- Quaestor
Quaestors were originally appointed by the
consuls to investigate criminal acts and determine if the consul needed to take public action. Quaestors eventually took on additional responsibilities, such as supervising the treasury (for which they are best known), and became elected magistrates. The office of Quaestor was adopted as part of theCursus honorum .Quaestors were elected officials of the
Roman Republic who supervised the treasury and financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers. The office may date back to the time of theKingdom of Rome . By about420 BC there were four Quaestors, elected each year by the "Comitia Tributa ", and after267 BC there were ten. Some Quaestors were assigned to work in the City, while others were assigned to the staffs ofgeneral s or served theRoman Governor s asLieutenant Governor s in the provinces. Still others were assigned to oversee military finances.During the reforms of Sulla in
81 BC , the minimum age for a quaestorship was set at 30 forpatrician s and at 32 forplebeians , and election to the quaestorship gave automatic membership in the Senate. Before that, the censors revised the rolls of the Senate less regularly than the annual induction of quaestors created. The number of quaestors was also raised to 20.Today the title of Quaestor (Questore) persists in
Italy and it represents a highPolice office. It is also present inRomania as "Chestor" and it is also a police office. The European Parliament has six Quaestors to look after the financial and administrative needs of its members. Some ancient British universities, such as theUniversity of St Andrews , still have a Quaestor whose responsibilities are in leading and developing effective and efficient financial control and management within the University.ee also
*
Constitution of the Roman Republic
*Cursus honorum
*Roman Republic ources of Further Reading
*Bourne, Frank (Princeton University). "A History of the Romans" Boston, MA. 1967, D.C. Heath and Company
External links
* [http://www.altertumswissenschaften.de/altertumswissenschaften/hilfsmittel/roemischebeamte/quaestoren.php List of quaestors]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
