Рим Сенатының бірінші мүшесі: Princeps Senatus тарихы

First member by precedence of the Roman Senate

The princeps senatus ( principes senatus), in English the leader of the senate, was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and possessing no imperium, this office conferred prestige on the senator holding it. The position was created in the first half of the third century BC and retained its prominence for two centuries. The principes were often the most famous Roman politicians of the period, such Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Scipio Africanus, and Marcus Aemilius Scaurus. It lost its importance after the reforms of the dictator Sulla in 82–80 BC, but might have been temporarily restored for Cicero, its possible last incumbent during the struggle between Mark Antony and the Senate in 43 BC. The Roman emperors merged the princeps senatus' prerogatives with their own, although there are occasional mentions of distinctive principes during the later Empire.

The princeps senatus was chosen by the pair of censors (that is, every 5 years on average) whenever there was a vacancy on the seat during their tenure. The princeps senatus was not a lifetime appointment. However, in practice, the incumbent princeps senatus was always re appointed by the censors. Traditionally, the princeps senatus had the honour of speaking first on any motion or topic presented by the presiding magistrate. By the middle republic, the princeps senatus was the most prestigious position in Rome and had adduced further privileges: he moved all routine senate business, having power to have his input directly moulded into them by choosing their wording. He also set out the possible options on controversial proposals. Some notable principes of this period were the famous Scipio Africanus (appointed in 199, 194, and 189) and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who was appointed a record six times between 179 and 154 and combined his position with that of pontifex maximus – the Roman chief priesthood.

The position of princeps senatus was not defined by law (lex), but by tradition (mos), which makes it more difficult to follow its evolution. For a long time, modern historians were influenced by the works of Theodor Mommsen, who thought that the principes senatus could only be patricians of the gentes maiores – the most illustrious patrician families (Cornelia, Valeria, Fabia, Aemilia, Manlia, and Claudia). However, Francis Ryan showed that Mommsen's argument was circular: he first asserted that the princeps must be from a gens maior, and later said the list of gentes maiores can be drawn from the principes – while ancient sources are silent on many principes and do not give the list of the gentes maiores. Ryan has argued instead that the princeps could be a plebeian: first, ancient sources never mention Mommsen's patrician requirement; second, because the post was established after the end of the Conflict of the Orders, the plebeians would not have allowed the patricians to create an office barred to them. The princeps senatus appeared in the beginning of the third century BC, possibly in 275. It finds its origin in the lex Ovinia of c. 313 BC, which considerably changed the composition of the Senate. Before this law, senators were about a hundred and appointed by the consuls from among their supporters; membership of the Senate therefore changed every year. The lex Ovinia transferred the power to appoint senators to the censors, who could only remove senators in case of misconduct, thus making them appointed for life. The law also increased their number to 300. These changes led the censors to make an official list of senators, recording their right to sit in the Senate. The first censor to make this list was likely Appius Claudius Caecus, who was said to have invented the rhotacism in Latin, perhaps in the process of writing this list, since several Latin names changed in these years. Another reform of the Senate followed a few decades later: senators were by now picked from among former magistrates. As a result, senators were ordered by the censors in several ranks according to their past magistracies. This ordering by seniority led to the creation of the princeps senatus: the first name on the list of senators, who was always the most senior ex censor, patrician or plebeian; the censors could not make a choice between candidates. Caecus was almost certainly not the first princeps, because the extensive tradition about him would not have failed to mention this fact. He is also described as an old man speaking in the Senate against Pyrrhus c. 280 BC. Since he was the most senior former censor at that date, the first princeps was necessarily appointed after his death. The most probable candidate is therefore Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus, chosen by the censors of 275, whose lectio left a mark in ancient sources. In 209 BC, the censor Publius Sempronius Tuditanus went against the tradition and appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus instead of Titus Manlius Torquatus, the senior ex censor. Tuditanus justified his choice by saying that Fabius was the foremost of all the Romans ("princeps Romanae civitatis"). After this date, the princeps was the most important politician of the day, chosen among the ex consuls, and often one of the sitting censors, appointed by the other censor. When the censors could not agree on a candidate, the choice was solved by lot, as in 209 BC.

+Mommsen (1864)Willems (1878)Suolahti (1972)Ryan (1998)Ryan's dating1M'. Valerius MaximusM'. Valerius MaximusM'. Valerius MaximusQ. Fabius Maximus Rullianus 275 – 2652M. Fabius AmbustusM. Fabius AmbustusM. Fabius AmbustusC. Marcius Rutilus Censorinus265 – before 2583Q. Fabius Maximus RullianusQ. Fabius Maximus RullianusQ. Fabius Maximus RullianusQ. Fabius Maximus Gurges258 – 247 or 2414Q. Fabius Maximus GurgesQ. Fabius Maximus GurgesQ. Fabius Maximus GurgesCn. Cornelius Blasio247 or 241 – before 2305Q. Fabius Maximus VerrucosusM. Fabius ButeoM. Fabius ButeoC. Duilius 230 – 2256P. Cornelius Scipio AfricanusQ. Fabius Maximus VerrucosusQ. Fabius Maximus VerrucosusM'. Valerius Maximus Corvinus Messalla 225 – before 2207L. Valerius FlaccusP. Cornelius Scipio AfricanusP. Cornelius Scipio AfricanusAulus Manlius Torquatus Atticus 220 – before 2168M. Aemilius LepidusL. Valerius FlaccusL. Valerius FlaccusM. Fabius Buteoby 216 – 2099P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica CorculumM. Aemilius LepidusM. Aemilius LepidusQ. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus209 – 20310Ap. Claudius PulcherP. Cornelius Scipio Nasica CorculumP. Cornelius Scipio Nasica CorculumP. Cornelius Scipio Africanus199 – 184/18311P. Cornelius Lentulus (cos 162)P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica SerapioAp. Claudius PulcherL. Valerius Flaccus184/183 – 18012M. Aemilius ScaurusAp. Claudius PulcherL. Cornelius Lentulus LupusM. Aemilius Lepidus179–153/15213L. Valerius FlaccusP. Cornelius Lentulus (cos 162)P. Cornelius Lentulus (cos 162)P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum 147 – 14114Mam. Aemilius Lepidus LivianusL. Cornelius Lentulus LupusM. Aemilius ScaurusAp. Claudius Pulcher 136 – before 13015M. Aemilius ScaurusL. Valerius FlaccusL. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus130? – before 12516L. Valerius FlaccusP. Cornelius Lentulus (cos 162) 125 – before 11517Quintus Lutatius CatulusM. Aemilius Scaurus115 – 8918Publius Servilius Vatia IsauricusL. Valerius Flaccusby 86 – 70s19M. Tullius CiceroM. Tullius Ciceroafter 21 April – 7 Dec. 43