The Curia Cornelia was a place where the

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 Sena ...

assembled beginning c. 52 BC. It was the largest of all the ''Curiae'' (Senate Houses) built in Rome. Its construction took over a great deal of the traditional

comitium The Comitium () was the original open-air public meeting space of Ancient Rome, and had major religious and prophetic significance. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium location at the northwest corner of the Roman Foru ...

space and brought the senate building into a commanding location within the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

as a whole. It was the Senate House of the time of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

and is significant because its location was moved by him to diminish the Senate's dominance within the City and Republic.

History

In 80 BC,

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

decided to enlarge the existing Curia to accommodate the doubling of senators in the Republic. He had to demolish the old Curia Hostilia and the

Comitium The Comitium () was the original open-air public meeting space of Ancient Rome, and had major religious and prophetic significance. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium location at the northwest corner of the Roman Foru ...

, but the name Hostilia was kept. The Curia Hostilia was again destroyed during riots at the funeral of Publius Clodius Pulcher, in 52 BC. It was rebuilt again by Faustus Cornelius Sulla, the son of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and took the name Curia Cornelia.

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, X
50.2-3
In 44 BC, the Curia was converted into a temple by Caesar during his redesign of the

. It is not known when the building was finally torn down, but its location in relation to the Forum of Caesar made it more than likely that happened during or after the construction of the first Imperial Forum. Finally, Caesar replaced the Curia Cornelia with the Curia Julia, which still stands, in 44 BC.

References

External links

Curia Cornelia
{{coord missing, Italy Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC Roman Forum Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Rome R. X Campitelli Roman Senate

History

See also

References

External links