When Augustus first established the principate in 27 B.C. he took great care to make sure to show the people that all his powers were nothing more than those flowing from his respective formal duties and that he was nothing but the first among other Roman citizens -- princeps. Almost as soon as he established the principate, it became more powerful than he probably intended. Augustus probably did not expect that large segments of the people would worship him as a god while he was still alive, but they did. He probably would not have guessed that his word would become law with maybe a perfunctory debate in the Senate, or that eighty silver statues of him would be set up throughout Rome. These phenomena were indicative of the power that the emperors had. It was Augustus' genius that he officially claimed no official imperial title, as the ill-fated Julius Cæsar had before him.1 In short, the office of the Princeps was more powerful than any kingship seen before or since and clearly much more powerful than any state leader today, though it was based in theory on nothing more than the relatively small formal powers of the emperor's respective offices through imperium, the emperor's power to rule. Augustus sums it up well himself. "After this time I excelled all in influence, although I possessed no more official power than others who were my colleagues in the several magistracies."2 Contrary to Augustus' claims, however, the emperor had more power than his colleagues. For example, no self-respecting consul would go against the wishes of the emperor if the emperor was the other consul. That would be unprecedented and would surely be followed by negative effects to the dissenting consul -- such an act would undermine the authority of the emperor, and therefore would not be tolerated.
The role of the emperor was defined by Augustus, then altered slightly by each succeeding emperor based on their own personalities and proclivities.3 The institution invented by Augustus worked so well that it lasted until the fourth or fifth centuries, depending on how you define the emperor. It was so popular with the Senate that when Tiberius tried to abandon the practice of having an emperor and give power back to the Senate, they refused, practically forcing the imperial crown on him.4
Emperors tended to become even more powerful as time went on. At least by the time we get to Diocletian, if not long before that, even the pretense that emperors are nothing more than the "first citizen" is completely abandoned. The imperial throne had gone from a tenuous conglomeration of formal powers to a vast fusion of informal authority to do just about anything: Augustus' precarious system had been abandoned for a more powerful, if less popular, authority figure. The concentration of power was having negative consequences for the imperial throne. The power associated with this new invention was too much for many warriors to resist and by the third century, the military was acclaiming emperors from within its ranks left and right, regardless of their civilian service — their average reign less than that of a U.S. president (if presidents can be said to "reign").
Despite the increase of power, certain basic duties of the emperor remained the same through the ages. The emperor's job was essentially to protect the citizens of the Empire from harm, either from barbarians outside or from bandits inside, and keep the citizens happy (i.e., well fed, clothed, not taxed too heavily). The statement that all the emperor needs to do is to provide entertainment and grain to the inhabitants of Rome is somewhat of an oversimplification, but the truth to the statement should not be laughed off, either.5 Emperors derived much of their authority from their presence at circus games and gladiatorial combats, where they decided who would live and who would die. This was an important bonding experience between the emperor and the people, one of the few times when they would be together.6 It was a way for the emperor to show off his prowess, as he organized the capture of the wild beasts, prisoners of war, and indirectly procured the gladiators through a special school. Emperors were in control, but were similarly at risk at the shows. Caligula had people executed who had shouted to reduce taxes,7 but had his troops been outnumbered, the incident could have led to a revolt right then and there.
According to another ancient philosopher, the emperor had three duties: "military leadership, the dispensing of justice, and the cult of the gods."8 I will deal with these duties in order. As a military leader, the emperor was expected to maintain a degree of peace within the empire, as noted above. Some emperors, such as Claudius and Trajan, took this one step further and actually worked toward expanding the borders of the empire. This was an added bonus for an emperor, and not something that was necessary for him to do. Because this was a taxing task financially, there were long periods of time between massive expansionist emperors, though most emperors did engage in some kind of military campaign during their reign.
Probably even more important than their military role, emperors served as the highest judicial authority in the land, spending much time listening to appeals by citizens. Any Roman citizen could appeal to the emperor, thus there were many cases to be heard and the emperor spent much time listening to appeals. The Apostle Paul is one example of a citizen who desired an appeal with the emperor. It is not know if he was ever able to get an appeal, though, before the emperor Nero. As far as cults of gods go, besides being one himself, the emperor acted as benefactor for cults, providing money for temples and making holidays.
