what was a consul in ancient rome

How long does a consul serve in ancient Rome?

The consuls served for only one year (to prevent corruption) and could only rule when they agreed, because each consul could veto the other one's decision. The consuls were the chairmen of the Senate, which served as a board of advisers. They also commanded the Roman army (both had two legions) and exercised the highest juridical power in the Roman empire.

What was a proconsul in ancient Rome?

proconsul, in ancient Rome, governor of a province. He was in sole charge of the army, of justice, and of administration in his province and could not be prosecuted for maladministration until his office expired. In modern times the title has sometimes been used for a colonial governor with far-reaching powers. Bibliography

Is ancient Rome and the Roman Empire the same?

While the Roman Empire period was going on, the city experienced the most stability along with the highest territorial expanse in the first two centuries. The Roman Empire was based on the absolute monarchy system, and thus the first emperor or the ruler of Ancient Rome was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, name Augustus.

Who were the consuls Quizlet?

What were consuls responsible for quizlet? They were responsible for choosing senators, making sure the government ran properly, directing the army, determining the guilty from the non (judges), and finally if at war, they elected a dictator. Both consuls had to agree on their decision. Each had the power to veto the other (latin for I forbid) .

What is the meaning of consul in Rome?

A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic (509 to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the highest level of the cursus honorum (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired). Consuls were elected to office and held power for one year.

What is the role of the consul?

Consulates provide passport, birth registration and many others services for visiting or resident American citizens in a country. They also have consular sections which issue visas for foreign citizens to visit, study and work in the United States.

What powers did the Roman consul have?

Consuls had extensive powers in peacetime (administrative, legislative, and judicial), and in wartime often held the highest military command. Additional religious duties included certain rites which, as a sign of their formal importance, could only be carried out by the highest state officials.

What rank was a Roman consul?

Magistrates: 2 *consuls—chief magistrates who convened and presided over the Senate and assemblies, initiated and administered legislation, served as generals in military campaigns, and represented Rome in foreign affairs.

How long did Roman consuls serve?

one-yearElected by the assembly in a special election, each consul, who had to be at least 42 years old and initially only a patrician, served a one-year term and could not serve successive terms. Basically, a consul served as both a civil and military magistrate with almost unlimited executive power, or imperium.

Who was Rome's first consul?

Lucius SextusIn 367 BC, plebeians were finally allowed to put themselves forward as candidates and in 366 Lucius Sextus was elected as the first consul to come from a plebeian family.

What was the most important power of the consuls?

controlled the armyConsuls were members of the Senate, who had been elected to serve for a one year term in the position of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic. The consuls most important power was that they controlled the army. and vote.

Why did Rome need consuls and what were their job limitations?

Why did Rome need consuls and what were their job limitations? The consuls were the chief executives of Rome, there were two to keep each other in check. One was in charge of taking care of Rome domestically and the other was in charge of war. Once a consul, they were forbidden to be consul again for at least 10 years.

What was the highest rank in the Roman army?

Cohort I: Was made up of the elite troops. Its direct commander was the Primus Pilus, the highest ranking and most respected of all the Centurions.

What was the most important power of the consuls?

controlled the armyConsuls were members of the Senate, who had been elected to serve for a one year term in the position of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic. The consuls most important power was that they controlled the army. and vote.

Is consul the same as ambassador?

While Ambassadors, who are high-ranking diplomatic representatives of a country, represent the Embassy, Consuls represent the Consulates. The Ambassadors are the spokesperson of their governments.

What is the difference between consul and diplomat?

A consul, as such, does not enjoy the status of a diplomat and cannot enter on his official duties until permission has been granted to him by the authorities of the state to which his nomination has been communicated.

What was the main role of the two elected consuls during the Roman Republic?

Leading the republic were two consuls who were elected by legislative assemblies. They served for one year, presided over the Roman Senate, and commanded the Roman military. Though their power was somewhat limited by the establishment of other magistrate positions, the consuls were effectively the heads of state.

What is a Roman consul?

ancient Roman official. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Consul, Latin Consul, plural Consules, in ancient Rome, either of the two highest of the ordinary magistracies in ...

What did the consuls do?

Consuls, however, were in a very real sense the heads of state. They commanded the army, convened and presided over the Senate and the popular assemblies and executed their decrees, and represented the state in foreign affairs.

How long did the consuls hold office?

), but its arbitrary exercise was limited: the consuls, nominated by the Senate and elected by the people in the Comitia Centuriata (a popular assembly), held office for only a year, and each consul had power of veto over the other’s decisions.

