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Consul (abbrev. cos.; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. During the time of the Republic, the Consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. Under the Empire, however, the Consuls were merely a figurative representative of Rome’s republican heritage holding very little power and authority.
HistoryUnder the RepublicAfter the legendary expulsion of the last Etruscan King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and the end of the Roman Kingdom, all the powers and authority of the King were ostensibly given to the newly instituted consulship. Originally, consuls were called Praetors ("leader"), referring to their duties as the chief military commanders. In 305 BC the name was changed to consul and the title praetor was given to an entirely new office. The office of consul is believed to date back to the traditional establishment of the Republic in 509 BC but the Succession of Consuls was not continuous in the 5th century. Consuls had extensive capacities in peacetime (administrative, legislative and judicial), and in war time often held the highest military command. Additional religious duties included certain rites which, as a sign of their formal importance, could only be carried out by top level state officials. Consuls also read auguries, an essential step before leading armies into the field. Under the laws of the Republic, the minimum age of election to consul for patricians was 41 years of age, for plebeians 42. Two consuls were elected each year, serving together with veto power over each other's actions, a normal principle for magistracies. Consuls were elected by the massive Comitia Centuriata, which had a profound aristocratic bias in its voting structure which only increased over the years from its foundation. In general terms, Comitia Centuriata lost its strategic use as a law-making body of the Roman Republic particularly after Lex Hortensia of 287 BCE gave the Plebeian Council the same jurisdiction as a legislature over the entire Roman society. Thus, by the Late Republic, the Comitia Centuriata increasingly was used only to elect censors, praetors, and consuls--instead of pass law. However, it is important to note that after 287 BCE to the end of the republic, the more patrician dominated Comitia Centuriata still retained its general legislative powers in competition with the Plebeian Council. This dual legislature dynamic increasingly was the legal formal framework in which widening political and social unrest began to occur, particularly from the Gracchi (ca. 133-120s BCE) to the establishment of the Principate (27 BCE), when all legislative and elective powers were lost to the Emperor as princeps. In Latin, consules means "those who walk together". If a consul died during his term (not uncommon when consuls were in the forefront of battle), another would be elected, and be known as a consul suffectus. According to tradition, the consulship was initially reserved for patricians and only in 367 BC did plebeians win the right to stand for this supreme office, when the Lex Licinia Sextia provided that at least one consul each year should be plebeian. The first plebeian consul, Lucius Sextius, was thereby elected the following year. Modern historians have questioned the traditional account of plebeian emancipation during the Early Republic (see Conflict of the Orders), noting for instance that about thirty percent of the consuls prior to Sextius had plebeian, not patrician, names; probably only the chronology has been distorted. During times of war, the primary criterion for consul was military skill and reputation, but at all times the selection was politically charged. With the passage of time, the consulship became the normal endpoint of the cursus honorum, the sequence of offices pursued by the ambitious Roman. Beginning in the late Republic, after finishing a consular year, a former consul would usually serve a lucrative term as a Proconsul, the Roman Governor of one of the (senatorial) provinces. The most commonly chosen province for the proconsulship was Gaul. Under the EmpireWhen Augustus established the Principate, he changed the political nature of the office, stripping it of most of its powers. While still a great honor — in fact invariably the constitutional head of state, hence eponymous — and a requirement for other offices, many consuls would resign part way through the year to allow other men to finish their term as suffects. Those who held the office on January 1, known as the consules ordinarii, had the honor of associating their names with that year. As a result, about half of the men who held the rank of praetor could also reach the consulship. Sometimes these suffect consuls would in turn resign, and another suffect would be appointed. This reached its extreme under Commodus, when in 190 twenty-five men held the consulship. Emperors frequently appointed themselves, protégés, or relatives consul, even without regard to the age requirements. For example, Emperor Honorius was given the consulship at birth. Some didn't even stick to species limitations. Gaius Julius, also known as Caligula, is said to have thought about making his horse consul. Holding the consulship was a great honor and the office was the major symbol of the still republican constitution. Probably as part of seeking formal legitimacy, the break-away Gallic Empire had its own pairs of consuls during its existence (260–274). The list of consuls for this state is incomplete, drawn from inscriptions and coins. One of the reforms of Constantine I was to assign one of the consuls to the city of Rome, and the other to Constantinople. Therefore, when the Roman Empire was divided into two halves on the death of Theodosius I, the emperor of each half acquired the right of appointing one of the consuls— although one emperor did allow his colleague to appoint both consuls for various reasons. As a result, after the formal end of the Roman Empire in the West, many years would be named for only a single consul. This rank was finally allowed to lapse in the reign of Justinian I: first with the consul of Rome in 534, Decius Paulinus, then the consul of Constantinople in 541, Flavius Basilius Junior. Powers and ResponsibilitiesRepublican dutiesAfter the expulsion of the kings and the establishment of the Republic, all the powers that had belonged to the kings were transferred to two offices: that of the Consuls and the Rex Sacrorum. While the Rex Sacrorum inherited the kings’ position as high priest of the state, the Consuls were given the civil and military responsibilities (imperium). However, to prevent abuse of the kingly power, the imperium was shared by two Consuls who