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The Roman Constitution was an uncodified set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent.〔Byrd, 161〕 The Roman constitution was not formal or even official, largely unwritten and constantly evolving. Having those characteristics, it was therefore more like the British common law system than a statutory law system like the written United States Constitution, even though the constitution's evolution through the years was often directed by passage of new laws and repeal of older ones.. Concepts that originated in the Roman constitution live on in both forms of government to this day. Examples include checks and balances, the separation of powers, vetoes, filibusters, quorum requirements, term limits, impeachments, the powers of the purse, and regularly scheduled elections. Even some lesser used modern constitutional concepts, such as the bloc voting found in the electoral college of the United States, originate from ideas found in the Roman constitution. Over the years, the Roman constitution continuously evolved. By 573 BC, the Constitution of the Roman Kingdom had given way to the Constitution of the Roman Republic. By 27 BC, the Constitution of the Roman Republic had given way to the Constitution of the Roman Empire. By 300 AD, the Constitution of the Roman Empire had given way to the Constitution of the Late Roman Empire. The actual changes, however, were quite gradual. Together, these four constitutions formed four epochs in the continuous evolution of one master constitution. ==Senate== The Roman senate was the most permanent of all of Rome's political institutions. It was probably founded before the first king of Rome ascended the throne. It survived the fall of the Roman Kingdom in 510 BC, the fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC, and the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD. It was, in contrast to many modern institutions named 'Senate', not a legislative body. The power of the senate waxed and waned throughout its history. During the days of the kingdom, it was little more than an advisory council to the king. The last king of Rome, the tyrant Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown following a coup d'état that was planned in the senate. During the early republic, the senate was politically weak. During these early years, the executive magistrates were quite powerful. The transition from monarchy to constitutional rule was probably more gradual than the legends suggest. Thus, it took a prolonged weakening of these executive magistrates before the senate was able to assert its authority over those magistrates. By the middle republic, the senate reached the apex of its republican power. This occurred because of the convergence of two factors. The plebeians had recently achieved full political enfranchisement. Therefore, they were not as aggressive as they had been during the early republic in pushing for radical reforms. In addition, the period was marked by prolonged warfare against foreign enemies. The result was that both the popular assemblies and the executive magistrates deferred to the collective wisdom of the senate. The late republic saw a decline in the senate's power. This decline began following the reforms of the radical tribunes Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. The declining influence of the senate during this era, in large part, was caused by the class struggles that had dominated the early republic. The end result was the overthrow of the republic, and the creation of the Roman Empire. The senate of the very early Roman Empire was as weak as it had been during the late republic. However, after the transition from republic to empire was complete, the senate arguably held more power than it had held at any previous point. All constitutional powers (legislative, executive and judicial) had been transferred to the senate. However, unlike the senate of the republic, the senate of the empire was dominated by the emperor. It was through the senate that the emperor exercised his autocratic powers. By the late principate, the senate's power had declined into near-irrelevance. It never again regained the power that it had held before that point. Much of the surviving literature from the imperial period was written by senators. To a large degree, this demonstrates the strong cultural influence of the senate, even during the late empire. The institution survived the fall of the Empire in the West, and even enjoyed a modest revival as imperial power was reduced to a government of Italy only. The senatorial class was severely affected by the Gothic wars. 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「Roman Constitution」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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