Who were ancient Roman consuls?

The consuls in ancient Rome were the chairmen of the Senate, which served as a board of advisers. They also commanded the Roman army (both had two legions) and exercised the highest juridical power in the Roman Empire. Therefore, the Greek historian Polybius of Megalopolis likened the consuls to kings.

How old was the consul in Rome?

One had to be at least 43 years old to become consul in ancient Rome. (This was laid down in the Lex Vibia analysis of 180.) From the third century BCE onward, it was also necessary that the candidate had served in other magistracies (e.g., the praetorship). It was possible to have a second term as consul, but ten years ought to separate these two terms.

Who were the elected officials in Rome?

In addition to consuls, there were other elected officials – judges, magistrates and tax collectors being some of them. Ten “Tribunes of the People” were also elected to look after the poor of Rome.

What was the role of the consul in Roman history?

The consul was an elected Roman magistrate, with regal power during the Republican period of Roman history. Following the expulsion of the kings of Rome, Rome became a Republic, with a new type of leader. For this purpose, the Romans invented the new position of consul (by 181 B.C., limited to men of at least 43 years of age).

What were the consuls responsible for?

Consuls were responsible for war, justice, and finance. Later, subordinate magistrates, like the quaestors, took over some of the consul's functions and power. Each consul could negate the other and was supposed to heed the advice of the Senate. The consul could be tried for misdeeds after his single-year term in office.

How many consuls were elected during the Republic?

The people, via the Comitia Centuriata annually elected these 2 consuls during the Republic. During the Principate, the Senate appointed multiple consuls. Originally, the consuls came from the patricians. Later, they were chosen from either patrician or plebeian, and later, there was a requirement that at least one consul be plebeian.

Who invented the consul position?

For this purpose, the Romans invented the new position of consul (by 181 B.C., limited to men of at least 43 years of age). It conferred a limited term of absolute power; however, the power wielded was less than that of the king, since it was split between 2 men (consuls) and limited to a single year. Ten years were supposed to elapse ...

When did Justinian abolish the consulate?

In 541 , Emperor Justinian abolished the Consulate.

What was the Roman consul's position?

The position of consul was often the highpoint of a Roman politician's career. After he left office, he remained a member of the Senate and would most often be rewarded for his service and named governor of one of the Roman provinces, a pro-consul.

How did the consul serve?

Basically, a consul served as both a civil and military magistrate with almost unlimited executive power, or imperium. In the city of Rome he exercised imperium domi, the power of enforcing order and obedience to his commands, but this power was not absolute. An individual had the right to provocatio ad populum, an appeal of the decision of the consul. Usually, this appeal only occurred if it was a matter of life, death, or the individual believed he was being singled out by the consul. However, outside the city, the consul had unrestricted power in the field, or imperium militiae, a power often extended to a commander, enabling him to use whatever force he considered necessary.

What was the Roman chance?

In 509 BCE with the exit of the last Etruscan king, Tarquin the Elder, the Roman people were presented with a unique opportunity, an opportunity that would eventually have an immense impact on the rest of Europe for centuries to come: the chance to create a new government, a republic. Although most rights were restricted ...

What would happen if the Republic fell under Augustus?

Unfortunately, the demise of the Republic and rise of the empire under Augustus would spell the end of power of the consul. The assemblies would lose their ability to make laws and thereby name a consul. While the title of consul would remain, an emperor would simply assume the title himself.

What were the consuls of Rome?

The imperial Consuls still maintained the right to preside at meetings of the Senate, however they could only exercise this right at the pleasure of the Emperor. They partially administered justice in extraordinary cases. They presented games in the Circus Maximus and all public solemnities in honor of the Emperor at their own expense. After the expiration of their offices, the ex Consuls (Proconsuls) went on to govern one of the provinces that were administered by the Senate. They usually served terms of three to five years.

What is the Roman consul?

Roman Consul. Consul (abbrev. cos.; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and the Empire. During the time of ancient Rome as a Republic, the Consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. There were two consuls, and they ruled together. ...

Why was the consulship important?

Holding the consulship was a great honor and the office was the major symbol of the still republican constitution. Probably as part of seeking formal legitimacy, the break-away Gallic Empire had its own pairs of consuls during its existence (260–274).

What is consular dating?

Consular dating The highest magistrates were eponymous, i.e. each year was officially identified (like a regnal year in a monarchy) by the two Consuls' names, though there was a more practical numerical dating ab urbe condita (i.e. by the era starting with the mythical foundation year of Rome). For instance, the year 59 BC in the modern calendar was called by the Romans "the consulship of Caesar and Bibulus," since the two colleagues in the consulship were (Gaius) Julius Caesar and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus — although Caesar dominated the consulship so thoroughly that year that it was jokingly referred to as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar" [6].

