Roman Senate
Also known as: Senate · Senatus · Senate of ancient Rome · Senate of Rome
- 1The Senate functioned across three distinct eras: the Kingdom, the Republic, and the Empire.
- 2It was the primary assembly representing the Roman aristocracy.
- 3The institution persisted into the Middle Ages as the Byzantine Senate.
- 4It served as the central body for deliberation and policy-making in Rome.
The Roman Senate was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy.
Connections1
primary power base for the Optimates
The Optimates sought to preserve the traditional authority and supremacy of the Senate against the challenges posed by the popular assemblies and individual populist leaders.
The Roman Senate served as the primary governing assembly and the center of aristocratic power throughout the history of ancient Rome. It originated during the Roman Kingdom and evolved to become the central institution of the Roman Republic, maintaining its influence well into the era of the Roman Empire.
The Curia Julia in the Roman Forum, the seat of the imperial SenateWikimedia Commons: File:Curia_Iulia.JPGThe " Togatus Barberini ", a statue depicting a Roman senator holding the imagines ( effigies ) of deceased ancestors in his hands. Marble, late 1st century BC. Head, not belonging: mid-1st century BCWikimedia Commons: File:Togato_Barberini.jpgRepresentation of a sitting of the Roman senate: Cicero attacks Catiline, from a 19th-century fresco in Palazzo Madama, Rome, house of the Italian Senate. It is worth noting that idealistic medieval and subsequent artistic depictions of the Senate in session are almost uniformly inaccurate. Illustrations commonly show...Wikimedia Commons: File:Cicero_Denounces_Catiline_in_the_Roman_Senate_by_Cesare_Maccari.png Over its long existence, the Senate's powers fluctuated significantly, but it remained the defining body of the Roman state. It survived the transition from the classical period into the Byzantine Empire, continuing to function in the Eastern Roman Empire until the post-classical era. It stands as one of the most enduring political institutions in human history.