Tagmatine Senates

The Senate House, Europatorion.

Uniquely amongst nations on Eurth, Tagmatium has three legislative bodies - the Senates of Arome, Europatorion and Tagmatika, commonly known as the Sinatos, the Gerouseia and the Synkletos respectively. They are often referred to as the Sinatos (Anglish: "Senate") collectively. Although they are considered to be legislative bodies, they act more as advisory bodies for the Holy Emperor - they can pass resolutions that the Holy Emperor may issue as edicts and the monarch might also turn to them for advice on matters. The senates are not directly elected by the Tagmatine citizenship. Rather, the members are there through inheriting their position or by being rewarded for service by the Holy Emperor. The number of members for each of the Senates is capped at two thousand, meaning that it is also one of the largest legislative bodies on Eurth. Members of the Senates form a class of themselves amongst the Tagmatine population, with some families having been members of the Senates for hundreds of year or more.

There is an element of seniority at play in the Senates, which determines which is considered to be the "upper" body and which is the "lower body". The Sinatos of Arome being the oldest and therefore the most senior, followed by Gerouseia of Europatorion and then the Synkletos of Tagmatika. Whilst the resolutions passed by the senates are non-binding for the Holy Emperor, tradition has dictated that something passed by all three senates has to be enacted.

The Senates have their own police force, in the form of the Spatharokoubikoularioi, who guard the Senates' buildings and the members themselves. They have the full authority and powers of arrest of police officers of Tagmatium. Spatharoukoubikoularioi often pursue offences and crimes against the Senates and senators beyond the boundaries of the buildings themselves, such as threats against the safety of the Senates.