Princeps senatus
Encyclopedia
The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate
. Although officially out of the cursus honorum
and owning no imperium
, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.
(that is, every 5 years). Censors could, however, confirm a princeps senatus for a period of another 5 years. He was selected from patrician senators with consul
ar rank, usually former censors. The successful candidate had to be a patrician with an impeccable political record, respected by his fellow senators.
Originally, the position of the princeps was one of honor: he had the privilege of speaking first on the topic presented by the presiding magistrate. This gave the position great dignitas as it allowed the princeps to set the tone of the debate in the Senate. In the late Republic and in the Principate
, the office gained the prerogatives of the presiding magistrates and additional powers, namely:
After the fall of the Roman Republic
, the princeps senatus was the Roman Emperor
(see also: princeps
). However, during the Crisis of the Third Century
, some others held the office; the future emperor Valerian
held the office in 238, during the reigns of Maximinus Thrax
and Gordian I
.
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. Although officially out of the cursus honorum
Cursus honorum
The cursus honorum was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. Each office had a minimum...
and owning no imperium
Imperium
Imperium is a Latin word which, in a broad sense, translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms. Imperium, referred to the sovereignty of the state over the individual...
, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.
Overview
The princeps senatus was not a lifetime appointment. He was chosen by every new pair of censorsCensor (ancient Rome)
The censor was an officer in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances....
(that is, every 5 years). Censors could, however, confirm a princeps senatus for a period of another 5 years. He was selected from patrician senators with consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
ar rank, usually former censors. The successful candidate had to be a patrician with an impeccable political record, respected by his fellow senators.
Originally, the position of the princeps was one of honor: he had the privilege of speaking first on the topic presented by the presiding magistrate. This gave the position great dignitas as it allowed the princeps to set the tone of the debate in the Senate. In the late Republic and in the Principate
Principate
The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate. The Principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the Emperors to preserve the...
, the office gained the prerogatives of the presiding magistrates and additional powers, namely:
- Summoning and adjourning the Senate
- Deciding its agenda
- Deciding where the session should take place
- Imposing order and other rules of the session
- Meeting, in the name of the Senate, with embassies of foreign countries
- Writing, in the name of the Senate, letters and dispatches
After the fall of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, the princeps senatus was the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
(see also: princeps
Princeps
Princeps is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person."...
). However, during the Crisis of the Third Century
Crisis of the Third Century
The Crisis of the Third Century was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression...
, some others held the office; the future emperor Valerian
Valerian (emperor)
Valerian , also known as Valerian the Elder, was Roman Emperor from 253 to 260. He was taken captive by Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, resulting in wide-ranging instability across the Empire.-Origins and rise...
held the office in 238, during the reigns of Maximinus Thrax
Maximinus Thrax
Maximinus Thrax , also known as Maximinus I, was Roman Emperor from 235 to 238.Maximinus is described by several ancient sources, though none are contemporary except Herodian's Roman History. Maximinus was the first emperor never to set foot in Rome...
and Gordian I
Gordian I
Gordian I , was Roman Emperor for one month with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he was defeated by forces loyal to Maximinus before committing suicide.-Early life:...
.
List of principes senatus
- Manius Valerius Maximus.
- Marcus Fabius AmbustusMarcus Fabius Ambustus (consul 360 BC)Marcus Fabius N.f. Ambustus was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic. He was the son of Numerius Fabius Ambustus.He served as consul three times: in 360, 356, and 354 BC. His consulships occurred during a time in which Rome was reasserting itself following its defeat at the hands of the...
. - ca. 275/269 BC: Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus.
- ca. 269/265 BC: Gaius Marcius Rutilus Censorinus?
- In or after 258 BC: Quintus Fabius Maximus GurgesQuintus Fabius Maximus Gurges (consul 292 BC)Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus and a Consul in 292 and 276 BC.In 295 BC he was curule aedile, and fined certain matrons of noble birth for their disorderly life. With the proceeds of the fines built a temple to Venus near the Circus Maximus.He was...
, son of Rullianus - ca. 247/241 BC: Gnaeus Cornelius Blasio?
- ca. 236/230 BC: Gaius DuiliusGaius DuiliusGaius Duilius was a Roman politician and admiral involved in the First Punic War.Not much is known about his family background or early career, since he was a novus homo, meaning not belonging to a traditional family of Roman aristocrats. He managed, nevertheless, to be elected consul for the year...
