Cursus honorum
The, or more colloquially 'ladder of offices'; ) was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts; the ultimate prize for winning election to each "rung" in the sequence was to become one of the two consuls in a given year.
These rules were altered and flagrantly ignored in the course of the last century of the Republic. For example, Gaius Marius held consulships for five years in a row between 104 and 100 BC. He was consul seven times in all, also serving in 107 and 86. Officially presented as opportunities for public service, the offices often became mere opportunities for self-aggrandizement. The constitutional reforms of Sulla between 82 and 79 BC required a ten-year interval before holding the same office again for another term.
To have held each office at the youngest possible age was considered a great political success. For instance, to miss out on a praetorship at 39 meant that one could not become consul at 42. Cicero expressed extreme pride not only in being a novus homo who became consul even though none of his ancestors had ever served as a consul, but also in having become consul "in his year".
Military service
Prior to entering political life and the cursus honorum, a young man of senatorial rank was expected to serve around ten years of military duty. The years of service were intended to be mandatory in order to qualify for political office.Advancement and honors would improve his political prospects, and a successful military career might culminate in the office of military tribune, to which 24 men were elected by the Tribal Assembly each year. The rank of military tribune is sometimes described as the first office of the cursus honorum.
Quaestor
The first official post was that of quaestor. Ever since the reforms of Sulla, candidates had to be at least 30 years old to hold the office. From the time of Augustus onwards, twenty quaestors served in the financial administration at Rome or as second-in-command to a governor in the provinces. They could also serve as the paymaster for a legion.Aedile
At 36 years of age, a promagistrate could stand for election to one of the aediles positions. Of these aediles, two were plebeian and two were patrician, with the patrician aediles called curule aediles. The plebeian aediles were elected by the Plebeian Council and the curule aediles were either elected by the Tribal Assembly or appointed by the reigning consul. The aediles had administrative responsibilities in Rome. They had to take care of the temples, organize games, and be responsible for the maintenance of the public buildings in Rome. Moreover, they took charge of Rome's water and food supplies; in their capacity as market superintendents, they served sometimes as judges in mercantile affairs.The aedile was the supervisor of public works; the words "edifice" and "edification" stem from the same root. He oversaw the public works, temples and markets. Therefore, the aediles would have been in some cooperation with the current censors, who had similar or related duties. Also, they oversaw the organization of festivals and games, which made this a very sought-after office for a career minded politician of the late Republic, as it was a good means of gaining popularity by staging spectacles.
Curule aediles were added at a later date in the 4th century BC; their duties do not differ substantially from plebeian aediles. However, unlike plebeian aediles, curule aediles were allowed certain symbols of rank—the sella curulis or curule chair, for example—and only patricians could stand for election to curule aedile. This later changed, and both plebeians and patricians could stand for curule aedileship.
The elections for curule aedile were at first alternated between patricians and plebeians, until late in the 2nd century BC, when the practice was abandoned and both classes became free to run during all years.
While part of the cursus honorum, this step was optional and not required to hold future offices. Though the office was usually held after the quaestorship and before the praetorship, there are some cases with former praetors serving as aediles.
Praetor
After serving either as quaestor or as aedile, a man of 39 years could run for praetor. During the reign of Augustus this requirement was lowered to 30, at the request of Gaius Maecenas. The number of praetors elected varied through history, generally increasing with time. During the republic, six or eight were generally elected each year to serve judicial functions throughout Rome and other governmental responsibilities. In the absence of the consuls, a praetor would be given command of the garrison in Rome or in Italy. Also, a praetor could exercise the functions of the consuls throughout Rome, but their main function was that of a judge. They would preside over trials involving criminal acts, grant court orders and validate "illegal" acts as acts of administering justice. A praetor was escorted by six lictors, and wielded imperium. After a term as praetor, the magistrate could serve as a provincial governor with the title of propraetor, wielding propraetor imperium, commanding the province's legions, and possessing ultimate authority within his province.Two of the praetors were more prestigious than the others. The first was the Praetor Peregrinus, who was the chief judge in trials involving one or more foreigners. The other was the Praetor Urbanus, the chief judicial office in Rome. He had the power to overturn any verdict by any other courts, and served as judge in cases involving criminal charges against provincial governors. The Praetor Urbanus was not allowed to leave the city for more than ten days. If one of these two praetors was absent from Rome, other praetors can perform their duties.
Consul
The office of consul was the most prestigious of all of the offices on the cursus honorum, and represented the summit of a successful career. The minimum age was 42. Years were identified by the names of the two consuls elected for a particular year; for instance, M. Messalla et M. Pisone consulibus, "in the consulship of Messalla and Piso", dates an event to 61 BC. Consuls were responsible for the city's political agenda, commanded large-scale armies and controlled important provinces. The consuls served for only a year and could only rule when they agreed, because each consul could veto the other's decision.The consuls would alternate monthly as the chairman of the Senate. They also were the supreme commanders in the Roman army, with each being granted two legions during their consular year. Consuls also exercised the highest juridical power in the Republic, being the only office with the power to override the decisions of the Praetor Urbanus. Only laws and the decrees of the Senate or the People's assembly limited their powers, and only the veto of a fellow consul or a tribune of the plebs could supersede their decisions.
A consul was escorted by twelve lictors, held imperium and wore the toga praetexta. Because the consul was the highest executive office within the Republic, they had the power to veto any action or proposal by any other magistrate, save that of the Tribune of the Plebs. After a consulship, a consul was assigned one of the more important provinces and acted as the governor in the same way that a propraetor did, only owning proconsular imperium. A second consulship could only be attempted after an interval of 10 years to prevent one man holding too much power, though there have been exceptions to this rule, notably Gaius Marius in the late 2nd century BC.
Governor
Although not part of the cursus honorum, upon completing a term as either praetor or consul, an officer was required to serve a term as propraetor and proconsul, respectively, in one of Rome's many provinces. These propraetors and proconsuls held near autocratic authority within their selected province or provinces. Because each governor held equal imperium to the equivalent magistrate, they were escorted by the same number of lictors and could only be vetoed by a reigning consul or praetor. Their abilities to govern were only limited by the decrees of the Senate or the people's assemblies, and the Tribune of the Plebs was unable to veto their acts as long as the governor remained at least a mile outside of Rome.Censor
After a term as consul, the final step in the cursus honorum was the office of censor. This was the only office in the Roman Republic whose term was a period of eighteen months instead of the usual twelve. Censors were elected every five years and although the office held no military imperium, it was considered a great honour. The censors took a regular census of the people and then apportioned the citizens into voting classes on the basis of income and tribal affiliation. The censors enrolled new citizens in tribes and voting classes as well. The censors were also in charge of the membership roll of the Senate, every five years adding new senators who had been elected to the requisite offices. Censors could also remove unworthy members from the Senate. This ability was lost during the dictatorship of Sulla. Censors were also responsible for construction of public buildings and the moral status of the city.Censors also had financial duties, in that they had to put out to tender projects that were to be financed by the state. Also, the censors were in charge of the leasing out of conquered land for public use and auction. Though this office owned no imperium, meaning no lictors for protection, they were allowed to wear the toga praetexta.