How many men did the consul have?

In the rare case that both consuls marched together, each one held the command for a day respectively. Normally a consular army was about 20.000 men strong and consisted of two citizen and two allied legions. In the early years of the republic, Rome's enemies were located in central Italy, so campaigns lasted a few months. As Rome's frontiers expanded, in the 2nd century BC, the campaigns became lengthier. Romans were a warlike society, and very seldom did not wage war [5]. So the Consul upon entering office was expected by the Senate and the People to march his army against Rome's enemies, and expand the Roman frontiers. His soldiers expected to return to their homes after the campaign with spoils. If the Consul won an overwhelming victory, was hailed as imperator by his troops, and could request to be granted a triumph.

How old do you have to be to be a consul?

Under the laws of the Republic, the minimum age of election to consul for patricians was 41 years of age, for plebeians 42. Two consuls were elected each year, serving together with veto power over each other's actions, a normal principle for magistracies. However these laws were not always applied and there are several cases of consuls elected before the appropriate age.

What were the duties of a consul?

Consuls had extensive capacities in peacetime (administrative, legislative and judicial), and in war time often held the highest military command. Additional religious duties included certain rights which, as a sign of their formal importance, could only be carried out by top level state officials.

How many consuls were there in Rome?

From the establishment of the Republic to the time of Augustus, the consuls were the chief magistrates of the Roman state, and normally there were two of them, so that the executive power of the state was not vested in a single individual, as it had been under the kings. As other ancient societies dated historical events according to the reigns of their kings, it became customary at Rome to date events by the names of the consuls in office when the events occurred, rather than (for instance) by counting the number of years since the foundation of the city, although that method could also be used. If a consul died during his year of office, another was elected to replace him. Although his imperium was the same as his predecessor's, he was termed consul suffectus, in order to distinguish him from the consul ordinarius whom he replaced; but the eponymous magistrates for each year were normally the consules ordinarii.

What is the order of consuls?

The consul named first in the lists was identified as consul prior, whereas the other was called consul posterior. The two consuls' authority was technically equal. 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. The surviving sources for the order of the consuls in the early Republic show some measure of conflict in just under half of the cases. Lily Ross Taylor argues that the emperor Augustus falsified some of the records in order to give prominence to several families, and that the order of consuls as reported by the historian Livy is the most reliable. Drummond disagrees: he argues that Livy himself switches the correct order at times for literary purposes, and that discrepant entries in the sources are most likely simply the result of negligence. Although there is probably one 'correct' order for all the consuls of the republic, or at least one underlying tradition reporting it, no surviving source seems to be more reliable than another to a significant extent.

What was the consulship in Imperial times?

In Imperial times the consulship became the senior administrative office under the emper ors, who frequently assumed the title of consul themselves, and appointed other consuls at will. The consulship was often bestowed as a political favour, or a reward for faithful service. Because there could only be two consuls at once, the emperors frequently appointed several sets of suffecti sequentially in the course of a year; holding the consulship for an entire year became a special honour. As the office lost much of its executive authority, and the number of consuls appointed for short and often irregular periods increased, surviving lists from Imperial times are often incomplete, and have been reconstructed from many sources, not always with much certainty. In many cases it is stated that a particular person had been consul, but the exact time cannot be firmly established.

When did the Western consuls continue to be appointed?

Western consuls continued to be appointed after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.

When did the Emperor assume the consulship?

When the emperor assumed the consulship, he was necessarily consul prior. This distinction continued until the fourth century AD, when the Empire was divided into a Western Roman Empire and an Eastern Roman Empire: the consuls who were appointed by the court in the Western Empire, which was sometimes at Rome, are commonly identified as the "Western consul", and those appointed by the court in the Eastern, usually Constantinople, the "Eastern consul". These designations were used until the end of the consulship in the sixth century.

When was the Roman constitution made?

In the year 451 BC , a board of ten men, known as decemviri, or decemvirs, was appointed in place of the consuls in order to draw up the tables of Roman law, in a sense establishing the Roman constitution.

When was Rome founded?

For the early Republic, this article observes the Varronian chronology, established by the historian Marcus Terentius Varro, who calculated that Rome was founded in what is now called the year 753 BC (the founding of the city was traditionally observed on the Palilia, a festival occurring on April 21).

Who Were Ancient Roman consuls?

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Ancient Roman Consuls: Facts