Talk:Imperium
From Academic Kids
Has anyone seen claims that Caesar was attended by 72 lictors toward the end of his career? I remember such claims, but I cannot find any documented source. -- Publius
- No. Every source i know (Suetonius and Plutarch) refer only to the 24 lictors of a dictator. Neither seems likely that Caesar, who despite all liked to play by the rules, would use such an amount. Muriel Victoria 08:33, 6 Dec 2003 (UTC)
Yes, it seemed remarkably out of character for him, but then, he did behave somewhat curiously toward the end of his life (e.g., the high red Alban boots), and the Senate certainly got extravagant in awarding him honours, didn't it? I was always impressed by Plutarch's account that he informed the Senate that his honours needed to be retrenched, not augmented. Apparently, from what I've been able to find on line -- all undocumented, of course -- Caesar is reputed to have been accompanied in one of his triumphal parades by the lictors of all his dictatorates, past, present, and future. I'm still looking for documentation on that, but as it is, I don't really think it'd belong in the article, anyway. -- Publius
Since Curule aedili held Imperium, is there an example in the Roman history of an aedile actually commanding an army? --Chino 06:29, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Is it correct that the Master of the Horse held Praetorian imperium? If that is true, then that means that a standing Consul would out rank the Dictator's second-in-command, meaning that a Consul could veto any action or proposal made by the Master of the Horse. Yet it would seem that as the Dictator's second was the second most powerful man in Rome. How is this so? Did the Master of the Horse hold higher imperium then Praetorian, or was it the fear of the Dictator that made him so "powerful"?
