Cursus honorum

The Cursus honorum or "path of offices" was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the later Roman Republic. Each office had a minimum age for election, there were minimum intervals between offices, and laws against repeating one office. These rules were altered and flagrantly ignored in the course of the last century of the Republic.

earlier system???

after the reforms of Sulla

Quaestor -- not before 30 years old or 28, for patricians -- after election to Quaestor, automatic membership in the Senate

Praetor? -- not before 39 years old or 37, for patricians

Consul -- not before 42 years old or 40, for patricians

Neither the office of Aedile nor Tribune were part of the legal cursus honorum, but most officeholders had been Aedile in their late 20s. Only plebeians? were eligible to be Tribunes. Sulla also required a 2 year period between holding offices or before repeating in the same office.

To have held each office at the youngest possible age (in suo anno, "in his year") was considered a great political success, since to miss being praetor at 39 meant that one could NOT be consul at 42. Cicero was extremely proud of being both a novus homo ("new man") who became consul though none of his ancestors had ever been consul and having become consul in his year.