? - ca. 225 BC: Manius Valerius Maximus Messalla?
- ca. 220 BC: Aulus Manlius Torquatus Atticus?
- By 216 BC: Marcus Fabius ButeoMarcus Fabius ButeoMarcus Fabius Buteo was a Roman politician during the 3rd century BC. He served as consul and as censor, and in 216 BC, being the oldest living ex-censor, he was appointed dictator, legendo senatui, for the purpose of filling vacancies in the senate after the Battle of Cannae. He was appointed by...
. - 209 203 BC: Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus CunctatorFabius MaximusQuintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator was a Roman politician and general, born in Rome around 280 BC and died in Rome in 203 BC. He was Roman Consul five times and was twice Dictator in 221 and again in 217 BC. He reached the office of Roman Censor in 230 BC...
. - 199 184/183 BC: Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.
- 184/183 180 BC: Lucius Valerius FlaccusLucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 195 BC)Lucius Valerius Flaccus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 195 BC and censor in 183 BC, serving both times with his great friend Cato the Elder, whom he brought to the notice of the Roman political elite.-Family:...
. - 179 153/152 BC: Marcus Aemilius LepidusMarcus Aemilius Lepidus (187 BC)Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was a Roman consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor.As a praetor he was governor of Sicily in 191 BC. He was elected consul in 187 BC. He and his colleague, Gaius Flaminius, subdued the Ligurians. From 180 BC onwards he was pontifex maximus and from 179 BC was princeps senatus....
. - 153/152 ca. 147 BC: Position vacant.
- ca. 147 : Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica CorculumPublius Cornelius Scipio Nasica CorculumPublius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum was a Roman statesman and member of the gens Cornelia.Corculum was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica , and was thus a first cousin once removed of the Roman general Scipio Africanus...
. - Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica SerapioPublius Cornelius Scipio Nasica SerapioPublius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio , the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum and his wife Cornelia Africana Major, was a member of the gens Cornelia and a politician of the ancient Roman Republic. He was consul in 138 BC.He was also a member of the gens Cornelia, a family of...
? - ca. 136 130 BC?: Appius Claudius PulcherAppius Claudius Pulcher (consul 143 BC)Appius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman politician of the 2nd century BC.-Life:Son of Gaius Claudius Pulcher , he was appointed consul in 143 BC, and, to obtain a pretext for a triumph, attacked the Salassi, an Alpine tribe...
. - 130 BC?: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Lupus.
- ca. 125 BC: Publius Cornelius LentulusPublius Cornelius LentulusPublius Cornelius Lentulus was the name of a number of notable Romans:*Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio, Roman senator, suffect consul in 24*Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, Catiline conspirator...
. - 115 ca. 89 BC: Marcus Aemilius ScaurusMarcus Aemilius ScaurusMarcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman consul in 115 BC and considered one of the most talented and influential politicians of the Republic....
. - By 86 BC: Lucius Valerius FlaccusLucius Valerius Flaccus (princeps senatus 86 BC)Lucius Valerius Flaccus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 100 BC and princeps senatus during the civil wars of the 80s...
. - ca. 70 BC: Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus LivianusMamercus Aemilius Lepidus LivianusMamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus, was a Roman politician and military commander who was consul in 77 BC.-Biography:Livianus was a well connected and influential figure in Late Republican politics. A member of the aristocratic party, brother of the tribune Marcus Livius Drusus and son of Marcus...
. - Quintus Lutatius Catulus (Capitolinus)Quintus Lutatius Catulus (Capitolinus)Quintus Lutatius Catulus , sometimes called "Capitolinus", was a politician in the late Roman Republic. His father was the like-named Quintus Lutatius Catulus , also a politician.-Biography:...
. - Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus.
- 43 43 BC: Marcus Tullius Cicero. (Not a Patrician)
- 43 28 BC: Unknown.
- 28 BC AugustusAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, title cohered with that of Roman emperorRoman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
until beginning of the DominateDominateThe Dominate was the "despotic" latter phase of government in the ancient Roman Empire from the conclusion of the Third Century Crisis of 235–284 until the formal date of the collapse of the Western Empire in AD 476. It followed the period known as the Principate...
External links
- The Roman Law Library By Professor Yves Lassard and Alexandr Koptev