Cursus honorum

Roman Empire in His Apogee

Cursus honorum was the name given to the political career or rank of public responsibilities in Ancient Rome. It was established during the Republic and continued to exist during the empire, especially for the administration of the provinces dependent on the Senate. During the Republican era, the organization and development of the political career responded to arbitrary requirements and sectors with great privileges, however, this situation will be transformed with the arrival of the empire, since the exercise of certain public functions will be normalized and regulated (with different purposes, requirements and durations) that served both to prepare young people for future administrative tasks and to regulate society.

The cursus honorum established the order and hierarchy by which the Roman magistracies were governed, as well as the way to fulfill them. This race was regulated in the year 180 a. C. by the Villia Annalis Law that stipulated their ordination from lowest to highest rank and the minimum age to hold each of the positions. In the last years of the Republic, towards 81 a. C., Sulla set the model consisting of prior military service followed by the positions of quaestor, praetor, consul and censor.

The senatorial cursus honorum consisted of a preparatory phase with several specialties (vigintiviratus), six ordinary magistracies (quaestura, aedility, tribunate, praetor, consulate and censorship) and an extraordinary (dictatorship), which under the Republic was only granted by decision of the Senate in case of external or internal danger, and could not exceed six months in duration.

Order of magistracies

Cursus honorum until the arrival of the empire

The cursus honorum used to be developed according to the following phases:

• Vigintivirato: twenty positions of initiation for young people, charged with collaborating and forming some important tasks for the Republic, at the orders of senior senators. It served as an initiation into the tasks of civil administration. It will be a non-mandatory position in its origins and will constitute the first or second scale in the individual career, so young people aged between 17 and 24. They were chosen every year by the comitia tribunauntil after the reign of Tiberius they shall be chosen by the senate (or even by the emperor). It will be exercised before the qualification. They were divided into:
  • Xviri stlitibus iudicandis: the position of ten individuals traditionally engaged in the processes of freedom. It is the second in order of importance within the vingiriato, so it was occupied by patricians very often.
  • IIIviri capitals: three individuals responsible for carrying out different activities related to the administration of justice and the execution of sentences (in addition to prison monitoring). They occupied the lowest scale among the subdivisions of vingiriato
  • IIIviri aere Algerian auro Fearing flar: charge of three individuals charged with coining. They had the highest prestige of the vingiriato. They were of great importance because of the propagandistic usefulness that could be given to stabbings in convulsant times.
  • IVviri viarum curandarum: charge of four individuals (originally called IIIIviri viis in urbem purgandis) to collaborate in the cleaning of the streets of Rome. Following the civil wars, two new posts will be created in areas outside the capital (named IIIIviri viis extra urbem purgandis), although they will disappear with the arrival of Augusto.
• Laticulous Tribune: Service as a legion officer. Traditionally, in the republican era, it was a requirement for a career in the Senate, starting with generally low positions. With the beginning of the Empire, the obligation to form part of the military service is established, with the reservation of a specific Senate rank; therefore, the aspirants to senators should pass through the army, entering directly into the rostrum (a greater rank than the other military). It will be exercised before the quantum
• Cuestura: Treasurer, responsible for the finances and paying the armies; in the provinces they are subordinated to the governor. After the reforms that Sila approved in 81 BC, the minimum age for the quature was set in 20 years for the patricians and 32 years for the plebeyos. The co-storal charge gave direct access to the Senate. Before the Censors checked the revenues in the Senate regularly, but it passed more than the year that the choice to the cobbler introduced. The number of qualifiers was also set in twenty, although they were originally forty (reduced by Augustus), where ten were responsible for the tasks concerning the provinces and the other ten for those of the Roman city itself.
• Edility: It performed in the city regulatory functions of public order (cure urbis), supply organization (cure annonae) and preparation of public parties and games (cura ludorum), however, with the reign of Augustus these tasks will be diminishing, focusing on the cure urbis only. In the face of the plebeya, curul edility was performed only by the senators of patricio origin. The minimum age for office was 36 years.
• Taxation of the plebe: Alternative charge to edility. Political and protective representation of the people. They were responsible for providing food, safety and entertainment. His original mission was to defend the rights of the Roman people against the excesses of the Senate, using for it the intercessio or veto right. Augusto totally emptied this charge
• Height: Mainly, they had assigned functions related to the administration of justice. The pressures could govern minor provinces and gain command of legions. Charge of between eight and fourteen people according to the needs of the administration. They were elected through elections.
• Consulate: They were equivalent to heads of government, they were responsible for convening and chairing Senate sessions, presiding over the main judicial processes, supervising public order in the city, executing foreign policy and commanding armies in the campaign. There were two annual consuls called ordinarii or ordinary, which gave name a year (eponyms), and one or more substitutes or suffecti. This position was the final scale in the Senate career, enjoying a wide popularity and respect on the part of Roman society, in addition to great importance and responsibility.
• Censorship: Judges (there were two) elected every five years from among the senators who had held the consulate, although they only exercised the first 18 months, responsible for reviewing the list of citizens and senators and for controlling the State accounts, promoting new projects of public works, such as temples, aqueducts or roads. At the end of the 18 effective months of command, they held a public ceremony of purification of the Urbs, called lustrum. During the Empire only the emperors exercised it, some with a perpetual character. It's not part of cursus honorum as it will disappear with the arrival of the Empire
• Dictator: Extraordinary charge performed only in difficult times, external threat or internal disorders. One of the two consuls was elected and remained in office for six months. During that period he had absolute military and civilian authority to restore order. Following that time, he had to leave office and if the problems continued, a new dictator was appointed. Normally, that extraordinary position could not be exercised twice in life, although there were exceptions, such as that of Julius Caesar, which was four times and in January 44 a. C. was appointed dictator in perpetuum. It's not part of cursus honorum.

Augustus, a fundamental figure in the political organization of the Roman Empire

The three main ranks (quaestor, praetor, consul), separated by periods of rest, gave a respective rank ( vir quaestorius, vir praetorius, vir consularis) and allowed them to hold other destinations and specific positions. The Roman nobleman who wanted to stand out had to start at the lowest rank and cover all the rungs until he reached consul, and finally censor and princeps senatus. This all changed a lot over the years and there was a major reform carried out by the Gracchi.

Since Augustus, under the Empire, it became a civil service career, since political and military power was solely in the hands of the emperor. He could make certain senators of his preference advance steps through the adlectio , or propose them for a specific one, in which case they were called candidati .

In imperial times the obligation to go through a military function in a legion as laticlavian tribune was added, of which each legion had one, the other five being of the equestrian order; this command was held before or after the vigintivirate.

In the time of Augustus, a specific cursus honorum was created for equites, knights or members of the ordo equester who, in general, were assigned to the army (tribune angusticlavio), and later to occupy positions in the imperial administration.