Year of Consul...

[spittle]

The Romans named each individual year after the elected consuls that took office on Jan 1st of the year.

 

How many years/consuls are we sure of?

How many can we speculate over?

How many are total mysteries?

 

This naming system happened every year from the founding of the republic and was used as well as the chronological 'from the founding', so hundreds of consuls would have been used as year names.

[Caesar CXXXVII]

The Romans named each individual year after the elected consuls that took office on Jan 1st of the year.

 

How many years/consuls are we sure of?

How many can we speculate over?

How many are total mysteries?

 

This naming system happened every year from the founding of the republic and was used as well as the chronological 'from the founding', so hundreds of consuls would have been used as year names.

 

 

 

The Fasti Consulares starts at 509 BCE , Varonian system . We have a full list of Ordinari Consuls up until the last one in 541 CE when the Consulate came to its end . We do not have a full list of Sufecti Consuls (mainly for the imperial period) but about 40% of it . The list is accepted as genuine without any doubt from 300 BCE Varonian system to 541 CE . The list from 509 to 300 is very problematic and controversial but is accepted by all as 90% genuine . We have the 5 "years of anarchy" (376 to 371) , the "Dictator years" (333...301) , we have "Plebeian" names in 509 to 450 , we have years with 2 or even 3 different pairs , we have the problem with the "Praetor Maximus" and so on .

Edited January 11, 2007 by Caesar CXXXVII

[Gaius Octavius]

I thought that the consuls took office (originally) on March 1. I also thought that the days at the end of the year were named Feb. and Jan. and later switched to Jan. and Feb.? Perhaps, I should be asking what the Varonian System is?

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

Well two things to answer you Gaius Octavius :

 

The start of the year : indeed for quite some time the year began in March with the Consuls taking office. But as the legions fought longer and further away from home it was decided to begin the year earlier on the first of January so that consuls may do some work in Rome and reach their command before the start of the military season in March.

 

A trace of this past still exists in the name of the month like December ( from decem, latin for ten ) which became the new twelfth month of the year after the reform but kept his name.

 

About the varronian system it is the system used to calculate the roman calendar from the year computed by Varro as the year of the foundation of Rome. Years in this calendar are years Ab Urbe Condita ( A.U.C. ). But the varronian system was not the only one computed in antiquity and is not always used by the authors, so one must always check which system his source uses in order not to commit a mistake in datation.

[Gaius Octavius]

Thanks B.H.

Can I conclude that at one time they started the year (or consuls took office) in February? (Further confounding matters.)

[Caesar CXXXVII]

Thanks B.H.

Can I conclude that at one time they started the year (or consuls took office) in February? (Further confounding matters.)

 

When Consuls entered office :

 

From 509 BCE (V.S.) to 493 BCE (V.S.) on the Ides of September

From 493 BCE (V.S.) to 479 BCE (V.S.) on the Kalends of September

From 479 BCE (V.S.) to 451 BCE (V.S.) on the Kalends of Sextilis ("June")

From 451 BCE (V.S.) to 449 BCE (V.S.) on the Ides of May

From 449 BCE (V.S.) to 443 BCE (V.S.) or 400 BCE (V.S.) on the Ides of December

From 400 BCE (V.S.) to probably till 397 BCE (V.S.) on the Kalends of October

From 397 BCE (V.S.) to 329 BCE (V.S.) or perhaps 327 BCE (V.S.) on the Kalends of Quintilis ("July")

From 327 BCE (V.S.) to 223 BCE unknown

From 223 BCE to 153 BCE on the Ides of March

From 153 BCE till the end , on the Kalends of January

 

So , the answer is no

[spittle]

fASTI beginning of year

SUFECTI replacements mid-year?

 

Thanks guys. Incredibly informed responses.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

Well the consuls came in two brands : the ordinarii ( normally elected consuls ) and the suffectii, named or elected in case of crisis ( death of both consuls for example ). That at least was the situation under the Republic. Caesar was the first to see that despite having 10 praetors and two consuls plus ex magistrates he lacked enough high ranking officials to take charge of the Empire. Thus he named prefects under his direct responsibility. This was seen as a quasi regal power and Octavian saw it and choose another way : he had consuls elected at the start of the year, to which they would give their name, then he would order them to leave their post and name other consuls, the suffectii, sometimes as much as 8 per year.

 

We see that often the Emperor himself was ordinary consul ( or eponymous if you prefer to use that term ) and it was a privilege to hold such a post. We see that it was often used to give a second, more prestigious consulate to a very good official.