SPQR

ROMULUS: You heard me: SPQR. That means I have just made a law.

SPQR – This acronym is a combination of three words: they may directly be translated as Senātus Populusque Rōmānus. The first two words are two nominative nouns combined by the enclitic particle “–que” that may be translated as the English word “and”, which combines the first two nouns – “senātus” and “populus” that mean, respectively, both senate and populous. The last word, Rōmānus is an adjective modifying the two preceding words. When seen on artwork, military decorations, and in other places around the Roman Empire, “SPQR” is literally considered to mean “the Roman Senate and Populous”. Whilst exact dates of the acronym’s creation are unknown, they are seen on inscriptions and other forms of artwork and décor from the Early Roman Republic, as early as c. 80 BC. The last appearance of the acronym appears on inscriptions on coins from the rule of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor. It would seem that Romulus was outlived in at least one way… For what reason was the inscription used? In the modern context, it is seen to adorn many a wall, piece of groundwork, and piece of artwork both for reasons social and civic and during the reign of Benito Mussolini it appears in many places as a tool meant to promote the rise of a, so called, “New Roman Empire”