roman Republic

  • Culture flourished during the Roman Republic with the emergence of great authors such as Cicero and Lucretius and the development of Roman relief and portraiture sculpture.
  • A large number of Fayum mummy portraits, bust portraits on wood added to the outside of mummies by the Romanized middle class, exist in Roman Egypt.
  • As with other forms of Roman art, Roman portraiture borrowed certain details from Greek art but adapted these to their own needs.
  • The portraits of Pompey the Great were neither fully idealized, nor were they created in the same veristic style of Republican senators.
  • The portraits of Pompey the Great were neither fully idealized, nor were they created in the same veristic style of Republican senators.

• Military Successes of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty

  • Officially declared by the Senate optimus princeps ("the best ruler"), Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman history, leading the empire to attain its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death.
  • The Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Roman Emperor Trajan's rule.
  • The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danubian Roman Province of Moesia and also by the increasing need for resources of the economy of the Roman Empire.
  • Dacia, an area north of Macedon and Greece and east of the Danube, had been on the Roman agenda since before the days of Caesar when they defeated a Roman army at the Battle of Histria.
  • Hadrian's abandonment of an aggressive policy was something for which the Senate and its historians never forgave Hadrian: the fourth century historian Aurelius Victor charged him with being jealous of Trajan's exploits and deliberately trying to downplay their worthiness.