Senate of the Roman Kingdom The word " senate "derives from the word Latin "Senatus, us, m". In fact, "senate" literally means "council of elders." Populations Indo-European who founded Rome centuries before the legendary founding of Rome in 753 BC. AD are organized in tribal communities . These communities often include a meeting of deans from the aristocracy .
The first families are called Roman gentes . Each is a cluster of people gathered behind a family patriarch, called pater (the word Latin for "head" and not "father"). He is the undisputed leader of the people . When the first Roman gentes joined together to form a single community, patres gentes leaders are chosen to form the assembly of elders (which became the Roman Senate) . The shepherds have come to recognize the need for a single leader. They then elect a king (rex) , invested their sovereign power . When the king dies, his power comes naturally to patres
Livy (among others) mentions the existence and role of the Senate already in the era of royalty and says that the Senate is created by Romulus himself. The hundred component members originally were called " fathers "and their descendants" patrician. " The king appoints the members. In 616 BC. BC , Tarquinius Priscus shall appoint one hundred new members (all to his cause) will be called the "junior senators" .
The Senate has three main responsibilities: He holds executive power , serves as advisor to the king, and functions as a legislative body with the People of Rome .
Under the monarchy , the most important function of the Senate is to elect new kings. While the king was technically elected by the people, it is actually the Senate who chose each new king. The period between the death of the king and the election of his successor is called the interregnum . The interregnum is the only period during which the Senate use its sovereign power. When the king dies, a member of the Senate (the interrex ) who appoints a candidate to succeed . After the Senate gave its approval to the Pretender, he is formally elected by the people . The Senate then gave its final approval .
The most significant task of the Senate (except the royal election) is his role as advisor to the king. Although it may ignore the advice of the Senate, the growing prestige of the assembly makes it increasingly difficult to be ignored. Technically, the Senate may also pass laws, but it would be incorrect to regard the decrees of the Senate as a "law" in the modern sense. Only the king can decree new laws, although it often involves the Senate and Curiate (the People's Assembly ) in the process .
Senate of the Roman Republic
The auctoritas ("authority") of the Senate derives its esteem and prestige , based on custom and dignity and prestige of the Senate . As the Senate is the only political institution and continues to be eternal (compared to the consulate for example, which expires after one year mandate), it acquires the dignity of ancient traditions .
The Roman Senate is essentially aimed at the foreign policy . While his role in armed conflict is limited in theory to that of advisor, the Senate eventually overseeing these conflicts: the consuls directly control the armies and the Senate is responsible for the overall strategy. The Senate also manages the civil administration in the city. For example, only the Senate may authorize that the public money is drawn from the treasures . Moreover, it deals with individual cases of political crimes such as treason .
Senate enacts decrees called senatus consultum. Officially, this is "advice" given to judges , although in practice, these orders are often followed to the letter by the judges . If a senatus consultum conflicts with a law enacted by a legislature , the law takes priority status and overrides the senatus consultum .
The Senate is more of a religious institution than a political institution. So that it operates in obedience to various restrictions of religious order. Each session of the Senate takes place in a dedicated space (a templum). Before each meeting, a sacrifice to the gods is done and the auspices are taken to determine if the Senate favored by the gods to date .
The rules and procedures of the Roman Senate are both complex and very old. Many of these rules find their origin in the early years of the Republic and is transmitted over the centuries. Meetings can be done inside and outside the sacred limits of the city ( pomrium ). They start at dawn and are chaired by a consul (or lender if the consuls are located outside the city) . Le magistrat qui prside commence souvent chaque runion par un discours , et laisse ensuite la parole aux snateurs qui discutent de chaque problme. The senators took the floor in order of seniority . The minor problems usually result in a voice vote or show of hands. For the most critical votes, senators move and separate into different groups , taking place every senator on the side corresponding to its vote. Although each meeting is to end the dark , a senator may propose to shorten the session (by a consumere diem) in the case where the debate started can be continued until nightfall without finding a way out .
During meetings, senators have various ways to influence (or oppose) the presiding magistrate. When a magistrate presiding over a motion, senators can call a consul. This requires the magistrate to seek the opinion of each senator. At the beginning of each meeting, we shall call (numerator) of the Senators present. For the session to occur, there must be a minimum number of senators: quorum (similar to quorum modern). Every vote takes the form of a "for or against" .
