Roman political system

[iamroot]

I've noticed that the game starts of with a Princeps as the head of government for the Romans. Shouldn't the faction leader be named Consul instead, since the Principate was only established two hundred years later from the game's start date.

[Geoffrey S]

Princeps simply means 'the first (among men)'. It's not a political title as such, but shows that among senators that man is considered the most authorative. Augustus and his successors used the same phrase to claim they weren't dictators, but first among equals.

It couldn't be consul, because that would add the problem of the faction leader being consul his entire life, which wouldn't be correct. In the current system you could see him as the most influential person in the senate, regardless of his official rank.

[Zaknafien]

he'd probably best be thought of as Princeps Senatus. Not to say that we won't have some changes in the Romani political system in the future...

[iamroot]

Thanks for the replies! It really cleared it up for me. Then perhaps the faction leader could be named Princeps Senatus and then just Princeps after the Imperial reforms. So as to clearly indicate the Republican and Imperial eras.

[Warmaster Horus]

Well, isn't the faction leader called Augustus during the imperial era?

[kemozz]

yup and his hier is called a caesar.

[BozosLiveHere]

Censor elections are suspended as well.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I had an emporer elected Consul, though...

[Zaknafien]

Octavian certainly held the Consulship plenty of times before reforms were passed giving him a legal status as Princeps. i think that's fine since we are representing the early stages of the Principate. Technically he would also hold the Censorship and Tribunate powers. 'Augustus' was a name given specifically to Octavian, and did not reflect his title or Principal powers.

[I Am Herenow]

iamroot, you seem strangely familiar...