The Roman Senate (Senatus) from the Latin Senex (word for elder or council of elders) was an advisory governing body. His role changed with the era. The role of the Senate in the Roman Republic was extremely high, and in the imperial era, its power was in decline. It is important to note the difference between deliberative and legislative bodies in the sense that the Senate itself did not propose bills, that is, it was not legislative. Emperors, consuls and magistrates were directly involved in legislation.
Entity and functions
The Senate considered bills and subsequently approved or vetoed them. The phrase "The Senate and the Roman people" (SPQR, or Senatus Populusque Romanus) described the class difference between the senate and the common people. This phrase was engraved on all Republican and Imperial standards. The Roman people consisted of all citizens who were not members of the Senate of the Roman Empire.
Internal power was transferred to the Roman people through the Committee of the Hundreds (Comitia Centuriata), the Committee of the Tribal People (Comitia Populi Tributa) and the Council of the People (Concilium Plebis). The members of these bodies acted on the recommendations of the meetings of the Senate, and also elected judges.
Lawmaking
Despite the lack of actual legislative power, the Senate wielded considerable authority in Roman politics. As the representative of Rome, he was the official body that sent and received ambassadors on behalf of the city, appointed officials to govern provinces, declared war and negotiated peace, and provided funds for various projects such as the construction of public buildings.
The appointment of military legates and the general oversight of Roman religious practice also remained under the control of the Senate. He also had the power to appoint a dictator (a single leader who acted with supreme authority and without fear of reprisal) in a state of emergency, usually military. In the late Republic, in an attempt to stop the rising regime, the Senate tried to avoid dictatorship by resorting to the Senatus Consultum de Republica Defendenda or Senatus Consultum Ultimum. This involved declaring martial law and gave the two consuls essentially dictatorial power to protect the Republic.
Senators
The number of senators in Rome initially had a direct correlation with the number of tribes represented. In the early days of Rome, traditionally under Romulus, when Rome consisted of only one tribe, the Ramnes, the Senate consisted of one hundred members. Furtherthe amalgamation of various tribes such as the cities and the Lucers respectively increased the number of senators to 300.
Proposals throughout the Republic from various justices of the peace such as Gracchus, Livy Drusus, Sulla and Marius changed the membership from 300 to 600. From time to time distinguished plebeians or even ordinary soldiers and free citizens joined this body, for example, under Julius Caesar, when the Senate was increased to 900 people. With the coming of Augustus, the permanent strength base was set at 600. But this number also fluctuated according to the whims of the emperors.
The original 100 senators or advisory council, traditionally established by the mythical Romulus, consisted of the heads of the leading families, the patricians (Patres - fathers). Later, plebeian senators who were drafted were called conscripts, as they had no choice but to take a seat in the Senate.
The members of the Senate were chosen from among acceptable equals, and they were elected consuls, tribunes, and then censors. In addition, they were chosen from those who had been elected to previous magisterial positions, such as quaestors.
However, not all senators had equal status. Those who were elected by the censorship or other magistrates to fill seats among equals were not allowed to vote or speak in the Senate. Senators had to earn their due dignity and nobility in order to vote and speak on the floor, holding various positions such as consul, praetor, aedile, etc. Such meritorious positions as pontiff, head of the Roman religion, high priest of Jupiter, were assigned tonon-voting and non-speaking categories, except for various religious rituals.
Birth of an empire
When Caesar Augustus (or Octavian) became the first emperor of Rome, he wanted to avoid the fate of his father Julius Caesar, who was assassinated. He didn't want to become an absolute dictator, but still wanted to wield a significant amount of power over anyone else.
During the Republic, the political system was structured by two consuls at the top, senators, praetors, aediles, etc. But there were two consuls who had almost equal power and both had the power to veto.
By the time the empire was formed, it still was, but the emperor sat at the top of the hierarchy, ruling over everyone else. Augustus was smart - he made everyone think that Rome was a republic after all, but in fact he had all the power.
Thus the Senate lost much of its influence and was destroyed by Julius years before he disrupted the political system. Augustus mainly used this as an outlet to assign provinces and weaker territories of the empire to senators.
It was basically an administrative body of the emperor's office, which had no independent power. After the empire began to develop, the work of the popular assemblies was transferred to the Senate, and the assemblies were abolished.
August reduced the composition of the Senate from 900 to 600 people and changed the qualifications. To qualify, a person must haveminimum net worth, citizenship status and not be convicted of any crime. People were appointed to the Senate if they served as a quaestor or were appointed by the emperor. To be a quaestor, a person had to be the son of a senator, unless the emperor waived this rule.
Consequences
The Senate had no real governing power after Octavian's accession to the Roman throne. Technically, senators were still the source of some power. The emperor, as a rule, took the supreme magistracy (consulate) from time to time. The Senate has indeed served as a source of authority for many provincial governorships.
Although the Imperial Treasury was not directly responsible to the Senate, it would eventually make a lot of money by selling seats to we althy provincials in search of social status.
Total power
Under the empire, the emperor's power over the Senate was absolute, partly because the emperor held office for life. It was the emperor who held the position of Senate Chairman.
Regulations
The decrees of the Senate in Roman law during the empire no longer had the force they had under the republic. Most of the bills presented to the Senate were submitted by the emperor or his supporters. At the beginning of the principate, Augustus and Tiberius made efforts to hide theirinfluence this body by lobbying senators privately.
Because no senator could run for magistracy without the emperor's approval, they usually did not vote against bills presented by the ruler. If the senator did not approve the bill, he usually expressed his disagreement, and had the right not to be present at the Senate meeting on the voting day.
Each emperor chose a quaestor to draw up the minutes of the Senate in a document (Acta Senatus) that included proposed bills, white papers, and summaries of speeches presented before the Senate. The document was archived and parts of it were published (in a document called Acta Diurna or "Daily Affairs") and then distributed to the public. The meetings of the Roman Senate were completely under imperial control.