Any proposed motion may be blocked by the veto of the tribune of the plebs. Each motion is blocked by a veto recorded in history as senatus auctoritas. Each motion is finally ratified a senatus consultum. Each senatus auctoritas senatus consultum and each is transcribed into a document by the President, who is then placed in the building housing the treasure .
For Cicero , the Senate is "guardian, defender, protector of the Republic" and ensures the continuity of tradition.
Senate of the Roman Empire
During the transition from Republic to Empire , the Senate loses all his powers. While the Imperial Senate should have a wide range of powers, it is always subordinate to the emperor , and he did it more prestige it had under the Republic.
The Emperor Augustus inherits a Senate whose membership reaches 900 senators under the leadership of his predecessor Julius Caesar. Augustus sought to reduce the size of the Senate, and then three times, revising the list of Senators . Once completed these revisions, the Senate was reduced to 600 members. Augustus, whose ultimate goal is to make the Senate more aristocratic, then reform the rules that specify that an individual can become a senator. Under the Empire , as is the case at the end of the Republic , it became a senator by being elected to the quaestor. However, we can arrive at the auditor's office (or any other judiciary) that if one is to senatorial rank. And for that, it must be the son of a senator . If an individual is not of senatorial rank, he has only two possibilities for the future: is the emperor granted him the right to report to the auditor's office , the emperor is known simply as Senator .
The Senators of the early Empire have the same rights as those at the end of the Republic. Senators can discuss foreign affairs, or request that certain measures be taken by the Senate. Senators from the highest ranks of those speaking before the bottom ranks. The emperor , however, can speak whenever they want . Most Senate meetings are chaired by the emperor, who sits between the two generally consuls . The Imperial Senate usually meets the Kalends (first day of the month) and then to the ides (the thirteenth or fifteenth day of the month). We can convene a special session at any time.
Most expenses that are submitted to the Senate presented by the emperor , which usually appoints a committee to draft them. In addition, each emperor chose a quaestor for the role of ab Actis senatus . This compiles the proceedings of the Senate in a document called the Acta Senatus. The selected excerpts of this document are published in the Acta Diurna and distributed to the public .
While legislatures still exist after the establishment of the empire, they are quickly neutralized. Realizing that the assemblies are very corrupt and dysfunctional, the first emperors transferring all legislative powers in the Senate. After this transfer, the senatus consulta (senatorial decrees or "advice of the Senate) have the force of law . In the early days of the Empire, all judicial powers held by Republican legislatures are also transferred to the Senate. Each senatorial province has a court, and the Senate may resort to the decisions of these courts on the recommendation of a consul . Theoretically, the Senate elects each new emperor , and give them the constitutional powers. After the emperor Tiberius had transferred all the powers of election meetings in the Senate , it shall elect all judges. These elections, however, are overseen by the Emperor.
Senate of the Lower Empire and after the fall
Returning to the founding of the city, we see that the control of the state is consistently in the Senate when the Judiciary principal vacancy. When Emperor Diocletian affirms the right of the emperor to take power without the nominal consent of the Senate, it loses its depository status of supreme power. The reforms of Diocletian also put an end to all remaining illusions about the Senate's legislative powers independent. But he keeps on public games in Rome and on the Senate agenda. The Senate also retains the power to elect the lenders , the Quaestors and some consuls , but only when he has the permission of the emperor. It may also hear cases, especially the betrayal, but only with permission of the emperor. Sometimes the Senate is trying to appoint his own emperor, so that Eugene , who was later defeated by troops loyal to Theodosius I. The Senate remains the last stronghold of the traditional Roman religion facing Christianity is spreading, and tries several times to facilitate the return of the Altar of Victory (once removed by Constantius II ) to the Senatorial Curia. The dominant religion of the Senate after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 is the Christianity of Chalcedon. This distinguishes it from the dominant religion of the Ostrogoths ( Arianism ) and the official religion of the papacy and Constantinople ( Christianity of Nicaea ).
After the fall of the Roman Empire , the Senate continues to operate under the barbarian chieftain Odoacer and then under Rule Ostrogoths. The authority of the Senate rises considerably under the barbarian leaders who seek to protect. This period is characterized by increased pre-eminent Roman senatorial families such as Anicii , while the leader of the Senate, the princeps senatus , the functions of the right arm of the barbarian chief. This peaceful coexistence of Senate rules and barbaric continues until the head Theodahad triggers a rebellion against the Emperor Justinian. After that Rome was taken over by the Imperial Army ( Byzantine ), the Senate is restored, although it does not recover any of its former powers. It is unclear when the Senate goes, but we know he sends two envoys to the imperial court of Tiberius II Constantine to Constantinople in 578 and 580 and, according to the Gregorian register, the Senate applauds the new statues of the Emperor Phocas and empress Lontia in 603 .
