Ancient Rome This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Ancient Rome Periods Roman Kingdom 753 BC – 509 BC Roman Republic 508 BC – 27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC – AD 1453 Principate Western Empire Dominate Eastern Empire Roman Constitution Constitution of the Kingdom Constitution of the Republic Constitution of the Empire Constitution of the Late Empire History of the Constitution Senate Legislative Assemblies Executive Magistrates Ordinary Magistrates Consul Praetor Quaestor Promagistrate Aedile Tribune Censor Governor Extraordinary Magistrates Dictator Magister Equitum Consular tribune Rex Triumviri Decemviri Titles and Honours Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex Maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Precedent and Law Roman Law Imperium Mos maiorum Collegiality Roman citizenship Auctoritas Cursus honorum senatus consultum (senatus consultum ultimum) Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view · talk · Modern recreation of a Roman standard This article is about the Latin initialism. For other uses, see SPQR (disambiguation).

SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome"), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature of the government. It appears on coins, at the end of documents made public by inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and was emblazoned on the standards of the Roman legions. The phrase appears many hundreds of times in Roman political, legal and historical literature, including the speeches of Marcus Tullius Cicero and the history of Titus Livius. Since the meaning and the words never vary, except for the spelling and inflection of populus in literature, Latin dictionaries classify it as a formula. Contents 1 Historical context 2 Modern variants 3 Gallery 4 References 5 External links // Historical context This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010) The phrase's date of origin is not known, but its meaning places it generally after the founding of the Roman Republic. The two legal entities mentioned, Senatus and the Populus Romanus, are sovereign when combined. However, where populus is sovereign alone, Senatus is not. Under the Roman Monarchy neither entity was sovereign. The phrase, therefore, can be dated to no earlier than the foundation of the Republic.

This signature continued in use under the Roman Empire. The emperors were considered the representatives of the people even though the senatus consulta, or decrees of the Senate, were made at the pleasure of the emperor. Populus Romanus in Roman literature is a phrase meaning the government of the People. When the Romans named governments of other countries they used populus in the singular or plural, such as populi Priscorum Latinorum, "the governments of the Old Latins". Romanus is the established adjective used to distinguish the Romans, as in civis Romanus, "Roman citizen". The locative, Romae, "at Rome", was never used for that purpose. The Roman people appear very often in law and history in such phrases as dignitas, maiestas, auctoritas, libertas populi Romani, the "dignity, majesty, authority, freedom of the Roman people." They were a populus liber, "a free people." There was an exercitus, imperium, iudicia, honores, consules, voluntas of this same populus: "the army, rule, judgments, offices, consuls and will of the Roman people". They appear in early Latin as Popolus and Poplus, so the habit of thinking of themselves as free and sovereign was quite ingrained.

The Romans believed that all authority came from the people. It could be said that similar language seen in more modern political and social revolutions directly comes from this usage. People in this sense meant the whole government. The latter, however, was essentially divided into the aristocratic Senate, whose will was executed by the consuls and praetors, and the comitia centuriata, "committees of the hundreds", whose will came to be safeguarded by the Tribunes. During the regime of Benito Mussolini, SPQR was emblazoned on a number of public buildings and manhole covers in an attempt to promote his dictatorship as a "New Roman Empire". Modern variants Use of SPQR has been revived in modern times, throughout Europe and beyond. An international Roman revivalist organization, Nova Roma, employs the abbreviation as a use-protected trademark.citation needed SPQx is sometimes used as an assertion of municipal pride and civic rights. Reggio Emilia, for instance, has SPQR in its coat of arms, standing for "Senatus Populusque Regiensis". There have been reports of SPQx from: Amsterdam, Netherlands, SPQA at one of the major theatres and some of the bridges1 Antwerp, Belgium, SPQA on the Antwerp City Hall2 Benevento, Italy, SPQB on manhole covers3 Bremen, Germany, SPQB in the Town Hall of Bremen4 Bruges, Belgium, SPQB on its coat of arms5 Brussels, Belgium, SPQB found repeatedly on the Law Courts of Brussels,6 and over the main stage of La Monnaie/De Munt opera house Dublin, Ireland, SPQH on the City Hall, Dublin built in 1769 Florence, Italy, SPQF3 Florianópolis, Brazil, SPQF3 Hamburg, Germany, SPQH on a door in the Hamburg Rathaus7 Hannover, Germany Hasselt, Belgium, SPQH Kortrijk, Belgium, SPQC, city hall Leeuwarden, Netherlands, SPQL on the mayor's chain of office8 Liverpool, England, SPQL on various gold doors in St George's Hall9 City of London, England, SPQL10 Lübeck, Germany, SPQL on the Holstentor11 Lucerne, Switzerland Modica, Italy, SPQM is on the coat of arms Molfetta, Italy, SPQM is on the coat of arms12 Olomouc, Czech Republic, SPQO on its coat of arms3 Palermo, Italy, SPQP13 Siena, Italy, SPQS14 Solothurn, Switzerland, on the Cathedral of St Ursus and Victor Terracina, Italy, SPQT15 Tivoli, Italy, SPQT16 Verviers, Belgium, SPQV on the Grand Theatre17 Vienna, Austria3

