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Senatus Consultum Ultimum
("final decree of the Senate", often abbreviated to SCU) is the modern term given to resolutions of the Roman Senate lending its moral support for magistrates to use the full extent of their powers and ignore the laws to safeguard the state. The decree has been interpreted to mean something akin to martial law, a suspension of the constitution, or a state of emergency. However, it is generally accepted that the senate did not have power to make or provide exceptions to laws. No laws were actually suspended; the senate merely lent its moral authority to defend a magistrate's extra-legal acts. First used against Gaius Gracchus in 121 BC to suppress a violent protest against repeal of a colonisation law and accepted thereafter, recourse to the decree accelerated over the course of the last century of the republic. Its use was politically disputed, although usually in terms of whether a decree was justified by the challenges facing the state rather than in terms of its overa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Senate of the Roman Kingdom, to the Senate of the Roman Republic and Senate of the Roman Empire and eventually the Byzantine Senate of the Eastern Roman Empire, existing well into the post-classical era and Middle Ages. During the days of the Roman Kingdom, the Senate was generally little more than an advisory council to the king. However, as Rome was an electoral monarchy, the Senate also elected new Roman kings. The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown following a coup d'état led by Lucius Junius Brutus, who founded the Roman Republic. During the early Republic, the Senate was politically weak, while the various executive Roman magistrates who appointed the senators for life (or until expulsion by Roma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Dictator
A Roman dictator was an extraordinary Roman magistrate, magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned. He received the full powers of the state, subordinating the other magistrates, Roman consul, consuls included, for the specific purpose of resolving that issue, and that issue only, and then dispensing with those powers immediately. A dictator was still controlled and accountable during his term in office: the Senate still exercised some oversight authority, and the rights of Tribune of the plebs, plebeian tribunes to veto his actions or of the people to appeal them were retained. The extent of a dictator's mandate strictly controlled the ends to which his powers could be directed. Dictators were also liable to prosecution after their terms completed. Dictators were frequently appointed from the earliest period of the Republic down to the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), but the magistracy then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Lucius Cornelius Cinna (before 130 BC – early 84 BC) was a four-time consul of the Roman republic. Opposing Sulla's march on Rome in 88 BC, he was elected to the consulship of 87 BC, during which he engaged in an armed conflict – the Bellum Octavianum – with his co-consul, Gnaeus Octavius. Emerging victorious, Cinna initiated with his ally, Gaius Marius, the murders of their enemies. In the aftermath, he dominated the republic for the next three years, serving continuously as consul. While his domination was not complete – he largely contented himself with securing the consulship for himself and allies – his political rule set a "crucial precedent" for later strongmen in the republic. Through 85 and 84 BC, he prepared for war against Sulla, who was soon to return from the First Mithridatic War. Cinna was killed by his own troops, who mutinied during his attempt to cross the Adriatic at Ancona early in 84 BC. Early life and family Cinn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curia Hostilia
The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early monarchy, the temple was used by senators acting as a council to the king. Tullus Hostilius (r. 673–641 BC)Livy, ''History of Rome'', i. 30. was believed to have replaced the original structure after fire destroyed the converted temple. It may have held historic significance as the location of an Etruscan mundus and altar. The Lapis Niger, a series of large black marble slabs, was placed over the altar (known as the Volcanal) where a series of monuments was found opposite the Rostra. This curia was enlarged in 80 BC by Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his renovations of the comitium. That building burned down in 52 BC when the supporters of the murdered Publius Clodius Pulcher used it as a pyre to cremate his body. History There has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capitoline Hill
The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The word ''Capitolium'' first referred to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus which was located on the hill, however the meaning evolved to refer to the whole hill and even other temples of Jupiter on other hills. In an etymological myth, ancient sources connect the name to ''caput'' ("head", "summit") because of a tale that stated that when the foundations for the temple were being laid, a man's head was found. The ''Capitolium'' was regarded by the Romans as indestructible, and was adopted as a symbol of eternity. The word ''Capitolium'' is a precursor to the English word ''wikt:capitol, capitol'', and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. is widely assumed to be named after the Capitoline Hill. Ancient history At this hill, the Sabines, creepin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Memmius (governor Of Macedonia)