See also
Bibliography
- Ancient sources
- Modern sources used
- (In) Abbott, Frank Frost , A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions, Elibron Classics , 1901 ( ISBN 0543927490 ).
- (In) Byrd, Robert , The Senate of the Roman Republic, (in) Lightning Source , 1995 ( ISBN 0898753937 ).
- (In) Lintott, Andrew , The Constitution of the Roman Republic, Oxford University Press , 1999 ( ISBN 0199261083 ).
- Other articles francophones
- Cbeillac-Gervasoni, Mireille , Chauvot, Alain , and Martin, Jean-Pierre , Roman History, ed. Armand Colin , Paris , 2006 ( ISBN 2200265875 ).
- Mommsen, Theodor (trans. Paul Frdric Girard ), The Roman public law, Paris , 1871 - 1892 ( read online ).
- Mommsen, Theodor (trans. Alfred Charles Alexander ), History of Ancient Rome, Paris , 1863 - 1872 ( w.mediterranee-antique.info/Rome/Mommsen/Histoire/HR_000.htm "class =" external text "rel =" nofollow "> read online).
- Montesquieu, Charles , Considerations on the causes of the greatness of the Romans and Their Decline , 1734 ( read online ).
- Other English books
- (In) Cameron, Averil , The Later Roman Empire, Harvard University Press , 2007 ( ISBN 978-0674511941 ).
- (In) Crawford, Michael , The Roman Republic, Harvard University Press , 2006 ( ISBN 978-0674779273 ).
- (In) Gruen, Erich Stephen , The Last Generation of the Roman Republic, University of California Press , 1995 ( ISBN 978-0520201538 ).
- (En) Holland, Tom , Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic, Random House , 2005 ( ISBN 1400078970 ).
- (In) Ihne, Wilhelm , Researches Into the History of the Roman Constitution, BiblioLife , 2008 ( ISBN 978-0554716763 ).
- (In) Millar, Fergus , The Emperor in the Roman World, Cornell University Press , 1992 ( ISBN 978-0801480492 ).
- (En) Taylor, Lily Ross , Roman Voting Assemblies: From the War Hannibalic To The Dictatorship of Caesar, University of Michigan Press , 1966 ( ISBN 047208125X ).
- (In) Tighe, Ambrose , The Development of the Roman Constitution, (in) D. Apple & Co. , New York , 1886 ( OCLC 1861347 ).
- (In) Von Fritz, Kurt , The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity, Columbia University Press , New York , 1975 ( ISBN 978-0405070822 ).
References
- FF Abbott , A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions, p.25
- a and b FF Abbott , op. cit., p.3
- a and b FF Abbott , op. cit., p. 1
- FF Abbott , op. cit. p.12
- a , b , c and d FF Abbott , op. cit., p. 6
- FF Abbott , op. cit. p.16
- R. Byrd , The Senate of the Roman Republic, p.42
- Livy , Roman History , Book I, 8
- Livy , Roman History , Book I, 35
- a and b FF Abbott , op. cit. p.10
- FF Abbott , op. cit. p.17
- a and b FF Abbott , op. cit. p.14
- R. Byrd , op. cit. p.20
- a and b R. Byrd , op. cit. p.96
- Cicero , The Republic, Book II
- a , b , c , d and e Polybius , History, Book VI
- a , b and c R. Byrd , op. cit. p.44
- A. Lintott , The Constitution of the Roman Republic, p.72
- a and b A. Lintott , op. cit. p.78
- a and b R. Byrd , op. cit. p.34
- A. Lintott , op. cit. p.83
- a , b and c FF Abbott , op. cit., p. 381
- FF Abbott , op. cit., p.382
- a , b , c and d FF Abbott , op. cit., p. 383
- FF Abbott , op. cit., p.384
- FF Abbott , op. cit., p.385
- a and b FF Abbott , op. cit., p.386
- J. Richards , The Popes & the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages, 476-752, p.246 ( read online )
External Links
Internal Links
Loading ...