By virtue of their great wealth, many emperors also served as philanthropists to various localities. Hadrian is especially known for his donations to cities and towns, usually for the purpose of building. He would travel throughout the empire and when he came across a city he liked he would give them money for a building, which would then be named after him. This strengthened the ties between the emperor and the people, and developed the infrastructure of the Empire.
The emperor served as the moral and spiritual leader of the country. He was also the supreme military commander. As pontifex maximus, the single imperial honor that could only be held by one person,9 the emperor was charged with regulating the morals of the country, as the Pope is today in the Roman Catholic world. Imperial morality edicts regarded things like whether a military man could marry, or whether it was proper for a citizen to marry a non-citizen.
There is a major difference between the attitudes between good and bad emperors. Good emperors, such as Tiberius and Trajan, would not ask for honors, but would receive them. On the other hand, bad emperors such as Nero and Domitian would require that people gave them honors and even worship. Where good emperors were humble, following the precedent set by Augustus, bad emperors were pompous.10
Without the emperor, the history of the Empire, indeed the human race, would be very different. The emperor was essentially the glue that bound the empire; without him, the empire would resemble more of a collection of city-states or provinces and would have probably entered the feudal system of lords and serfs sooner than in did. By definition, the Roman Empire, the single most important governing body in the history of the Western world, would not have existed without the office of emperor. The effect that one man can have on human history is awe-inspiring.
1Julius Caesar had been dictator before being assassinated.
"I would not accept any office inconsistent with the custom of our ancestors." (Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti, 6) . . . Augustus held the positions of triumvir, princeps senatus, pontifex maximus, augur, quindecimvir sacris faciundis, septemvir epulonum, frater arvalis, sodalis Titus, fetialis, pater patriae, consul, proconsul, and tribune. Surely many of these were nothing more than ceremonial, and while the conglomeration was unprecedented, it made him look more legitimate in the eyes of the people to have titles than to proclaim himself Dictator. This is what enabled the office of emperor to exist for so many centuries.
2Augustus, Res Gestae, 35.
3Augustus himself puts it well: "By new laws passed on my proposal I brought back into use many exemplary practices of our ancestors which were disappearing in our time, and in many ways I myself transmitted exemplary practices to posterity for their imitation" (Augustus, Res Gestae, 8). He was able to pick and choose between new and old customs to fashion a job that was to his liking.
4Suetonius, Tiberius, 24, 25.
5It was the height of political wisdom for the emperor not to neglect even actors and the other performers of the stage, the circus, and the arena, since he knew that the Roman people is helf fast by two things above all, the grain supply and the shows, that the success of the government depends on amusements as much as on serious things. (Fronto, Elements of History xvii cited in Lewis and Reinhold [L&R] 40)
6"The emperor was the centre of everyone's attention, usually welcomed, cheered with ritual chants of praise. In return, the crowd was showered with gifts and often provided with food and drink. Ideally, gladiatorial shows put the whole metropolitan population in a good humor" (Keith Hopkins, "Murderous Games," 18).
7Keith Hopkins, "Murderous Games," 16.
8Diotogenes, On Kingship, a fragment. Cited in L&R 7.
9Colin Wells, The Roman Empire, 216.
10"[To Trajan] You have spontaneously subjected yourself to the laws which, Caesar, no one ever drafted to be binding upon the princeps. But you desire to have no more rights than we; and the result is that we would like you to have more" (Pliny, Pangyric Addressed to the Emperor Trajan lxv-lxxx, in L&R 7).
Augustus. Res Gestae Divi Augusti. In-class handout.
Hopkins, Keith. "Murderous Games." In-class handout.
Lewis, Naphtali and Meyer Reinhold, eds. Roman Civilization, Vol. II. 3rd Ed. New York: Columbia U.P., 1990.
Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars. New York: Penguin Books, 1989.
Wells, Colin. The Roman Empire. 2nd Ed. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard U.P., 1992.
Also of interest: "[O]ne of the chief tasks of the government was the cura annonae -- keeping the capital city supplied with grain from overseas provinces and maintaining normal market prices" (preface to L&R 17).
© Copyright 1996 Aaron Donovan. All rights reserved.