Il tempo dei consoli. Alcune riflessioni sull’inizio dell’anno consolare in età mediorepubblicana

The text examines the variations in the official beginning of the consular year during the Midrepublican period. The sources are clear that from 153 BC the consuls took office on January 1, but there are strong doubts about the earlier period. In particular, if we can be fairly sure that in 329 the consuls took office on July 1, it seems that for the following century two variations were introduced: one which fixed the beginning of the magistracy in the autumn, the other which brought it forward to the spring season. On the basis of a confrontation between the literary sources (in particular Livy) and the data provided by the Fasti triumphales, some considerations are proposed here in order to identify the moments when these shifts took place and the reasons (mainly political) behind them.