Roman Senate - Post-Imperial Senate in Rome

Post-Imperial Senate in Rome

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Senate continued to function under the barbarian chieftain Odoacer, and then under Ostrogothic rule. The authority of the Senate rose considerably under barbarian leaders, who sought to protect the Senate. This period was characterized by the rise of prominent Roman senatorial families, such as the Anicii, while the Senate's leader, the princeps senatus, often served as the right hand of the barbarian leader. It is known that the Senate succeeded to install Laurentius as pope in 498, despite the fact that both king Theodoric and Emperor Anastasius supported the other candidate, Symmachus.

The peaceful co-existence of senatorial and barbarian rule continued until the Ostrogothic leader Theodahad began an uprising against Emperor Justinian I and took the senators as hostages. Several senators were executed in 552 as a revenge for the death of the Ostrogothic king Totila. After Rome was recaptured by the Imperial (Byzantine) army, the Senate was restored, but the institution (like classical Rome itself) had been mortally weakened by the long war. Many senators had been killed and many of those who had fled to the East chose to remain there, thanks to favorable legislation passed by emperor Justinian, who, however, abolished virtually all senatorial offices in Italy. The importance of the Roman Senate thus declined rapidly.