Roman Senate (Caesar's Time)

The senate was assembled in the time of the kings of Rome. It consisted of landed aristocrats (lords, counts, etc.) and patricians, or heads of houses. The chief magistrates, or consuls, summoned the assembly and passed decrees. This is a reputable site because it conforms to other reputable sites.

The senate was made up of a council of elders. It consisted of Patricians of leading families as well as conscripted magistrates. During the time of Julius Caesar, the senate's number was brought up to 900 while in the time of Caesar Augustus was fixed at 600. The senate had the power to vote in an absolute dictator. This site is reputable because it has many sources of information in its bibliography and a professor from the Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan contributed to this page.

The word senate comes from the latin word senex, which means 'old man'. The senators were originally advisors for Roman Kings. The original senators were patricians of noble birth, but later equites (wealthy non-nobles) were allowed in. Ex-magistartes were conscripted into service, much like the way the army conscripted its members. The first King of Rome, Romulus created the senate of 100 members to advise him on alliances and to deal with ambassadors. This is a reputable site because much of the information has been taken from a history book on the Roman senate.

By the 3rd century B.C., the Roman senate was a group of 300 men with high political, legislative and administrative power.  The tribunes could control the senate's power. The members were chosen by the censors. When Julius Caesar was assasinated, the senate became ineffective and useless. Under Augustus Caesar, the senate's power in the provincial provinces was reduced. This is a reputable site because it is copyrighted by the Columbia University Press. It also has citations for books from which the information was taken.