In Italian, the acronym SPQR has its own amusing, modern interpretation as "Sono pazzi questi Romani" - meaning "These Romans are Crazy". In the comic book series Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the character Obelix has this as a catch-phrase - "Ils sont fous ces romains" in French - which the Italian translator gave an extra twist.citation needed Gallery Senatus Populusque Romanus The inscription in the Arch of Titus Modern coat of arms of Rome Manhole cover in Rome with SPQR inscription SPQR of in the coat of arms of Reggio Emilia Detail from the mosaic floor in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan "Superiority of the warrior class. State 2." Etching by Wenceslaus Hollar, (University of Toronto ) References ^ Heraldic symbols of Amsterdam, Livius.org, 2 December 2006 ^ Flickr.com ^ a b c d e "Rome - Historical Flags (Italy)", CRWflags.com, 14 November 2003 ^ Unesco.org ^ NGW.nl ^ Eupedia.com ^ (German) Nefershapiland.de ^ (Dutch) Gemeentearchief.nl ^ BBC.co.uk ^ Cityoflondon.gov.uk ^ Flickr.com ^ it:File:Molfetta-Stemma.png ^ Flickr.com ^ Flickr.com ^ O. A. W. Dilke and Margaret S. Dilke (October 1961). "Terracina and the Pomptine Marshes". Greece & Rome (Cambridge University Press) II:8 (2): 172–178. ISSN 00173835. OCLC 51206579.  ^ Tibursuperbum.it ^ (French) Bestofverviers.be External links Look up SPQR in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: SPQR Instances of "Roman Senate and People" in www.Perseus.edu Lewis & Short dictionary entry for populus on www.Perseus.edu Polybius on the Senate and People (6.16) v · d · eAncient Rome topics Timeline Epochs Foundation · Monarchy · Republic · Empire · (Principate and Dominate) · Decline · Western Empire / Eastern Empire Constitution History · Constitution of the Kingdom / the Republic / the Empire / the Late Empire · Senate · Legislative assemblies (Curiate, Century, Tribal, Plebeian)  · Executive magistrates Government Curia · Forum · Cursus honorum · Collegiality · Emperor · Legatus · Dux · Officium · Praefectus · Vicarius · Vigintisexviri · Lictor · Magister militum · Imperator · Princeps senatus · Pontifex Maximus · Augustus · Caesar · Tetrarch · Optimates · Populares · Province Magistrates Ordinary Tribune · Quaestor · Aedile · Praetor · Consul · Censor · Promagistrate · Governor Extraordinary Dictator · Magister Equitum · Decemviri · Consular Tribune · Triumvir · Rex · Interrex Law Twelve Tables · Roman citizenship · Auctoritas · Imperium · Status · Litigation Society Social class · Patricians · Plebs · Conflict of the Orders · Secessio plebis · Equestrian order · Gens · Tribes · Naming conventions · Women · Marriage · Slavery Military Borders · Establishment · Structure · Campaigns · Technology · Political control · Frontiers and fortifications (Castra) · Strategy · Engineering · Army (Legion • Infantry tactics • Personal equipment • Siege engines) · Navy (Fleet) · Auxiliaries · Decorations and punishments · Hippika gymnasia Culture Theatre · Cuisine · Education · School · Literature · Art · Music · Architecture · Religion (Funeral • Persecution • Imperial cult) · Mythology · Hairstyle · Public Baths (Thermae)  · Forum · SPQR · Clothing · Chronology (Ab urbe condita · Roman calendar (Julian) · Festivals) · Circus · Wine · Prostitution · Deforestation · Romanization · Cosmetics Technology Numerals · Arithmetic · Abacus · Civil engineering · Military engineering · Military technology · Roads  · Bridges  · Aqueducts  · Metallurgy  · Concrete · Sanitation Roman economy Economy · Agriculture · Commerce · Finance · Currency · Republican currency  · Imperial currency Language (Latin) History · Romance languages (Versions) Old · Classical · Vulgar · Late · Medieval · Renaissance · New · Recent · Ecclesiastical Writers Apuleius · Catullus · Cicero · Curtius Rufus · Horace  · Julius Caesar · Juvenal · Livy · Lucretius · Ovid · Petronius · Plautus  · Pliny the Elder · Pliny the Younger · Propertius · Sallust · Seneca · Suetonius · Tacitus · Virgil · Vitruvius Lists Topics · Wars · Battles · Generals · Legions · Emperors · Geographers · Institutions · Laws · Consuls · Distinguished women Portal