optimates
E36816
The optimates were a conservative political faction in the late Roman Republic that championed the authority of the Senate and the traditional aristocracy against popular reforms.
Aliases (1)
- Optimates ×48
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Roman political group
→
conservative faction → political faction → |
| activeInPeriod |
late Roman Republic
→
|
| aimedToPreserve |
traditional Roman constitution
→
traditional privileges of the Senate → |
| areaOfInfluence |
Roman courts
→
Roman legislative process → provincial governance → |
| contrastedWith |
popularis politics
→
|
| country |
Roman Republic
→
|
| dissolvedInPeriod |
end of the Roman Republic
→
|
| etymology |
Latin word meaning "the best men"
→
|
| favoredPolicy |
limitation of tribunate powers
→
senatorial control of magistracies → |
| historicalStatus |
informal faction rather than formal party
→
|
| ideology |
defense of mos maiorum
→
maintenance of senatorial authority → |
| language |
Latin
→
|
| notableMember |
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
→
Lucius Cornelius Sulla → Lucius Licinius Lucullus → Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger → Marcus Tullius Cicero → Quintus Lutatius Catulus → |
| opposedFigure |
Gaius Gracchus
→
Gaius Marius → Julius Caesar → Tiberius Gracchus → |
| opposedGroup |
Populares
→
|
| opposedPolicy |
debt relief measures
→
extension of Roman citizenship to Italian allies → popular land reforms → |
| politicalBase |
Senate
→
wealthy landowners → |
| politicalPosition |
aristocratic
→
conservative → oligarchic → |
| relatedConflict |
Caesar's civil war
→
Social War → Sulla's civil wars → |
| supportedClass |
Roman aristocracy
→
patrician class → senatorial nobility → |
| supportedInstitution |
Roman Senate
→
|
| usedPoliticalMethod |
obstruction of popular assemblies
→
senatorial decrees → use of courts against political enemies → |
Referenced by (2)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Roman Senate
→
|
influencedBy |
|
Claudian gens
→
|
politicalAlignment |