Potestas
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Potestas
''Potestas'' is a Latin word meaning power or faculty. It is an important concept in Roman Law. Origin of the concept The idea of ''potestas'' originally referred to the power, through coercion, of a Roman magistrate to promulgate edicts, give action to litigants, etc. This power, in Roman political and legal theory, is considered analogous in kind though lesser in degree to military power. The most important magistrates (such as consuls and praetors) are said to have ''imperium'', which is the ultimate form of ''potestas,'' and refers indeed to military power. ''Potestas'' strongly contrasts with the power of the Senate and the ''prudentes'', a common way to refer to Roman jurists. While the magistrates had ''potestas'', the ''prudentes'' exercised ''auctoritas''. It is said that ''auctoritas'' is a manifestation of socially recognized knowledge, while ''potestas'' is a manifestation of socially recognized power. In Roman political theory, both were necessary to guide the ''res ...
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Podestà
(), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city-state, the counterpart to similar positions in other cities that went by other names, e.g. ('rectors'). In the following centuries up to 1918, the term was used to designate the head of the municipal administration, particularly in the Italian-speaking territories of the Austrian Empire. The title was taken up again during the Fascist regime with the same meaning. The 's office, its duration and the residence and the local jurisdiction were called , especially during the Middle Ages, and in later centuries, more rarely during the Fascist regime. Currently, is the title of mayors in Italian-speaking municipalities of Graubünden in Switzerland, but it is not the case for the Canton of Ticino, which uses the title (the same curr ...
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Auctoritas
is a Latin word that is the origin of the English word "authority". While historically its use in English was restricted to discussions of the political history of Rome, the beginning of Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenological philosophy in the 20th century expanded the use of the word. In ancient Rome, referred to the level of prestige a person had in Roman society, and, as a consequence, his standing, influence, and ability to rally support around his will. was not merely political, however; it had a numinous content and symbolized the mysterious "power of command" of heroic Roman figures. Noble women could also achieve a degree of . For example, the wives, sisters, and mothers of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians had immense influence on society, the masses, and the political apparatus. Their was exercised less overtly than that of their male counterparts due to Roman societal norms, but they were powerful nonetheless. Etymology and origin According to l ...
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Duo Sunt
, also known by the Latin mnemonic ('there are two'), is a letter written in 494 by Pope Gelasius I to Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus on the relationship between religious and secular officials. Description is a letter written in 494 by Pope Gelasius I to Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus which expressed the Gelasian doctrine. According to commentary in the '' Enchiridion symbolorum'', the letter is "the most celebrated document of the ancient Church concerning the two powers on earth." The Gelasian doctrine articulates a Christian theology about division of authority and power. All Medieval theories about division of power between priestly spiritual authority and secular temporal authority were versions of the Gelasian doctrine. According to the Gelasian doctrine, secular temporal authority is inferior to priestly spiritual authority since a priestly spiritual authority is responsible for the eternal condition of both a secular temporal authority and the sub ...
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Magistratus
The Roman magistrates () were elected officials in ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate.Abbott, 8 His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgiver, judge, and the sole commander of the army.Abbott, 8Abbott, 15 When the king died, his power reverted to the Roman Senate, which then chose an Interrex to facilitate the election of a new king. During the transition from the Roman Kingdom to Roman Republic, the constitutional balance of power shifted from the executive (the Roman king) to the Roman Senate. When the Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC, the powers that had been held by the king were transferred to the Roman consuls, of which two were to be elected each year. Magistrates of the republic were elected by the people of Rome, and were each vested with a degree of power called "major powers" (''maior potestas'').Abbott, 151 Dictators had more "major powers" than any other ...
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Praetor
''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge various duties. The functions of the magistracy, the ''praetura'' (praetorship), are described by the adjective itself: the ''praetoria potestas'' (praetorian power), the ''praetorium imperium'' (praetorian authority), and the ''praetorium ius'' (praetorian law), the legal precedents established by the ''praetores'' (praetors). ''Praetorium'', as a substantive, denoted the location from which the praetor exercised his authority, either the headquarters of his ''castra'', the courthouse (tribunal) of his judiciary, or the city hall of his provincial governorship. The minimum age for holding the praetorship was 39 during the Roman Republic, but it was later changed to 30 in the early Empire. History of the title The status of the ''pra ...
