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Roman Senators - Lothia - 06-04-2020
Ave Civitas,
During the period, AD 390 - 410, how were members of the Senate selected, inducted, and given a seat in the senate house?
Is there a source, text?, that would be available to a pauper like me that could enlighten me on the process?
Again, thank you in advance.
RE: Roman Senators - Nathan Ross - 06-05-2020
(06-04-2020, 07:51 PM)Lothia Wrote: During the period, AD 390 - 410, how were members of the Senate selected, inducted... Is there a source, text?
Essentially, by the 4th century senators just bought their places. Sons of families rich enough to pass the wealth qualification (most of them already senatorial) would be enrolled on a list, and in time their fathers would be invited to fund quaestorian games for them. These lavishly expensive public games would in turn grant the boy entry to the senatorial order.
Often this happened at a very young age - Symmachus's son was, I think, only about 13 when he became Quaestor. After that there would be praetorian games, usually funded in the senator's early 20s, which would grant the rank of Praetor and access to higher senatorial positions (governorships, city magistracies, embassies to the court, consulships, etc), or palatine roles in the imperial court in positions that did not include military command. Sometimes high-ranking bureaucrats or other deserving men were adlected (i.e. directly appointed) into the senate without having to pay for games and shows. But, as you can see, it was basically a system of nepotism and bribery - normal enough in the Roman world!
The book you want (if you don't have it already) is John Matthews's Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court, A.D. 364-425 (1975) - you can often find paperbacks of the 1990 edition for fairly reasonable prices. Edward J Watts's The Final Pagan Generation is also very good on senatorial careers in the earlier 4th century.
RE: Roman Senators - Lothia - 06-05-2020
Nathan,
Really great information. Thank you so much. I have that book (Western Aristocracies...) That's where my nose will be for the next couple weeks.