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The Senate was the governing and advisory assembly of the aristocracy in the ancient Roman Republic.It was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors, which were appointed by the aristocratic Centuriate Assembly.
The two consuls' authority was equal and their duties were shared on an alternating basis. [1] There is evidence that, during the late Republic, the consul elected with the most votes became the consul prior, and the consul elected first also may have been the first in the year to hold fasces (take precedence), but the evidence is not conclusive.
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 the censor, which was reserved for former consuls. [1]
The consuls would alternate monthly as the chairman of the Senate. They also were the supreme commanders in the Roman army, with each being granted two legions during their consular year. Consuls also exercised the highest juridical power in the Republic, being the only office with the power to override the decisions of the Praetor Urbanus.
The consuls of the Roman Republic were the highest-ranking ordinary magistrates. Each served for one year. [216] Consular powers included the kings' former imperium and appointment of new senators. Consuls had supreme power in both civil and military matters. While in the city of Rome, the consuls were the head of the Roman government.
In 445 BC, the plebeians demanded the right to stand for election as consul (the chief-magistrate of the Roman Republic), [4] but the Roman Senate refused to grant them this right. Ultimately, a compromise was reached, and while the consulship remained closed to the plebeians, consular command authority ( imperium ) was granted to a select ...
The traditional view is that Roman elections were largely unrepresentative of the population as a whole and dominated by the wealthy through social connections. While the assembly continued to exist during the Roman Empire, it served largely to approve decisions made by the emperor and senate. It is last recorded in the third century AD.
The executive magistrates of the Roman Republic were officials of the ancient Roman Republic (c. 510 BC – 44 BC), elected by the People of Rome.Ordinary magistrates (magistratus) were divided into several ranks according to their role and the power they wielded: censors, consuls (who functioned as the regular head of state), praetors, curule aediles, and finally quaestor.