SPQR, an acronym for Senatus PopulusQue Romanus, is an emblematic phrase referring to the government of the Roman Republic. It appears on documents made public by an inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and on some Roman currency.
A modern recreation of a Roman standard
"SPQH" in the Hamburg Rathaus, Germany
"Senatus Populusque Cracoviensis" over the Waza Gate in Wawel Castle, Kraków, Poland
"SPQN" on the Charles Bridge, Nuremberg, Germany
The Roman Senate was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome as the Senate of the Roman Kingdom, to the Senate of the Roman Republic and Senate of the Roman Empire and eventually the Byzantine Senate of the Eastern Roman Empire, existing well into the post-classical era and Middle Ages.
The so-called "Togatus Barberini", a statue depicting a Roman senator holding the imagines (effigies) of deceased ancestors in his hands; marble, late 1st century BC; head (not belonging): mid-1st century BC
The Curia Julia in the Roman Forum, the seat of the imperial Senate
The Palazzo Senatorio, originally built to house the revived Senate during the Roman Commune period
