How long might the Senate have lasted?

What if, after regaining North Africa, Justinian decided not to invade Ostrogoth Italy. In the OTL, after the disastrous wars of the 6th century, what was left of the Roman Senate faded away soon after 600 CE, so the Curia was converted to a church c 630. What if Italy had remained stable and peaceful--how much longer could the Senate have endured?
 

jocay

Banned
Short of the Ostrogothic Kingdom collapsing, the Senate is likely to endure indefinitely. It had a relatively positive and symbiotic relationship with the Ostrogoths.
 
What about the Lombards, or the church? Of course since about 400 CE the Senate was christian but wouldn't the institution itself eventually be considered a pagan relic, an anachronism?
 
What about the Lombards, or the church? Of course since about 400 CE the Senate was christian but wouldn't the institution itself eventually be considered a pagan relic, an anachronism?

That would, I think, depend on what basis the real ruling authority claims Roman imperium. I personally think the Ostrogoth kingdom is the best hope for a continuing Senate since the kingdom generally aimed at a continuation of Roman law, language, and other institutions. But if you have a more Frankish-type claim where the right to imperium doesn't come from any institutional similarity to Rome but is granted by the pope, the Senate has no real place in that arrangement, and may even be seen as a source of worldly corruption trying to impede the natural unity of purpose between Pope and Emperor.
 
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