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Roman prestige; contrast with power, imperium
Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate: Cicero attacks Catiline, from a 19th-century fresco
Politics of ancient Rome
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Roman Kingdom 753–509 BC
Roman Republic 509–27 BC
Roman Empire 27 BC – AD 395
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Auctoritas is a Latin word that is the origin of the English word "authority". While historically its use in English was restricted to discussions of the political history of Rome, the beginning of phenomenological philosophy in the 20th century expanded the use of the word.
In ancient Rome, auctoritas referred to the level of prestige a person had in Roman society, and, as a consequence, his standing, influence, and ability to rally support around his will. Auctoritas was not merely political, however; it had a numinous content and symbolized the mysterious "power of command" of heroic Roman figures.
Noble women could also achieve a degree of auctoritas. For example, the wives, sisters, and mothers of the Julio-Claudians had immense influence on society, the masses, and the political apparatus. Their auctoritas was exercised less overtly than that of their male counterparts due to Roman societal norms, but they were powerful nonetheless.[1]
^Bauman, Richard A. (1992). Women and Politics in Ancient Rome. London: Routledge. p. 99. ISBN 9781138138124.
auctoritas would, for example, persist through an usucapio of ill-gotten or abandoned property. Politically, the Roman Senate's authority (auctoritas...
that auctoritas and potestas are clearly distinct – although they form together a binary system". He quotes Mommsen, who explains that auctoritas is "less...
authority of bishops" (auctoritas sacrata pontificum) and the "royal power" (regalis potestas). These two principles—auctoritas lending justification to...
as sole heir. This early Principate phase began when Augustus claimed auctoritas for himself as princeps, and continued (depending on the source) up to...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
know what is good, evil, useless, shameful or dishonorable. Dignitas and auctoritas were the result of displaying the values of the ideal Roman and the service...
in the form of an auctoritas patrum ("authority of the fathers"). The lex Publilia modified this process, requiring the auctoritas patrum to be passed...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from auctoritas and potestas, different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman...
very often in law and history in such phrases as dignitās, maiestās, auctoritās, lībertās populī Rōmānī, the "dignity, majesty, authority, freedom of...
and some members of their families with divinely sanctioned authority (auctoritas). The rite of apotheosis (also called consecratio) signified the deceased...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
of the Senate but was vetoed was recorded in the annals as a senatus auctoritas, while any motion that was passed and not vetoed was recorded as a senatus...
throughout the Empire. All of them taken together formed the basis of his auctoritas, which he himself emphasized as the foundation of his political actions...
While the magistrates had potestas, the prudentes exercised auctoritas. It is said that auctoritas is a manifestation of socially recognized knowledge, while...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
Executive magistrates SPQR Law Twelve Tables Mos maiorum Citizenship Auctoritas Imperium Status Litigation Government Curia Forum Cursus honorum Collegiality...
Pompeianus himself. As Oates expresses it, "He has a ringing name of great auctoritas, but we do not know if he was capax imperii." He dedicated an altar for...
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