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The Byzantine Senate or Eastern Roman Senate ((ギリシア語:Σύγκλητος), ''Sygklētos'', or , ''Gerousia'') was the continuation of the Roman Senate, established in the 4th century by Constantine I. It survived for centuries, but even with its already limited power that it theoretically possessed the Senate became increasingly irrelevant until its eventual disappearance circa 14th century. The Senate of the Eastern Roman Empire originally consisted of Roman senators who happened to live in the East, or those who wanted to move to Constantinople, and a few other bureaucrats who were appointed to the Senate. Constantine offered free land and grain to any Roman Senators who were willing to move to the East. When Constantine founded the Eastern Senate in Byzantium, it initially resembled the councils of important cities like Antioch rather than the Roman Senate. His son Constantius II raised it from the position of a municipal to that of an Imperial body but the Senate in Constantinople had essentially the same limited powers as the Senate in Rome. Constantius II increased the number of Senators to 2,000 by including his friends, courtiers, and various provincial officials. ==Admission and composition== The traditional principles that Senatorial rank was hereditary and that the normal way of becoming a member of the Senate itself was by holding a magistracy still remained in full force.〔Bury, J.B. ''History of the Later Roman Empire'', Volume 1, Chapter 1.〕 By the time of the permanent division of the Roman Empire in 395, Praetors' responsibilities had been reduced to a purely municipal role.〔 Their sole duty was to manage the spending of money on the exhibition of games or on public works. However, with the decline of the other traditional Roman offices such as that of tribune the Praetorship remained an important portal through which aristocrats could gain access to either the Western or Eastern Senates. The Praetorship was a costly position to hold as Praetors were expected to possess a treasury from which they could draw funds for their municipal duties. There are known to have been eight Praetors in the Eastern Roman Empire who shared the financial burden between them. The late Eastern Roman Senate was very different from the Republican Senate as the offices of aedile and tribune had long fallen into abeyance and by the end of the 4th century the quaestorship was on the point of disappearing, save as a provincial magistrate.〔 The Emperor or the Senate itself could also issue a decree to grant a man not born into the Senatorial order a seat in the Senate. Exemption from the expensive position of praetor would also often be conferred on such persons that had become Senators in this way. The Senate was mostly composed of statesmen and officials, ranging from the most important statesmen in the Empire such as the Master of Offices and the Master of Soldiers to provincial governors and retired civil servants. The senatorial families in Constantinople tended to be less affluent and less distinguished than those in the West (where the size of the Senate had also been increased to 2,000 in the 4th century). Some aristocrats attempted to become senators in order to escape the difficult conditions that were imposed on them by late Roman Emperors such as Diocletian (r. 284-305 AD). The ''curiales'' (Roman middle class) were often forced to become decurions where they were charged with participating in local government at their own expense as well as having to collect taxes and pay any deficits from their own pockets. As it was recognised that many who sought seats in the Senate were doing so primarily to escape the harsh duties of the decurion Theodosius I decreed that they must complete their public service even if they became Senators. The Senate was led by the Prefect of the City (Constantinople), who conducted all of its communications with the Emperor. It was composed of three orders, the ''illustres'', ''spectabiles'' and ''clarissimi''. The members of the ''illustres'' were those who held the highest offices in Eastern Rome, such as the Master of Soldiers and Praetorian Prefects. The ''spectabiles'' formed the middle class of the Senate and consisted of important statesmen such as proconsuls, vicars and military governors of the provinces. The ''clarissimi'' was the lower class of the senate and was attached to the governors of the provinces and to other lesser posts. Members of the lower two orders were permitted to live anywhere within the Empire and were generally inactive Senators. The majority of active members in the Senate were the ''illustres'', whose important offices were usually based in Constantinople and so were able to attend the Senate frequently. By the end of the 5th century the two lower classes were completely excluded from sitting in the Senate. During the reign of Justinian I the numbers of ''clarissimi'' were significantly increased which caused many officials to be promoted to the rank of ''spectabiles'' and this in turn caused there to be an increase of the numbers of ''illustres'', which had previously been the elite class of the Senate. As a result a new order, the ''gloriosi'', was created to accommodate the highest ranking senators. It is important to note that being a Senator was generally a secondary career for most of the Senate's members, who usually possessed important positions within the administrative machinery of the Empire. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Byzantine Senate」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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