could veto the other’s actions. The Consuls were invested with the executive power of the state and headed the government of the Republic. Initially, the Consuls' powers were vast and held considerably more power than as just executives. In the gradual development of the Roman legal system, however, some important functions were detached from the Consulship and assigned to new officers. This was the case in 443 BC when the responsibility to conduct the census was stripped from the office and given to the office of Censor. The second function taken from the Consulship was their judicial power. Their position as chief judges was transferred to the Praetors in 366 BC. After this time, the Consul would only serve as judges in extraordinary criminal cases and only when called upon by decree of the Senate. Civil sphereFor the most part, Consular power is divided between civil and military spheres. As long as the Consuls were in the pomerium (the city of Rome), they were at the head of government, and all the other magistrates, with the exception of the Tribunes of the Plebs, were subordinate to them, but remained independence of office. The internal machinery of the republic was under the Consuls’ superintendence. In order to allow the Consuls greater authority in executing laws, the Consuls had the right of summoning and arrest, which was limited only by the right of appeal from their judgment. This power of punishment even extended to inferior magistrates. As part of their executive functions, the Consuls were responsible for carrying into effect the decrees of the Senate and the laws of the assemblies. Sometimes in urgent emergencies, they might even act on their own authority and responsibility. The Consuls also served as the chief diplomat of the Roman state. Before any foreign ambassadors reached the Senate, they met with the Consuls. The Consul would introduce ambassadors to the Senate, and they alone carried on the negotiations between the Senate and foreign states. The Consuls could convene the Senate, and, as President of the Senate, conducted the Senate’s business. They also could convene both the Centuriate Assembly and Curiate Assembly and presided over both. Thus, the Consuls conducted the elections and put legislative measures to the vote. Military sphereOutside the walls of Rome, the powers of the Consuls were far more extensive in their role as commanders-in-chief of all Roman legions. It was in this function that the Consuls were vested with full imperium. When legions were ordered by a decree of the Senate, the Consuls conducted the levy. Upon entering the army, all soldiers had to take their oath of allegiance to the Consuls. The Consuls also oversaw the gathering of troops provide by Rome’s allies. When a Consul was abroad under the Senate’s decree they were given supreme power in the province. This power was not only in military matters but also civil affairs, including the power of life and death. Only the conclusion of peace and treaties was forbidden. The national treasury may have been under the administration of the Senate, but the Consuls were not bound to spend only the funds allotted to them for their mission. Abuse preventionAbuse of Consular power was prevented with each Consul given the power to veto his colleague. Except in the provinces as Commanders-in-chief where each Consul’s power was supreme, the Consuls could only act when in unison. Against the sentence of one Consul, an appeal could be brought before his colleague and overturn the sentencing. In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts, only one Consul would actually perform the office’s duties every month. This is not to say that the other Consul held no power but merely allowed the first Consul to act without direct interference. Then in the next month, the Consuls would switch roles with one another. This would continue until the end of the Consular term. Another point which acted as a check against Consuls was the certainty that after the end of their term they would be called to account for their actions while in office. However, the main restriction point on Consular power was that the Consuls were reliant and answerable to the Senate. GovernorshipAfter leaving office, the Consuls were assigned a province to administer by the Senate as Governor. Transferring his Consular Imperium to Proconsular Imperium, the Consul would become a Proconsul and governor of one (or several) of Rome’s many provinces. As a Proconsul, his imperium was limited only a specificed province and not the entire Republic. Any exercise of Proconsular imperium in any other province was illegal. Also, a Proconsul was not allowed to leave his province before his term was complete or before the arrival of his successor. Exceptions were given only on special permission of the Senate. Most terms as governor lasted between one and five years. Imperial dutiesAfter Augustus became the first Roman Emperor in 29 BC with the establishment of the principate, the Consuls lost most of their powers and responsibilities under the Roman Empire. Though still officially the highest office of the state and powers, with the Emperor’s superior imperium, they were merely a symbol of Rome’s republican heritage. The imperial Consuls still maintained the right to preside at meetings of the Senate, however they could only exercise this right at the pleasure of the Emperor. They partially administered justice in extraordinary cases. They conducted games in the Circus Maximus and all public solemnities in honor of the Emperor at their own expenses. Consular datingThe highest magistrates were eponymous, i.e. each year was officially identified (like a regnal year in a monarchy) by the two Consuls' names, though there was a more practical numerical dating ab urbe condita (i.e. by the era starting with the mythical foundation year of Rome). For instance, the year 59 BC in the modern calendar was called by the Romans "the consulship of Caesar and Bibulus," since the two colleagues in the consulship were (Gaius) Julius Caesar and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus — although Caesar dominated the consulship so thoroughly that year that it was jokingly referred to as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar"[citation needed]. In Latin, the ablative absolute construction is frequently used to express the date, such as "M. Messalla et M. Pupio Pisone consulibus," translated literally as "Marcus Messalla and Marcus Pupius Piso being Consuls," which appears in Caesar's De Bello Gallico. Lists of Roman consulsFor a complete list of Roman consuls, see:
History – Ancient History – Ancient Rome – Political institutions of Rome – Consul
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