Father patriae
Pater patriae ( plural Patres patriae ; "father of the fatherland"), also parens patriae (literally 'parent of the fatherland'), was a Roman honorary title.
The title of pater patriae was bestowed by the Senate . Marcus Furius Camillus and Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator were already referred to as parentes because of their merits . Marius and Sulla also received the title parens and pater ob cives servatos (“Father because of the salvation of citizenship”). Orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero was charged with exposing the Catiline conspiracy during his consulate in 63 BC. Honored with this title.
The next titleholders were Gaius Iulius Caesar and Augustus (2 BC), who was bestowed the title by the Senate, the Equites and the Roman people. Since the title pater patriae was not essential for the legitimacy of the ruler - unlike the titles Imperator , Caesar , Augustus , Pontifex maximus or the Tribunicia potestas - it did not become part of the imperial honors; only since it was awarded to Pertinax in 193 has it been part of the permanent imperial title. Likewise, the title did not result in any legal power, rather the award was a sign of dignity as well as a clarification of the obligations of the bearer towards the citizenry. Just as the pater familias headed a family, the honoree was entrusted with the protection of the state. The same goes for the feminine form. The title of mater patriae is, according to Livia , first used in Julia Domna .
The Senate bestowed the title on numerous Roman emperors , often only after many years of rule, but sometimes soon after taking office, if the new emperor enjoyed the special respect of the Senate (such as Nerva ). Consequently, many of the short-lived rulers did not bear this title. The award was tied to the approval of the person to be honored, who could also refuse the title. So Emperor Tiberius did not have the honorary title conferred; Also Nero hit the first offering in the first year of his reign from because of his youth. As the last emperor, Anastasius I referred to himself as pater patriae in a letter from the year 516 to the Roman Senate .
Roman fathers patriae
- Marcus Tullius Cicero , 63 BC Chr.
- Gaius Iulius Caesar , 45 BC Chr.
- Augustus , February 5, 2 BC Chr.
- Caligula , 37
- Claudius , January 42
- Nero , 55
- Vespasian , 70
- Titus , June 79
- Domitian , September 14th 81
- Nerva , September 96
- Trajan , 98
- Hadrian , 128
- Antoninus Pius , 139
- Mark Aurel and Lucius Verus , 166
- Commodus , 177
- Septimius Severus , 193
- Caracalla , 199
- Macrinus , June 217
- Elagabal , July 218
- Gordian III. , May 238
- Probus , July 276
- Diocletian , November 20, 284
- Maximian , April 1, 286
- Constantine the Great , 307
- Anastasius I , 516
Later Fathers Patriae
- William I , Count of Provence , called the liberator who defeated the Saracens at the Battle of Tourtour .
- Cosimo de 'Medici , Lord of Florence
- Andrea Doria , Admiral of the Republic of Genoa , received the title from Charles V.
- William the Silent , Prince of Orange
- Peter I (Russia) . After the peace treaty of Nystad (1721), the senate offered the tsar the honorary titles "Imperator" and "Pater Patriae" "in the name of the fatherland".
- George Washington , 1st President of the United States , has been referred to as Father Patriae .
- Ante Starčević (1823–1896), he is revered by many Croatians as "Pater Patriae" because of his defense of their rights and interests
- Alexander Douala-Bell , King of the Douala people in Cameroon , was honored with the title after his death.
- Sam Nujoma , 1st President of Namibia
- Malietoa Tanumafili II , head of Samoa , was named after his death by Helen Clark as the "father of modern Samoa".
- Mohammed Zahir Shah , the exiled king of Afghanistan, was given the honorary title “Father of the Nation” by the Loja Jirga on the occasion of his return and in place of the royal title .
- During the strong beer tapping on the Nockherberg , the respective Bavarian head of state has been addressed as pater patriae since the 18th century .
- Richard von Weizsäcker was called Pater patriae by Federal President Joachim Gauck at the state ceremony on the occasion of his death .
- Leopold I, King of the Belgians
Web links
literature
- Andreas Alföldi : The father of the fatherland in Roman thought (= Libelli series. 261). Emphasis. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1971, ISBN 3-534-04653-6 .