Princeps senatus

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

The princeps senatus (plural principes 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.

Overview

The princeps senatus was not a lifetime appointment. He was chosen by every new pair of censors (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 consular 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:

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, 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.

List of principes senatus

ca. 275 or ca. 272 Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus
ca. 269 or ca. 265 Gaius Marcius Rutilus Censorinus
ca. 258 Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges, son of Rullianus
ca. 247 or ca. 241 Gnaeus Cornelius Blasio, twice elected consul (??)
ca. 236 or ca. 231 Gaius Duilius (?)
ca. 225 BC Marcus Valerius Maximus Messala (?)
ca. 220 BC Aulus Manlius Torquatus Atticus (??), consul in 244 BC and again in 241 BC.
By 216 BC Marcus Fabius Buteo. Consul 245 BC, censor 241 BC, and Dictator 216 BC (to choose new senators only).
209 BC – Quintus Fabius Maximus, grandson of Gurges (above) and great-grandson of Rullianus (above)
203 BC-199 BC Unknown
199 BC – Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (d. 183 BC). Consul 205 BC and censor 199 BC.
184 BC – Lucius Valerius Flaccus
179 BC – Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (d. 152 BC), also was Pontifex Maximus concurrently.
152 BC-149 BC Position vacant
149 BC or 147 BC – Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (d. 141 BC), son-in-law of Scipio Africanus (above).
ca. 141 BC - 136 BC Unknown
136 BC – Appius Claudius Pulcher (d. 131 BC)
131 BC – Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Lupus
125 BC – Publius Cornelius Lentulus
115 BC – Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (d. ca. 89 BC)
86 BC - Lucius Valerius Flaccus, a descendant of the older Flaccus.
ca. 70 BC - Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus (fl. 78 BC), a patrician by adoption; son-in-law of Sulla and father-in-law of Metellus Scipio.
ca. 60 BC-28 BC Unknown
28 BC – Augustus, title cohered with that of Roman emperor until beginning of the Dominate

Notes

External links

The Roman Law Library By Professor Yves Lassard and Alexandr Koptev

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday March 04, 2008 at 04:23:11 PST (GMT -0800)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation