Interrex
Interrex (plural interreges), from Latin inter ("between") + rex ("king"), denoted a provisional magistrate in ancient Rome tasked with wielding supreme authority during an interregnum, the transitional vacancy following a king's death in the monarchy or the failure to elect consuls at the year's start in the early Republic.[1] Appointed by the Senate from among senior patricians—often former consuls—each interrex held office for five days, with powers akin to those of consuls, and could nominate up to four successors if elections stalled, their primary mandate being to convene the comitia curiata or centuriata assemblies to select permanent magistrates and restore constitutional order.[2] This institution, rooted in traditions attributed to Rome's regal era and chronicled by Livy, exemplified the Senate's role in bridging power vacuums to avert anarchy, though its use waned after the mid-fifth century BCE as plebeian access to consulships stabilized electoral processes. The term later influenced analogous roles elsewhere, such as in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where the Primate of Poland (Archbishop of Gniezno) assumed interrex duties to oversee royal elections during vacancies.[3]In Ancient Rome
Etymology and Definition
The term interrex (plural interreges) derives from Latin inter ("between" or "among") and rex ("king"), signifying a temporary sovereign authority exercising power in the interval between rulers. This etymology reflects the office's origin in the Roman Kingdom, where it addressed the vacancy following a monarch's death, and its adaptation in the Republic to manage gaps in consular leadership.[4] In the Roman Republic, the interrex functioned as an extraordinary magistrate appointed by the Senate from among its patrician members when both consuls were absent, deceased, or their terms had expired without successors being elected, thereby preventing a complete suspension of executive functions.[5] The office was strictly provisional, typically limited to five days per appointee, with imperium to summon assemblies (comitia centuriata) solely for electing new consuls and restoring annual magistracies, distinguishing it from the collegial, year-long tenure of consuls as a mechanism to maintain constitutional continuity without monarchical overtones.[6] This ad hoc role emphasized senatorial oversight in crises, ensuring no single individual held indefinite power.[5]Appointment and Eligibility
The interrex was appointed by the Roman Senate, which selected individuals from among its patrician members, often those who had previously held curule magistracies such as the consulship.[7] This process ensured senatorial oversight during periods of constitutional vacancy, with the patricians assembling under senatorial directive to formalize the choice.[8] Eligibility was strictly limited to patricians, reflecting the office's roots in archaic religious and imperium-bearing functions that plebeians were constitutionally barred from exercising until later reforms.[7] Each interrex served a fixed term of five days, after which they would nominate (prodere) a successor from eligible patricians if consular elections remained uncompleted.[7] This sequential mechanism, documented in Livy (e.g., 4.7.7, 6.5.6), prevented any single individual from consolidating authority, distributing provisional leadership among multiple senators until the comitia could convene and elect consuls.[7] The Senate's role in initiating and controlling these appointments underscored its function as the stabilizing institution amid magisterial absences, such as the death or incapacity of both consuls.[7]Powers and Duties
The interrex held a provisional imperium akin to the consular variety, granting authority to summon the Senate for consultation and to convoke the comitia curiata or other assemblies necessary to conduct elections for successors, such as new consuls during republican interregna.[7] This power was strictly delimited to electoral administration, excluding military command or broader jurisdiction outside Rome's pomerium, to prevent any extension of personal rule.[9] The core duty of the interrex was to expedite the selection of permanent magistrates or a king, typically within five days per term, by proposing nominees and overseeing the voting process, with succession to another patrician if the term expired without resolution. Independent policy initiatives or legislative actions were absent, as the office prioritized constitutional restoration over governance innovation, reflecting patrician senators' collective oversight to maintain republican balance.[7] Livy portrays the interrex fulfilling ritualized administrative roles, such as assembling the people to announce senatorial decisions on candidates, underscoring a focus on procedural continuity amid vacancy.[8] Dionysius of Halicarnassus similarly depicts the interrex as an interim facilitator who relays senatorial instructions to assemblies, emphasizing preparatory functions for elections without substantive decision-making authority.Historical Instances and Significance
