interpretation of events Flashcards
how did augustus position tiberius to succeed him (pre gaius and lucius)
places him to accrue honours, titles and influence - all the decoration of a republican leader so it wasn’t to monarchical (triumphs, conquests etc)
marries him to his daughter Julia in 11 BC - son-in-law (but doesnt adopt him yet - options open?)
8 BC - Tiberius elevated to second only to Augustus - second consulship, tribunician potestas (23 BC augustus took this role himself to compensate for loss of consulship), proconsular imperium maius over the eastern provinces - not only great actual power but also auctoritas
how does augustus position tiberius as his heir post gaius and lucius
adopted tiberius as his son on the condition that he adopt germanicus to succeed him, passing over Tiberius’ own biological son Drusus. Augustus also adopted Agrippa Postumus but this came to nothing.
not as gradual or suggestive as before - given immense power incredibly fast - swore oath in senate that tiberius was his second, indispensible to the safety of the state
promoted allies of tiberius to high offices such as lucilius longus to consulship in AD 7 - just for remaining close to Tiberius during his exile
lex valeria conelia in 5 AD - stave off a populist rival, precursor ot first mwasure of tiberius principate - making all magistrates chosen by and ratified by the senate - base support of landed classes so they wouldnt oppose tiberius
8 AD - sat with Augustus between the consuls - 12 AD territorial limits of Tiberius’ proconsular imperium were lifted - same powers outside rome as augustus
AD 13 - consular lae made Tiberius’ power equal to Augustus = basically co-regents
gave sense of no interregnum - tiberius could continue on immediately in theory
coinage minted wiht augustus on obverse and tiberius on reverse - did census together
deification of Augustus post mortem - made tiberius a divi fillius
why did augustus line tiberius up for succession the manner that he did
took pains so that it didn’t look like direct family inheritance - avoid accusations of monarchy
by making tiberius his political equal - it was less a succession by inheritance and more just a natural transference of rule to the next most powerful man in the state - he had to make tiberius deserving of the position he couldnt just appoint him
why inheritance of Augustus’ private estate etc were considered legally distinct even though they ended up going to the same person
why is it inaccurate to speak of an equestrian civil service
there was no sense of specialisation of people in the system - the branches of government one could work in within a lifetime were expansive
no rigid hierarchy for advancement
no distinction between the military and civilian duties
act more as agents of the emperor than officers of the state
diversity of the role of equestrian administrators
equestrian administration used wherever and whenever needed anf with as much imperium as was necessary to complete the task.
short tenure - 2/3 years -no one became an expert in a specific area - over a period of 276 years, egypt had 90 prefects
Frontinus - equestrian administrators put in charge of roman aquaduct system relied on advice of skilled freedmen and slaves - didnt learn the technical details of the appointment - reliance on expert subbordinates characteristic of the role
is there an established career pathway for those of equestrian rank?
no cursus honorum - unlike senetors, very rarely progressed long term towards governorship of a province for example - since they are appointed to their roles by the emperor - patronage and imperial favour way more important than long term experience
senatorial career progression (cursus honorum)
10 years military duty, military tribune,
quaestor is first part of the cursus honorum, aedile or tribunes, then praetors at the age of thirty, then consulship
not part of the cursus honorum - but generally proconsul or propraetor in the provinces then governor
after consulship the next part of cursus honorum is censor, then princeps senatus,
evidence in tacitus about equestrian career progression
‘the governor of Cappadocia was a gentleman (outside the senate) called Julius Paelignus. though as contemptible for his stupidity as for his absurd appearance, he was extremely intimate with claudius, who before his accession had amused his idle leisure with the company of such fools’
1) his intimacy with claudius rather than skill gets him the position
2) if he had spent his time previously as claudius companion = not a long career of smaller civil appointments so didnt climb a hierarchy
shift in role of equestrain procurators in the provinces
began as military position for equestrians, became personal agent of the emperor managing his finances in the provinces and eventually to posts which begin to resemble something like a civil service - though this began under claudius - really only developed later than period studied
difference between imperial and senatorial provinces (after the augustan settlement of 23 BC)
imperial - supposedly most troublesome provinces - status could change as the situation develops (suetonius - augustus kept provinces which couldnt be safely administered by an annual governor - but he also made frequent visits to both kind of province)
imperial - ruled by legates of procurators chosen personally by the emperor - could spend several year in their post - emperor made decisions without being responsible to the senate
senatorial - governors rule in year long terms, orders come from the senate and people ostensibly - augustus still had significant influence - senatorial provinces proconsuls were chosen by lot
evidence of emperors direct intervention in the provinces
epigraphic evidence of mandata begins under tiberius - most likely the practice began before this (ddressed to Sextus Strabo, legate of Galatia and Germanicus Caesar, proconsul in the East)
appeals procedure - town could send libellus to the emperor on matters such as taxation and juristiction - paul (disciple) appeal to emperor claudius when he is arrested on the grounds that he was a roman citizen - attested in bible
how local government traditions were utilised by the empire
very little attempt to standardise across the empire - rome didnt have the manpower or the money to fill offices lower down - number of local magistrates thus varies (in gaul called vergobrets, strategoi in greek east)
Law granted to Urso in Spain - detailed instructions on military and financial powers of magistrates - judicial procedure and membership to local senate - strengthen local governments in western provinces with constitutions based on rome
Athens - Areopagus had important political and judiciary function - as did the council of 500 - elements of old democracy but dominated by wealthy aristocrats - still subordinate to rome
