05-10-2006, 07:31 PM
Quote:I stand corrected on that point
No problem - it's usually me making the errors!
Actually, it occurs to me that the situation of the senate towards the end of the empire in the west might well have been more like Travis describes it above - from what I remember of AHM Jones' 'Later Roman Empire' anyway. By the mid 4th century, the cursus honorum had become pretty much a birthright for the sons of senatorial families - some were 'elected' quaestor in their early teens, for instance. Election was more a matter of the imperial scrinia rubberstamping their appointment, and the magistracies themselves, with all the political power taken by the imperial household and the equestrians, just a way of rich old clans decorating their family trees - the offices had become so very expensive, with regular 'donations' to the imperial fisc required, as well as games and the upkeep of the city to be financed, that many senators tried to avoid their duties and hide out in the provinces - laws were passed to force clarissimi (sons of senators) into the senate and guarantee the cash flow...
All a long long way from Cicero's novus homo pride...
- Nathan
Nathan Ross