Gaius Memmius (c. 140s BC – December 100 BC) was a Roman politician. He was murdered by Gaius Servilius Glaucia during the disturbances that rocked Rome during the violent uprising and suppression of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus. Career Gaius Memmius was elected tribune of the plebs in 111 BC, and was instrumental in relaunching the Jugurthine War after Jugurtha’s surrender in 111 BC. During his tribunate, he accused the consul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia, the senator Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and other aristocrats of accepting bribes from King Jugurtha. He summoned Jugurtha to appear in Rome, and promised him safe conduct in order that he may be questioned, but when Jugurtha arrived, Memmius was prevented from questioning the king by his colleague Gaius Baebius, whom Jugurtha bribed to impose his veto. Memmius served as praetor sometime between in 107 and 102 BC, and this was followed by the proconsular governorship of Macedonia. Then, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus prosecuted Memmius w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbrian War, Cimbric and Jugurthine War, Jugurthine wars, he held the office of Roman consul, consul an unprecedented seven times. Rising from a family of smallholders in a village called Ceraetae in the district of Arpinum, Marius acquired his initial military experience serving with Scipio Aemilianus at the Siege of Numantia in 134 BC. He won election as tribune of the plebs in 119 BC and passed a law limiting aristocratic interference in elections. Barely elected praetor in 115 BC, he next became the governor of Further Spain where he campaigned against bandits. On his return from Spain he married Julia (wife of Marius), Julia, the aunt of Julius Caesar. Marius attained his first consulship in 107 BC and became the commander of Roman forces in Numidia, where he brought an end to the Jugurthine War. By 105 BC Rome faced an invasion by the Cimbri and Teutones, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Servilius Glaucia
Gaius Servilius Glaucia (died late 100 BC) was a Roman politician who served as praetor in 100 BC. He is most well known for being an illegal candidate for the consulship of 99 BC. He was killed during riots and political violence in the year 100 BC while pursuing consular candidacy. Career Glaucia was descended from consular ancestors, making him one of the ''nobiles''. His public career started with his holding the quaestorship some time before 109 BC. In the year 104 or 101 BC ( T. R. S. Broughton, in ''Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', expresses both years as possibilities but prefers 101 BC; Ernst Badian asserts 101 BC), Glaucia served as plebeian tribune. His tribunate regardless, was held one year before that of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, though the specifics cannot be easily pinned down due to a lack of clarity in Appian's account. During his tribunate, he passed legislation transferring the jury pool in the permanent court o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus (died late 100 BC) was a Roman populist and tribune. He is most notable for introducing a series of legislative reforms, alongside his associate Gaius Servilius Glaucia and with the consent of Gaius Marius, during the last years of the second century BC. Senatorial opposition to these laws eventually led to an internal crisis, the declaration of the '' senatus consultum ultimum'', and the deaths of Saturninus, Glaucia, and their followers in 100 BC. Biography Quaestor As '' quaestor'' (104 BC), he superintended the imports of grain at Ostia, but was removed by the Roman Senate (an unusual proceeding), and replaced by Marcus Aemilius Scaurus. First Tribuneship In 103 BC, he was elected tribune of the plebs. He entered into an agreement with Gaius Marius, and in order to gain the favour of his soldiers proposed that each of his veterans should receive an allotment of 100 iugera of land in the Roman province of Africa Africa is the world's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills. It has two distinct heights, one greater to the northwest (''Aventinus Major'') and one lesser to the southeast (''Aventinus Minor''), divided by a steep cleft that provides the base for an ancient roadway between the heights. During the Republican era, the two hills may have been recognized as a single entity. The Augustan reforms of Rome's urban neighbourhoods ('' vici'') recognised the ancient road between the two heights (the modern Viale Aventino) as a common boundary between the new Regio XIII, which absorbed Aventinus Maior, and the part of Regio XII known as Aventinus Minor. Etymology and mythology Most Roman sources trace the name of the hill to a legendary king Aventinus. Servius identifies two kings of that name, one ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Fulvius Flaccus (consul 125 BC)
Marcus Fulvius Flaccus (died 121 BC) was a Roman senator and an ally of the Gracchi. He served as consul in 125 BC and as plebeian tribune in 122 BC. Biography Flaccus had become one of the three men for the assignment of agricultural lands that was established by Tiberius Gracchus' ''lex agraria'' by 130 BC; he retained the post until his death. In this role, he attacked Scipio Aemilianus' attempts – at the instigation of the allies themselves – to transfer the jurisdiction over boundary disputes from the commission to the consuls. He served as praetor some time before 128 BC. As a solution to the problem of land division among the allied cities, Flaccus proposed to give Roman citizenship to individual Italian allies in order to obtain lands, thereby introducing a question that vexed Roman politics for many years. Elected consul in 125 BC on this programme, he proposed bills to grant the Italians citizenship and right of appeal. Valerius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio (182 or 181 – 132 BC) was a Roman politician. He is most well known for mobilising the mob which killed Tiberius Gracchus, who was at the time attempting to stand for re-election as plebeian tribune in 133 BC. He was Roman consul, consul in 138 BC and served as pontifex maximus, from possibly 141 through to his death in 132 BC. Career Nasica's first known public office was that of military tribune, which T.R.S. Broughton provisionally dated to 149 BC in ''Magistrates of the Roman Republic''. If he held that office, he would have been an officer during the Third Punic War and the Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War), siege of Carthage. Alexander Yakobson, writing in the ''Encyclopedia of Ancient History'', tentatively identifies this Scipio with the one who committed a Political gaffe, gaffe when, during a canvass for the aedileship, he asked whether a farmer with rough hands had a habit of walking on his hands. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
