Praetor was a title given to a political and military administrator. The term was used on Earth during the period of the Roman Empire as well as within the Romulan Star Empire.
It was customary to kneel before the Romulan praetor. (SNW: "A Quality of Mercy")
History
The title of praetor was present on the planet 892-IV as evidenced by the Praetorian Guards. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")
The leader of the Romulan Star Empire was referred to as praetor. (TOS: "Balance of Terror", SNW: "A Quality of Mercy")
The praetor presided over the Romulan Senate and the Continuing Committee. (Star Trek Nemesis)
One praetor, Colius, was honored by having an award, the Praetor Colius Award, named after him. (DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight")
The praetor's source of power was always the Romulan fleet. In 2266, the praetor sent her flagship across the Romulan Neutral Zone in an unprovoked attack on several border outposts. Decius, an officer aboard the Romulan vessel, sent the praetor a message to update him on their mission. However, this broke the communication silence the ship was running under and he was reduced in rank as punishment. (TOS: "Balance of Terror")
In 2374, Neral, a former Proconsul, became praetor. (DS9: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges")
Later, Hiren ascended to the position, which he held until 2379, when Shinzon, a Human clone raised by Remans, assassinated almost the entire Romulan Senate and took the title of praetor for himself. However, he himself was killed soon after during a failed attack on the USS Enterprise-E. (Star Trek Nemesis)
In 2381, a photon grenade detonated meters above Captain Jean-Luc Picard's head while he was negotiating with the Romulan praetor. (PIC: "Seventeen Seconds")
| Praetors of the Romulan Star Empire |
|---|
| Colius • Unnamed (c. 2266) • Neral (c. 2374) • Hiren (c. 2379) • Shinzon (c. 2379) |
Appendices
Background information
Like so much concerning the Romulans, "Praetor" is a term taken from the Roman Empire. There, a praetor was a magistrate and minister of justice, who presided over courts of law. The position was subordinate only to consuls in hierarchy of the Roman Republican Government, and was a prerequisite for eligibility to standing for election to the Consulate. The term also referred to an army commander. A praetor in Rome was automatically a member of the Senate.
In Star Trek, Ayel refers to Nero as "Prod Nero." According to the DVD commentary for the film, "prod" was intended to mean "praetor." In the deleted scene in which the Narada is surround by Klingon warbirds, however, the subtitles created by the filmmakers for the Romulan dialogue translate "prod" as "commander."
A Romulan action called the Praetor Campaign was part of William T. Riker's fictional past in "Future Imperfect".
Apocrypha
The copy of the Star Fleet Technical Manual accidentally transmitted to Earth in the 20th Century "Tomorrow is Yesterday" identified Karzan as the praetor of the Romulan Empire who executed the peace treaty with the UFP over subspace radio that ended the Earth-Romulan War and established the Romulan Neutral Zone in the 22nd century.
The novel Probe mentions that the Romulan praetor is "third in rank but first in power", technically subordinate to the emperor and the emperor's legate, but in fact is the real ruler of the Empire.
Novels set after Nemesis establish that Tal'aura became praetor after Shinzon's death and that Commander Donatra declared herself empress, splitting the Empire into two fragments, the Romulan Star Empire and the Imperial Romulan State. Donatra was afterwards killed rejoining the Romulan Star Empire, this made it a dominant species in the Typhon Pact. Other Typhon Pact members then arranged the death of Tal'aura, who was succeeded by the moderate Gell Kamemor.
In the game Star Trek: Legacy there is a class of small Romulan starships called the Praetor class (β).
In the comic series Star Trek: Countdown, the Vulcan security forces in charge of the planet Vulcan's security are shown to be under the command of a praetor named M'kan who is subordinate to the orders of the Vulcan High Command.
External links
- Praetor at Wikipedia
- Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works