12-18-2011, 02:43 AM
Quote:was it normal for a former aedile to become legate?
As Theodosius says, the aedileship wasn't strictly part of the 'compulsory' senatorial cursus honorem (queastor->praetor->consul). Although, as there were only four aedileships a year, and - by this point in the late Republic - eight praetorships, election to an aedileship must have been hard-fought indeed: there are examples of the post being held after a praetorship. Aediles held games, and oversaw public works but - as opposed to the other magistracies - their duties were more-or-less confined to Rome itself.
Therefore, while it's normal to find pro-consular or pro-praetorian legates - praetors and consuls often commanded armies or provinces - you don't get pro-aedilician (?) legates: you can't be acting in the place of someone who wouldn't be there in the first place!
It's very common to find legates who had only previously held the quaestorship, but they're almost always just called normal legati: being a legate effectively implies senatorial status, and by the late republic that also implies that someone has held a quaestorship - you don't need the rest. There are a few rare examples of explicitly pro-quaestorian legates, but the title has inspired more debate than conclusion.
blue skies
Tom
Tom Wrobel
email = [email protected]
email = [email protected]
