SPQR

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See also the SPQR series of murder mystery novels and the SPQR board game.

The inscription in the Arch of Titus

Modern coat of arms of Rome

Manhole cover in Rome with SPQR inscription

SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Roman Senate and people"), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature of the government. It appears on coins, at the end of documents made public by inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and was emblazoned on the standards of the Roman legions. The phrase appears many hundreds of times in Roman political, legal and historical literature, including the speeches of Marcus Tullius Cicero and the history of Titus Livius. Since the meaning and the words never vary, except for the spelling and inflection of populus in literature, Latin dictionaries classify it as a formula.

In modern usage, SPQR appears in the coat of arms of the city of Rome, as well as on many of the city's civic buildings and manhole covers. Benito Mussolini used it in his propaganda about the "New Roman Empire".^{[citation needed]}

1 Historical context
2 Modern variants
3 Trivia
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Historical context

The date of origin of the phrase is not known, but its meaning places it generally in the Roman Republic. The two legal entities mentioned are the Senatus and the Populus Romanus. The populus is sovereign and the combination is so as well, but the Senate alone is not. Under the monarchy neither was sovereign. The phrase can be dated therefore to no earlier than the foundation of the Republic.

This signature continued in use under the Roman Empire. The emperors were considered, and the good emperors considered themselves to be, the representatives of the people even though the senatus consulta, or decrees of the Senate, were made at the pleasure of the emperor.

Populus Romanus in Roman literature is a phrase meaning the government of the Republic. When the Romans named governments of other countries they used populus in the singular or plural, such as populi Priscorum Latinorum, "the governments of the Old Latins". Romanus is the established adjective used to distinguish the Romans, as in civis Romanus, "Roman citizen". The locative, Romae, "at Rome", was never used for that purpose. The Roman people appear very often in law and history in such phrases as dignitas, maiestas, auctoritas, libertas populi Romani, the "dignity, majesty, authority, freedom of the Roman people." They were a populus liber, "a free people." There was an exercitus, imperium, iudicia, honores, consules, voluntas of this same populus: "the army, rule, judgements, offices, consuls and will of the Roman people". They appear in early Latin as Popolus and Poplus, so the habit of thinking of themselves as free and sovereign was quite ingrained.

The Romans believed that all authority came from the people. It could be said that similar language seen in more modern political and social revolutions directly comes from this usage. People in this sense meant the whole government. The latter, however, was essentially divided into the aristocratic Senate, whose will was executed by the consuls and praetors, and the comitia centuriata, "committees of the hundreds", whose will came to be safeguarded by the Tribunes.

In more official contexts therefore Senatus Populusque Romanus was used for signing-off purposes. The singular was used for the nominative case. The plural could be used in other cases: senatu populoque consentientibus, "the senate and people ratifying" (an ablative absolute construction). In society SPQR was often "bully" language, the same as threatening to report or prosecute someone today. Cicero used it to good effect.

[edit] Modern variants

The usage has been revived in modern times, throughout Europe and beyond. SPQ- is sometimes used as an assertion of municipal pride and civic rights.

In Benevento, one can find SPQB, standing for "Senatus Populusque Beneventanus," on manhole covers.^[1]

SPQA can be found at one of the major theatres and some of the bridges of Amsterdam.^[2]

There have also been reports of SPQ* from Liverpool, London, Lucerne, Lübeck, Olomouc, Brussels ("SPQB" found repeatedly on the famous Palais de Justice, and over the main stage of La Monnaie/De Munt opera house), Antwerp (e.g. City hall), Verviers (Grand Theâtre), Bruges, Vienna ("Senatus Populusque Viennensis"), Florianópolis ("Senatus Populusque Florianopolitanus"), Palermo, and Florence ("Senatus Populusque Florentinus").^[3]

[edit] Trivia

In the movie Gladiator, Maximus has SPQR tattooed on his left shoulder.
In the movie Titus, the radio microphone into which Saturninus speaks has the call letters "S.P.Q.R."
The experimental band This Heat wrote a song entitled "S.P.Q.R" which appears on their 1981 album Deceit.
The SPQR logo also appears at the base of "The Angel of Independence" statue in Mexico City. Its relevance there is not clear.
In the Asterix series, the character Obelix uses it as a joke on Rome and Romans, by saying "Sono Pazzi Questi Romani" (Italian for "These Romans are crazy").