The Early Imperial Age After Augustus (AD 14-193)

Question 1

wars and rebellions

Answer 1

no major wars broke out between 27 BC- AD 161 and the army was rarely engaged with rebellions on several frontiers at the same time.
in 69-70 Batavi revolted right at the same time with succession struggles.
between 42-84 Britain was annexed with Claudius launching the first campaigns and Domitian finally submitting them.
During Domitian soldiers’ pay was raised in 83 to make them fight the tribal unrest in the northwestern region.
Trajan put an end to the tribal unrest with a series of major campaigns (c. 101-106) and annexed Arabia (106).
A state of armed peace was maintained along the eastern Parthian frontier and not much changed until 161.
there were fierce Jewish revolts with first ones causing problems to the Romans but the Jews were later permanently subdued.

Question 2

emperorship and the problem of the emperor’s succession

Answer 2

thanks to Augustus monarchy rested on solid foundations. the emperors’ vast private resources helped them act as chief benefactors. the emperors had close ties with the local elites of Italy and the provinces.
from Augustus onwards the succession question was constantly a hot topic. the armies had to be unable to push forward their own candidates and thus hereditary succession was a good solution. when there were no sons then the reigning emperor could choose a man for adoption. emperors were often killed in conspiracies when their behaviour lacked conduct.

Question 3

emperors’ ‘job’

Answer 3

commanding the armies in wartime., administer justice, nominating and appointing officials at all levels and responding to the problems presented to him.

Question 4

emperors in the 1st and 2nd centuries (AD 14-193)

Answer 4

Julian-Claudian house: Augustus 27 BC- AD 14 -> Tiberius 14-37 -> Caligula 37-41 -> Claudius 41-54 -> Nero 54-68.
Flavian house: Vespasian 69-79 -> Titus 79-81 -> Domitian 81-96
adoptive emperors: Nerva 96-98 -> Trajan 98-117 -> Hadrian 117-138 -> Antonius Pius 138-161 -> Marcus Aurelius 161-180 -> Commodus 180-192 (real son)

Question 5

developments in administration after Augustus

Answer 5

expansion of bureaucracy (rise in the numbers of scribes and personnel).
staff responsible for the emperor’s private estates also expanded. under this land went mines, quarries, workshops. these workers had their own hierarchical system and sometimes they even constituted a social group known as Caesariani.
postal communication expanded and grew.

Question 6

the spread of Roman citizenship

Answer 6

it spread through more and more provinces. discharged veteran auxiliaries, their families and wives and children of discharged legionaries gained citizenship. such citizens retained their local rights and thus had a dual citizenship.
it also spread among the elite in the romanized cities n the west and in the Greek cities in the east.

Question 7

changes in the higher orders

Answer 7

local elites in romanized and Greek cities came to belong to the order of decuriones/curiales and like their Italian counterparts they had a chance of climbing the social ladder. every vacancy in the senate was filled with a ‘new man’ from equestrian order or from a senatorial family.
the equestrian order itself expanded substantially thanks to the bureaucratic expansion. usually the process of social advancement took a few generations. in the 2nd century large numbers of notables from romanized and hellenized interior provinces were admitted to the senate.
by AD 200 a aristocracy of service had emerged, which had three ranks, shared a common Latin-Greek elite culture and common spiritual baggage. literary culture or paideia was important along with etiquette and knowledge of codes of conduct.