Who held positions in the Roman senate during the Roman republic?

Answer 1

Being a member of the Roman Senate brought great distinction with it, but not clearly-defined powers. The Senate was powerful because it represented all the powerful and ruling families of Rome. There were a number of high public officials who did have clearly defined powers and who were elected for a specific period, often one year. Together they basically made up the executive , judicial and legislative "branches" of Government:

• Highest were the two Consuls that were elected each year. They were the highest judges, took on most executive tasks and were the commanders-in-chief of the Roman army for that year. They could also introduce legislation.
• Then there were the Censors, less powerful but at least as prestigious, because most of them were former Consuls. Their task was to take a regular census of all the commodities available to the Republic (from tax-paying citizens to army supplies to grain reserves) and warn if any shortage was found that might be a threat to the Republic's safety
• Next came the Aediles, charged with overseeing the markets and the state of public buildings and charged with organizing the games in Rome itself. Especially the organizing of games could make this job an important stepping-stone to higher office: it demonstrated your organizing abilities, your understanding of what the people expected and your commitment in spending your own money lavishly on these games.
• Then came the Questors, charged with overseeing the public finances and those of the army. Today that would be seen as a major responsibility; back then the Questors were the most junior of the high officials
• Distinct from these officials were the Tribunes of the Public, who were there to counterweigh the power of the officials above, who all had to be members of the Patricianfamilies. The Tribunes represented the interest of the rest of the Roman citizens, the Plebeians. They could among other things, undo legislation by the Consuls if it ran contrary to the interests of the Plebeians and they could themselves introduce legislation as long as that would only be binding to the Plebeians.

Finally, in times of national crisis the Senate could appoint an all-powerful Dictator to avert whatever disaster was threatening Rome. His appointment usually was for six months only.

As to the history of this system, my fellow-supervisor Manlio Fahrni has this to add: At the beginning of the Roman Republic, the patrician aristocracy monopolised political power by monopolising the consulship, (the office of the two annually elected heads of the Republic), the senate and the priesthoods. This changed as a result of the 200-year Conflict of the Orders between patricians and plebeians (the commoners). This conflict had two strands. The grievances of the poor plebeians were economic, the abuse of defaulting debtors, indebtedness, the interest rates of loans and the shortage of land of the poor. The rich plebeians wanted power-sharing. They succeed in gaining access to the consulship and the other elected offices of state which were created as the Republic developed (the Dictatorship, the censorship, the praetorship and the quaestorship) and some of the priesthoods. Eventually a law provided that one of the consuls was to be a patrician and the other a plebeian. Since former officers of state became senators, the rich plebeians also gained access to the senate. These rich plebeians were given the status of equite (cavalryman) , which was a lower tier of the aristocracy.

During the plebeian rebellion of the first plebeian secession the plebeians created their alternative institutions , the Plebeian Council, the plebeian tribunes (the leaders of the plebeian movement and representatives of the plebeians and) and their assistants, the aediles. These institutions were reserved for the plebeians. The patricians were excluded. The curule aediles were created as patrician holders of this office with the agreement of the plebeians.

Answer 2

julious ceaser

Answer 3

plebeians