Very often you can hear the phrase: "Rome conquered the world three times." If you know the very essence of this statement, it becomes clear that it is true. First of all, Rome conquered the world with legions, through constant conquest. The second element that obliges many countries to be grateful to the ancient empire is culture. Many states, after they were captured by Rome, evolved quite quickly and moved to a new level of development. Rome also gave humanity a right. From this we can conclude that this once great state left a significant mark on world history.
What is Rome?
In ancient times there was the Roman Republic. It originated in the vastness of modern Italy, between three hills: the Palatine, the Capitol and the Quirinal, where today the modern city of Rome is located. Initially, it was a city-state, like all prominent countries of that time.
However, after several centuries, when Rome developed to the size of just a huge republic, its territory has increased significantly. To manage such a "political machine" a new form of power was needed. A simple reign alreadydidn't fit. Therefore, the Romans chose for themselves a democratic form of government, which for many centuries was fixed on the standard of the republic in the form of the abbreviation SPQR. What this expression means is known to many, but still it has caused a lot of controversy for many years.
What does SPQR mean?
When scientists were just starting a serious study of Ancient Rome, this abbreviation was identified with the state itself. Such a conclusion was true and at the same time false, because much more meaning was put into the abbreviation SPQR.
Rome thus played the role of a kind of progenitor of all its citizens. Most often, the designation was depicted on the standards of legionnaires. They also housed Aquila, which means "eagle" in Latin. Thus, the "eagle" was the symbol of the republic, and SPQR carries a much greater meaning. The abbreviation originated from the saying: "The Senate and Citizens of Rome." This speaks of a more political than symbolic significance of the SPQR. What each letter of this abbreviation means was found out much later.
Meaning of letters SPQR
The statement had an archaic meaning, since, according to scientists, it came from the time of the founding of Rome. There are many definitions of the acronym SPQR. Almost all of them mean the same thing: the greatness of Rome and its senate. This emphasizes the fact that the citizens of the republic were proud of their state system and therefore made SPQR their unspoken symbol. Ancient Rome, as it developed, conquered many states and made themprovinces, thus emphasizing the greatness of their state and political system.
If you parse each letter of the abbreviation SPQR, you get the following transcript, namely:
- In almost all the writings of the ancient Romans, the letter S meant "Senate" or "Senatus" - in Latin.
- P is an abbreviation of the word “Populusque”, “Populus”, which means “people”, “nation”, “nation”.
- The letter Q causes the most controversy. Many scientists argue about its meaning to this day. Some believe that Q is an abbreviation for the word Qurites, or in Russian “citizen”. Others characterize Q as short for Quritium, "warrior with a spear."
- The letter R has always stood for Romae, Romenus. Translated, it means "Rome".
Studying each letter of SPQR, which means "the greatness and strength of Rome", helps to understand the mentality of the ancient Romans and their faith in their state.
SPQR and modernity
Today this symbolic abbreviation can be found almost everywhere. It was actively used during the Italian Renaissance. In modern Italy, the symbol is used as the coat of arms of the city of Rome. He is depicted on posters, manholes and houses.
The expression SPQR, which means "The Senate and Citizens of Rome", was used to depict some scenes of the Passion of Christ to emphasize the presence of the Roman Empire in these events.
