praetor
Sign in to savePraetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected magistratus (magistrate), assigned to discharge various duties. The functions of the magistracy, the praetura (praetorship), are described by the adjective itself: the praetoria potestas (praetorian power), the praetorium imperium (praetorian authority), and the praetorium ius (praetorian law), the legal precedents established by the praetores (praetors). Praetorium, as a substantive, denoted the location fro
AI overview
A praetor was an official position in ancient Rome held by men who served either as military commanders or as elected magistrates responsible for various governmental duties. The role mattered because praetors wielded significant power—both military authority and legal authority—and they established legal precedents that influenced Roman law and governance.
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Article
20 sectionsContents
- History of the title
- Praetura
- Praetors and their duties
- Republican
- ''Praetor peregrinus''
- ''Praetor urbanus''
- Additional praetors
- Imperial
- Praetors as judges
- Actions
- ''Quaestiones perpetuae''
- Outdoor actions
- Later Roman era
- Byzantine Empire
- Modern era
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- External links
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected magistratus (magistrate), assigned to discharge various duties. The functions of the magistracy, the praetura (praetorship), are described by the adjective itself: the praetoria potestas (praetorian power), the praetorium imperium (praetorian authority), and the praetorium ius (praetorian law), the legal precedents established by the praetores (praetors). Praetorium, as a substantive, denoted the location from which the praetor exercised his authority, either the headquarters of his castra, the courthouse (tribunal) of his judiciary, or the city hall of his provincial governorship. The minimum age for holding the praetorship was 39 during the Roman Republic, but it was later changed to 30 in the early Empire.
==History of the title== The status of the praetor in the early republic is unclear. The traditional account from Livy claims that the praetorship was created by the Sextian-Licinian Rogations in 367 BC, but it was well known both to Livy and other Romans in the late republic that the chief magistrates were first called praetor. For example, Festus "refers to 'the praetors, who are now consuls'".