Description
Rome’s Consuls were Republican politicians and generals in equal measure. Every year two Consuls were elected by the Senate, each with the power to veto the other, a system designed to stop tyranny and the abuse of power. In civil matters the Consuls led the Senate, alternating on a monthly basis. Where military matters were concerned, their power outside the walls of Rome was absolute, with each commanding an army. When a combined Consular force was in the field, as at the Battle of Cannae in 216BC against Hannibal, the Consuls Lucius Paullus and Gaius Varro had to alternate command on a daily basis. This had disastrous consequences, as the impetuous Varro led so many of his numerically superior army to their deaths. In the Roman world, absolute power meant final responsibility, and defeat was entirely the commanding Consul’s fault. In these cases, punishment could be severe, as during the Numantine War, of 154-152BC, when Gaius Mancinus’ apparent cowardice led to the capture of his Legions. Although Tiberius Gracchus, then a military Tribune, secured their release through treaty, the Senate refused to recognise it and sent Mancinus straight back to the enemy! Even when successful, a Consul was accountable for his actions towards the provinces, allies and resources at his command. When Scipio returned from the Punic Wars, he was hailed as 'Imperator', granted a triumph and given the honorific title ‘Africanus’, but he was nevertheless accused of squandering money by the Senate, albeit at the urging of his enemy, Cato.
