Abbreviation SPQR. What does this mean for the culture of Ancient Rome?

Very often you can hear the phrase: "Rome conquered the world thrice." If you know the very essence of this statement, it becomes clear that it is true. First of all, Rome conquered the world by legions, through constant conquests. The second element, which obliges many countries to be grateful to the ancient empire, is culture. Many states, after they were captured by Rome, quickly evolved and moved to a new level of development. Rome also gave mankind the right. Hence it can be concluded that this once great state left a significant mark in world history.

What is Rome?

In ancient times, there was the Roman Republic. It originated in the vastness of modern Italy, between the three hills: Palatine, Capitol and Quirinal, where today is the modern city of Rome. Originally it was a city-state, like all the prominent countries of the time.

However, after several centuries, when Rome developed to the size of just a huge republic, its territory increased significantly. To manage such a "political machine" was needed a new form of power. A simple reign was no longer appropriate. Therefore, the Romans chose for themselves a democratic form of government, which for many centuries was fixed on the standard of the republic in the form of SPQR abbreviation. What this expression means is known to many, but still it has caused a lot of controversy for many years.

What does SPQR mean?

When scientists just started a serious study of Ancient Rome, this abbreviation was identified with the state itself. Such a conclusion was true and at the same time false, because much more importance was invested in the abbreviation SPQR. Rome at the same time played the role of a kind of progenitor of all its citizens. Most often the designation was depicted on the standard of the Legionnaires. They also housed Aquila, which means "eagle" in Latin. Thus, the "eagle" was a symbol of the republic, and SPQR is much more important. The abbreviation arose from the saying: "The Senate and the citizens of Rome." This indicates a greater political, rather than symbolic, meaning of SPQR. What each letter of this abbreviation means, it was found out much later.

The meaning of SPQR

The statement had an archaic meaning, as, according to scientists, it occurred from the time of the founding of Rome. There are many definitions of the abbreviation SPQR. Almost all of them mean the same thing: the greatness of Rome and its Senate. This underscores the fact that the citizens of the republic were proud of their state system and therefore made their unspoken SPQR symbol. Ancient Rome, as it developed, conquered many countries and made them provinces, thereby emphasizing the greatness of its state and state system.

If you parse each letter of the reduction of SPQR, you get the following decoding, namely:

- Almost in all the letters of the ancient Romans, the letter S means "Senate" or "Senatus" - in Latin.

- P is the abbreviation of the word "Populusque", "Populus", which in translation means "people", "nation", "nation".

- The most controversial is the letter Q. Many scientists argue about its significance to this day. Some believe that Q is an abbreviation from the word Qurites or in Russian "citizen". Others characterize Q as an abbreviation for the word Quritium - "warrior with a spear".

- The letter R always stands for Romae, Romenus. In translation it means "Rome".

The study of each letter SPQR, which means "the greatness and power of Rome," helps to understand the mentality of the ancient Romans and their faith in their state.

SPQR and the present

Today, this symbolic abbreviation can be found almost everywhere. It was actively used during the Italian Renaissance. In modern Italy, the symbol is used as the coat of arms of the city of Rome. It is depicted on posters, manholes and houses.

The expression SPQR, which means "Senate and citizens of Rome", was used to depict some scenes of the Passion of Christ to emphasize the presence of the Roman Empire in these events.