David has a number of interesting speculations about the Lunar Empire. About the Senate, he sez:
>Unlike the Roman Senate, which predated the Emperors, >the Lunar Senate was created by the Emperors. It is thus less important >than the early Roman Senate, having no real claim to power over the >Emperor. It exists to advise the Emperor only.
In my story "Jaxarte and the Emperor"
<http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mrmob/jaxandtheemperor.htm>, one of the
footnotes goes into some detail about the Lunar senate (while sitting in a
bath with the enigmatic Red Girl, young Jax is unexpectedly promoted to
wearing the gold-lined crimson toga):
: [Footnote 7]
: Modelled on the city senates of old Dara Happa, this body meets
: several times a year in with great pomp and ceremony in each of
: the Tripolis senate chambers to debate and pass resolutions. But
: for a few ancient and trifling prerogatives (mainly concerning
: irrigation works, the price of certain grains and, due to an
: accident of history, the power to declare war on Thrice Blessed),
: it is the Emperor's right to act on or ignore the senate's
: decrees. Much of the time the Senate seems to be preoccupied
: with parroting Imperial policy and enthusiastically supporting
: courses of action Moonson has already set in train, senators
: seeking to outdo each other in lavish flattery. There are always
: a few discordant voices from the back benches, and in times of
: national crisis or widespread discontent the Senate can play a
: valuable role in expressing the unrest of the people, becoming
: a valuable organ of state (though often serving as a useful
: scapegoat in the aftermath).
(To give credit where it's due, Nick actually came up with most of the above).
David raises a very interesting question:
>One question about the Empire, though, is who rules when there is >an Interregnum.
Like David, I suspect that "constitutionally" it is the Senate, though I wonder what happens in practice*. Because circumstances were different each time, who actually held onto the reigns during the various interregnums might have been different too.
*nb. I suspect that if any Dara Happan governments did indeed have constitutions, they were fixed and immutable - "perfect" documents. However, like the British, the Lunars would have an "unwritten" constitution.
Cheers,
MOB
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