Following the overthrow of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus in 509 BC, Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus served as the first republican interrex, nominating Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus to inaugurate the consular system and thereby bridging the monarchical interregnum to elected annual magistracies.[10] This instance underscored the interrex's role in stabilizing governance amid revolutionary upheaval, with successive patrician interreges—each holding imperium for five days—coordinating senatorial consensus to avert power vacuums.[7] In the early and mid-Republic, the office activated during consular vacancies caused by deaths, military campaigns, or internal disruptions, as seen in its invocation around 481 BC amid escalating tensions in the Struggle of the Orders, where it managed electoral assemblies despite patrician-plebeian frictions.[11] Such applications demonstrated the mechanism's flexibility in maintaining continuity, with the Senate appointing ex-consuls or senior patricians to convene comitia centuriata for new elections, thereby adapting to crises without resorting to monarchy's permanence.[7] The interrex thus reinforced patrician oversight during the patriciate's dominance, even as plebeian demands for access to magistracies pressured the system toward broader participation by the 4th century BC. By the late Republic, interregna occurred more frequently amid political instability—evidenced in 82, 77, 55, 53, and 52 BC—yet the office waned as alternatives like dictatorships or ad hoc senatorial decrees supplanted it.[12] The final documented use came in 52 BC, when Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and later Servius Sulpicius Rufus, as interrex, navigated post-assassination chaos following Publius Clodius Pulcher's murder, but ultimately facilitated Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus's irregular sole consulship on January 20, bypassing standard dual elections.[7] [13] This episode highlighted the interrex's diminishing relevance, as mounting reliance on military strongmen and tribunician vetoes eroded senatorial procedural monopoly, signaling the Republic's evolution toward centralized authority and the eventual rise of autocracy.[12]List of Roman Interreges
Early Republic (509–367 BC)
In the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus in 509 BC, the Roman senate appointed Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus as prefect of the city to convene the comitia curiata for electing the inaugural consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus; this role, though termed praefectus urbi in contemporary accounts, prefigured the formalized interrex function for bridging magisterial vacancies during the Republic's establishment.[14] Lucretius, advanced in years, died before fully discharging duties, yet the assembly proceeded under senatorial oversight to install the consuls, stabilizing governance amid the transition from monarchy.[14] Interregna recurred during consular lapses, with patrician senators sequentially assuming the interrex role—limited to five days each—to administer the state and organize elections, ensuring continuity without concentrating power.[15] In 462 BC, following the deaths of consuls in office, Publius Valerius Publicola served as interrex for three days, convening the assembly to elect suffect consuls Lucius Lucretius Tricipitinus and Titus Veturius Cicurinus, averting paralysis amid ongoing patricio-plebeian frictions.[15] The practice intensified during the Struggle of the Orders, particularly around the Licinian-Sextian Rogations of 367 BC, where plebeian tribunes Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus vetoed higher magistracies for five years to compel reforms, forcing reliance on lower officials until senatorial intervention triggered an interregnum.[16] Publius Cornelius Scipio, as interrex, managed the subsequent electoral process, enabling passage of the laws capping debt interest, limiting land holdings, and opening the consulship to plebeians, thus addressing plebeian demands while patricians retained procedural control.[17]| Year (AUC) | Interrex | Associated Events and Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| 509 BC (245) | Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus | Convened election of first consuls L. Junius Brutus and L. Tarquinius Collatinus post-monarchy; died in office, but process completed under senatorial auspices.[14] |
| 462 BC (292) | P. Valerius Publicola | Oversaw suffect consular elections for L. Lucretius Tricipitinus and T. Veturius Cicurinus after prior consuls' deaths.[15] |
| 389 BC (365) | P. Cornelius Scipio (succeeded by M. Furius Camillus) | Managed interregnum post-Gallic sack; held elections for military tribunes with consular power.[16] |
| 367 BC (387) | P. Cornelius Scipio | Facilitated consular elections amid Licinian-Sextian crisis resolution, paving for plebeian access to office.[17] |