The Consul at Rome

by Francisco Pina Polo

2011 · Cambridge University Press

In modern times there have been studies of the Roman Republican institutions as a whole as well as in-depth analyses of the senate, the popular assemblies, the tribunate of the plebs, the aedileship, the praetorship and the censorship. However, the consulship, the highest magistracy of the Roman Republic, has not received the same attention from scholars. The purpose of this book is to analyse the tasks that consuls performed in the civil sphere during their term of office between the years 367 and 50 BC, using the preserved ancient sources as its basis. In short, it is a study of the consuls 'at work', both within and outside the city of Rome, in such varied fields as religion, diplomacy, legislation, jurisdiction, colonisation, elections, and day-to-day politics. Clearly and accessibly written, it will provide an indispensable reference work for all scholars and students of the history of the Roman Republic.

Cursus honorum: pathways to rank and power in the roman republic

by Francisco Pina Polo

2025 · Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza

This volume addresses a crucial issue for the political culture of the Roman Republic: competition among individuals and families of the social elite. This rivalry came to head at the annual elections of new magistrates: every year, a number of candidates ran for office and whereas some obtained sufficient votes from the people, others were defeated. The political career of a Roman citizen therefore took the shape of a hierarchical ladder (cursus honorum) whose rungs corresponded to the age at which one or other magistracy was attained. The book deals with the position of the cursus honorum in Republican history, reflects on the way scholarship has constructed its political and social significance for the political culture of the period, and discusses questions relating to how Roman citizens pursued different political careers. The outcome is a groundbreaking and essential contribution to a better understanding of the Roman Republic.