The Roman Senate (Senatus) of the Latin Senex (word for elders or council of elders) was an advisory governing body. His role has changed depending on 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 the deliberative and legislative bodies in the sense that the Senate itself did not propose bills, that is, it was not legislative. The legislation was directly dealt with by emperors, consuls and magistrates.
Essence and Functions
The Senate considered bills and subsequently approved them or vetoed them. The phrase "Senate and the Roman people" (SPQR, or Senatus Populusque Romanus) described the class difference between the senate and ordinary people. This phrase has been 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 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 Senate meetings, and also elected judges.
Lawmaking
Despite the lack of de facto legislative power, the Senate had 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 the provinces, declared war and negotiated peace, and allocated funds for various projects, such as the construction of public buildings.
The appointment of military legates and general oversight of Roman religious practice also remained under Senate control. He also had the authority to appoint a dictator (the sole leader who acted with the highest authority and not fear reprisal) in a state of emergency, usually military. In the late republic, trying to stop the growing regime, the Senate tried to avoid dictatorship by resorting to the Senatus Consultum de Republica Defendenda or Senatus Consultum Ultimum. This implied the declaration of martial law and gave the two consuls, in fact, 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 Ramnes tribe, the Senate consisted of one hundred members. Further unification of various tribes, such as cities and alfalfa, respectively increased the number of senators to 300.
Offers throughout the Republic from various justices of the peace, such as Gracchus, Livy Drusus, Sulla and Marius, changed membership from 300 to 600. From time to time, prominent plebeians or even ordinary soldiers and free citizens, for example, under Julius Caesar, joined this body when the Senate was increased to 900 people. With the advent of Augustus, a permanent base of numbers was set at 600 people. But this number also fluctuated on the whims of emperors.
The original 100 senators or advisory council, traditionally established by the mythical Romulus, consisted of heads of leading families, patricians (Patres - fathers). Later, the plebeian senators who were called were called draftees, since they had no choice but to take a seat in the Senate.
Members of the Senate were chosen from among acceptable equals, and they were elected by consuls, tribunes, and then censors. In addition, they were selected from those who were elected to previous magistrate positions, for example, to the quaestors.
However, not all senators had equal status. Those who were elected by censorship or other magistrates to fill seats among equals did not have the right to vote or speak at a meeting of the Senate. Senators had to earn the proper dignity and nobility in order to vote and speak on the floor, holding various positions, such as consul, praetor, aedile, etc. Such worthy positions as the pontiff, head of the Roman religion, high priest of Jupiter were categorized not voting and not speaking, with the exception of various religious rituals.
The 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 killed. He did not want to become an absolute dictator, but still wanted to have a significant amount of power compared to 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 right to veto.
By the time the empire was formed, it was still there, but the emperor was sitting at the top of the hierarchy, controlling all the others. Augustus was smart - he made everyone think that Rome was still a republic, but in fact he had all the power.
Thus, the Senate lost most of its influence and was destroyed by Julius years before he violated the political system. Augustus mainly used this as a way out to appropriate the provinces and weaker territories of the empire to senators.
It was basically an administrative body of the office of the emperor, which did not have independent authority. After the empire began to develop, the work of public assemblies was transferred to the Senate, and assemblies were abolished.
August reduced the composition of the Senate from 900 to 600 people and changed their qualifications. To meet the requirements, a person must have a minimum net worth, citizenship status and not be convicted of any crimes. People were appointed to the Senate if they served as a quaestor or were appointed emperor. To be a quaestor, a person had to be the son of a senator, unless the emperor refused this rule.
Effects
The Senate did not have real governing power after the accession of Octavian to the Roman throne. Technically, senators were still the source of a certain power. The emperor, as a rule, from time to time took the supreme magistracy (consulate). The Senate did serve as a source of authority for many provincial governorates.
Although the imperial treasury was not directly responsible to the Senate, it would ultimately earn a lot of money by selling seats in it to wealthy provincials who are in search of social status.
Total power
Under the empire, the emperor’s power over the Senate was absolute, which was partially explained by the fact that the emperor held the post for life. It was the emperor who held the post of senate chairman.
Regulations
The decisions of the Senate in Roman law during the time of the empire no longer had the strength that they possessed under the republic. Most of the bills submitted to the Senate were submitted by the emperor or his supporters. At the beginning of the Principate, Augustus and Tiberius made efforts to hide their influence on this body, lobbying the senators privately.
Since no senator could run for magistracy without the approval of the emperor, they usually did not vote against bills submitted by the ruler. If the senator does not approve the bill, he usually expressed his disagreement, and had the right not to attend the Senate meeting on election day.
Each emperor chose a quaestor to draw up the Senate protocol in a document (Acta Senatus), which included proposed bills, official documents, and summaries of speeches submitted to the Senate. The document was archived and parts of it were published (in a document called Acta Diurna or “Everyday Things”) and then distributed to the public. The meetings of the Roman Senate were completely under imperial control.