Editing Roman Republic (section)

===Senate===
{{Main|Senate of the Roman Republic}}
{{further|SPQR}}
[[File:04305 - Roma - Fori - Curia Iulia - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto - 18-Mar-2008.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The [[Curia Julia]], the senate house started by Julius Caesar in 44&nbsp;BC and completed by [[Octavian]] in 29&nbsp;BC, replacing the [[Curia Cornelia]] as the meeting place of the Senate]]

The senate's authority derived from the senators' esteem and prestige.{{sfn|Byrd|1995|p=96}} This esteem and prestige were based on both precedent and custom, as well as the senators' calibre and reputation. The senate passed decrees called {{lang|la|senatus consulta}}. These were officially "advice" from the senate to a magistrate, but in practice, the magistrates usually followed them.{{sfn|Byrd|1995|p=44}} Through the course of the middle republic and Rome's expansion, the senate became more dominant in the state: the only institution with the expertise to administer the empire effectively, it controlled state finances, assignment of magistrates, external affairs, and deployment of military forces. Also, a powerful religious body, it received reports of omens and directed Roman responses thereto.{{sfn|Momigliano|Cornell|2012}}

When its prerogatives started to be challenged in the 2nd century, the senate lost its customary preapproval for legislation. Moreover, after the precedent set in 121&nbsp;BC with the killing of Gaius Gracchus, the senate claimed to assume the power to issue a {{lang|la|[[senatus consultum ultimum]]}}: such decrees directed magistrates to take whatever actions were necessary to safeguard the state, irrespective of legality, and signalled the senate's willingness to support that magistrate if such actions were later challenged in the courts.{{sfnm|1a1=Momigliano|1a2=Lintott|1y=2012|2a1=Golden|2y=2013|2p=148}}

Its members were usually appointed by [[Roman censor|censor]]s, who ordinarily selected newly elected magistrates for membership in the senate, making the senate a partially elected body. Status was not hereditary and there were always some new men, though sons of former magistrates found it easier to be elected to the qualifying magistracies. During emergencies, a dictator could be appointed for the purpose of appointing senators (as was done after the [[Battle of Cannae]]). However, by the end of the republic men such as Caesar and the members of the Second Triumvirate usurped these powers for themselves.{{sfn|Momigliano|Cornell|2012}}