Latest / The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History / The Roman Senate: Debating Republic and Empire
Transcript
- Lucas: So, episode 100. We've talked about consuls, censors, tribunes, the plebs, the fire brigades — but we've never actually sat down and talked about the institution that tied it all together for nearly a thousand years. The Roman Senate. Luna: The Senate. It's almost a cliché now, but back then it really was the center of gravity. Lucas: Exactly. And it's one of those things that changed so much over time that the word 'Senate' almost means different things in different centuries. At the start, under the kings, the Senate was basically a council of clan elders — the patres, the fathers. They advised the king, and when a king died, they basically ran things until a new one was chosen. Lucas: That interim period is where we get the word interrex — literally 'between kings.' And that structure carried over into the Republic. Once the kings were gone, the Senate didn't rule directly — that's a common mistake — but it advised the magistrates, controlled the treasury, handled foreign affairs. It was the steering wheel. Luna: So it was like the permanent government, while the elected officials rotated in and out. Lucas: Right. And that gave it immense continuity. By the late Republic, the Senate had about 600 members, all former magistrates — part of the cursus honorum. You had to have been a quaestor at least. And once you were in, it was for life, unless a censor kicked you out for moral turpitude. Luna: Which Cato the Elder loved doing. Lucas: Oh, absolutely. He expelled a man just for kissing his wife in front of their daughter. But the Senate's real power came from a few key tools. The most dramatic was the Senatus Consultum Ultimum — the 'final decree of the Senate.' It was essentially a declaration of emergency, telling the consuls: 'Do whatever it takes to protect the state.' No due process, no appeal. Lucas: It was first used in 121 BC against Gaius Gracchus and his supporters. And then famously in 63 BC, when Cicero was consul and uncovered the conspiracy of Catiline. Cicero convinced the Senate to pass the Senatus Consultum Ultimum, and then he had the conspirators executed without trial. That was hugely controversial, because Roman citizens had a right to a trial — provocatio ad populum. Luna: And that came back to bite Cicero later, didn't it? When his political enemies used it against him. Lucas: Exactly. He was exiled briefly. But the point is, the Senate was the stage where all these dramas played out. The building itself — the Curia — stood in the Forum. The most famous version, the Curia Julia, was built by Julius Caesar and finished by Augustus. You can still see its doors today, though they're not the originals. Lucas: And speaking of Augustus — he's the one who transformed the Senate from a ruling body into something more like an advisory council with a lot of prestige. He reduced its size, purged opponents, and set up a property qualification. Under the empire, the Senate could debate, pass resolutions, even try some cases — but the real power belonged to the emperor. Luna: But they still mattered symbolically. Emperors still had to pretend to respect them. Lucas: Right. Tiberius hated the Senate but went through the motions. Caligula famously wished the Roman people had a single neck he could cut — but he still needed the Senate to formalize his power. Nero actually had the Senate condemn him to death after he fled — which is ironic, because he was already dead. Lucas: The Senate's influence waxed and waned. Under good emperors like Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, it was consulted seriously. Under Domitian, it was terrified. And eventually, as the empire centralized and the court moved to places like Milan and Ravenna, the Senate became a city council for Rome itself. Luna: So it was still around, just… smaller. Lucas: Exactly. And it lasted surprisingly long. The last recorded act of the Roman Senate was in 590 AD, when it sent an embassy to Constantinople asking for help against the Lombards. By then, Rome was a shadow of its former self, and the Senate was just a handful of aristocrats. But still — from Romulus to the Lombards, that's over a thousand years of continuous institutional memory. Lucas: You know, moments like that make me think about how much effort goes into keeping these stories alive — not just for us as podcasters, but for anyone who cares about history. And honestly, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. If you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, and you've gotten something out of it, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: It's a small thing that makes a real difference — keeps the show ad-free and independent. Lucas: Exactly. So, back to the Senate — one of my favorite stories about its later years involves an emperor named Tacitus, who claimed descent from the historian. In 275 AD, after Aurelian was murdered, the Senate actually chose his successor. And they picked an elderly senator named Tacitus. He was supposedly 75, but he accepted. It was a brief revival — he died within a year — but it shows the idea of senatorial authority never quite died. Luna: So even in the late empire, the Senate could still produce an emperor. Lucas: For a few months, yes. But by then, the real power was the army. The Senate's role became mostly ceremonial — passing laws the emperor wanted, awarding titles, that sort of thing. And after the western empire fell in 476, the Senate in Rome continued to meet under Ostrogothic rule. Theoderic the Great actually respected it. He appointed senators to offices and consulted them. Lucas: But the Gothic Wars in the 6th century devastated the institution. Belisarius and Totila both used the city as a battlefield. And by the time Pope Gregory the Great was writing letters in the 590s, he mentions the Senate as a thing that used to exist — curia, the senatorial order, were gone or impoverished. Luna: So the last senators basically faded away, not with a bang but with a whimper. Lucas: Exactly. And yet, the idea of a senate — a deliberative body of elders — was so powerful that it got revived in medieval Italian city-states, and of course later in the United States and elsewhere. The word itself carries the weight of that Roman origin. Lucas: So when you look at the history of Rome, the Senate is this constant thread — from a group of clan chiefs to the rulers of the world's greatest republic, to a rubber stamp for emperors, to a city council, to a memory. It's a remarkable arc. Luna: And it's a good reminder that institutions are only as strong as the people who believe in them.