A Roman de Gaulle

[Saepe Fidelis]

So I've been wondering: the Republic already had an office of Dictator, which had a six month mandate and who could command almost absolut power within that time period. Say this were reformed so that it became kind of like a de Gaullist office-similar to the President of Germany, or indeed the big gallic man himself. I'd imagine it would be elected by the Senate, say every ten years, and would lead the armies but have little power within Rome; he'd probably be ckecked by the military tribunes and the senate itself.

I'd guess that the most likely time period for this to happen would be after the civil war. I think that if Pompey won he might instate something like this, not having the gall (puns!) to make himself dictator for life like Caesar, being more, well, decent. He was old, afterall, so it would make sense until someone else would take the office after a brief stint in control from Pompey.

What do we think? Would it be too much for the Senate and too little for the army, or would it be just right?

 

[MrP]

So . . . like with old GJC or Marius there's plenty of time to a) make friends and b) alienate people? I don't see this as a recipe for a continued Senatorial system, I must say.

 

[Saepe Fidelis]

So . . . like with old GJC or Marius there's plenty of time to a) make friends and b) alienate people? I don't see this as a recipe for a continued Senatorial system, I must say.

But is there a way for someone less . . . megalomaniacal, to reform the Roman system into something like I described? I say Pompey, but Cicero or Cato might have had a shot, I suppose.

 

[jakewilson]

Cicero actually advocated for the creation of the position of a 'rector' of Italy as means of including all (free, male) Italians in the republic, and to formalize the unofficial position of late republican strongmen so that legal restrictions could be placed upon their role. Essentially a less-powerful rotating emperor. It could only work as a real-world proposal if the Caesarian faction were united (say if Marc Anthony were killed or Caesar hadn't made Octavian his heir) and still defeated the Liberatores. It would then be a way of accommodating a strong man and a still independent Senate. Or if Pompey had defeated Caesar.