According to the majority of scholars who dealt with the topic, SPQR is the acronym for “Senatus populusque romanus“, which in Latin means” the Senate and the Roman people “. The acronym is attested starting from the period of the late Roman Republic, or at the beginning of the first century AC starting from this period, appears on some epigraphs and on the conii of some coins, especially at the time of the first emperor Augustus (31 AC-14 DC). The complete wording is also attested on the epigraphs of different public monuments, such as the Archi di Trionfo di Trionfo imperial era.Quritum“. In this sense, the wording would have been”Senatus populusque quiritum Romanus“, that is” the Senate and the Roman people of the Quiriti “. The term” quirite “is very ancient, and indicates the Roman citizens of the origins. It is traditionally associated with the inhabitants of Rome of the time of Romolo, in the eighth century A. C.
The formula “The Senate and the Roman people” have a very important intrinsic meaning in the representation of the power of the Roman state. In fact, he certifies the unity of intent between the Senate, which in the Republican era was the main institutional organ of the Republic, and the rest of the Roman people, who in theory had to act in communion. If the origin of this sentence is to be found in the republican era, its authority made a symbol even in the imperial era, when the Senate had already been emptied of its real political power. While the princepsThat is, the emperor, ruled in the name of the Roman people, in theory he exercised power in agreement with the Senate, the assembly that brought together the oldest and most illustrious families of the city.
The abbreviation SPQR returned in vogue starting from the Middle Ages. The power of this symbol was made its own by the Municipality of Rome, established in the twelfth century in opposition to the temporal power of the Pope, who chose it to represent itself.
