Roman consul age requirements. For example, Emperor Honorius was given the consulship at birth. Cassius Dio states that Caligula intended to make his horse Incitatus consul, but was assassinated before he could do so. The need for a pool of men to fill the consular positions forced Augustus to remodel the suffect consulate, allowing more than the two elected for the ordinary consulate. During the reigns of the Julio-Claudians, the ordinary consuls who began the year usually relinquished their office mid-year, with the election for the suffect consuls occurring at the same time as that for the ordinary consuls. During reigns of
Roman emperor but only with Vespasian did "imperator" (emperor) become the official title by which the ruler of the Roman Empire was known. The word "princeps" (plural "principes"), meaning "first", was a republican term used to denote the leading citizen(s) of the state. It was a purely honorific title with no attached duties or powers. It was the title most preferred by Caesar Augustus as its use implies only primacy, as opposed to another of his titles, "imperator", which implies dominance. "Princeps", because of its republican connotation, was most commonly used to refer to the emperor in Latin (although the emperor's actual