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Res Publica
', also spelled ''rēs pūblica'' to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the ''republic'', and '' commonwealth'' has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations vary widely according to the context. ''Res'' is a nominative singular Latin noun for a substantive or concrete thing—as opposed to ''spes'', which means something unreal or ethereal—and ''publica'' is an attributive adjective meaning "of or pertaining to the public, people", hence a literal translation is "the public thing, affair", or "the people's thing, affair". The Latin term ''res publica'' was incompatible with the idea of absolute power by any individual or group over the body of citizens. The most essential characteristic of a ''res publica'' was liberty (''libertas''), which meant freedom from the arbitrary control of another and the absence of a monarchical domination over the body politic, that was analogous to the absolute ...
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Imperium
In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic and Empire. One's ''imperium'' could be over a specific military unit, or it could be over a province or territory. Individuals given such power were referred to as curule magistrates or promagistrates. These included the curule aedile, the praetor, the consul, the ''magister equitum'', and the dictator. In a general sense, ''imperium'' was the scope of someone's power, and could include anything, such as public office, commerce, political influence, or wealth. Ancient Rome ''Imperium'' originally meant absolute or kingly power—the word being derived from the Latin verb ''imperare'' (to command)—which became somewhat limited under the Republic by the collegiality of the republican magistrates and the right of appeal, or '' provoc ...
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Roman Law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also denoted the legal system applied in most of Western Europe until the end of the 18th century. In Germany, Roman law practice remained in place longer under the Holy Roman Empire (963–1806). Roman law thus served as a basis for Civil law (legal system), legal practice throughout Western continental Europe, as well as in most former colonies of these European nations, including Latin America, and also in Ethiopia. English and Anglo-American common law were influenced also by Roman law, notably in their Latinate legal glossary. Eastern Europe was also influenced by the jurisprudence of the , especially in countries such as medieval Romania, which created a new legal system comprising a mixture of Roman and local law. After the dissolution of ...
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Pepin The Short
the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of Hesbaye, Rotrude. Pepin's upbringing was distinguished by the ecclesiastical education he had received from the Christian monasticism, Christian monks of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Abbey Church of St. Denis, near Paris. Succeeding his father as the Mayor of the Palace in 741, Pepin reigned over Francia jointly with his elder brother, Carloman (mayor of the palace), Carloman. Pepin ruled in Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence, while his older brother Carloman established himself in Austrasia, Alemannia, and Thuringia. The brothers were active in suppressing revolts led by the Bavarians, Aquitanians, Saxons, and the Alemanni in the early years of their reign. In 743, they ended the by choosing Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian ...
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City States
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, Carthage, Athens and Sparta and the Italian city-states during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as Florence, Venice, Genoa and Milan. With the rise of nation states worldwide, there remains some disagreement on the number of modern city-states that still exist; Singapore, Monaco and Vatican City are the candidates most commonly discussed. Out of these, Singapore is the largest and most populous, and is generally considered to be the last real city-state left in the world, with full sovereignty, international borders, its own currency, a robust military, and substantial international influence in its own right. ''The Economist'' refers to it as the "world's only fully functioning city-state". Several non-sovereign cities enjoy a high ...
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Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as List of islands of Italy, nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares land borders with France to the west; Switzerland and Austria to the north; Slovenia to the east; and the two enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino. It is the List of European countries by area, tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering , and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with nearly 59 million inhabitants. Italy's capital and List of cities in Italy, largest city is Rome; other major cities include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The history of Italy goes back to numerous List of ancient peoples of Italy, Italic peoples—notably including the ancient Romans, ...
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Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. For most of its history the Empire comprised the entirety of the modern countries of Germany, Czechia, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Luxembourg, most of north-central Italy, and large parts of modern-day east France and west Poland. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne Roman emperor, reviving the title more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The title lapsed in 924, but was revived in 962 when Otto I, OttoI was crowned emperor by Pope John XII, as Charlemagne's and the Carolingian Empire's successor. From 962 until the 12th century, the empire ...
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