Roman Noble

A noble is a rather specious and complex term, though most narrowly it refers to any Roman whose ancestor had been a consul, as distinct from patricians, who had an ancestor who had been a member of the original 100 senati called together by Romulus.

Each family had to prove it's eligibility to remain noble by each generation's children having to be electable in politics.

The Senate was essentially comprised of ex-office holders:
 * the height of the office you held before you joined the Senate directly proportional to when you get to speak