Principate
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The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate.[1] The principate was characterised by the reign of a single emperor (princeps) and an effort on the part of the early emperors, at least, to preserve the illusion of the formal continuance, in some aspects, of the Roman Republic.[2][3][4]
Etymology and anticipations
'Principate' is etymologically derived from the Latin word princeps, meaning chief or first, and therefore represents the political regime dominated by such a political leader, whether or not he is formally head of state or head of government. This reflects the principate emperors' assertion that they were merely "first among equals" among the citizens of Rome.
Under the Republic, the
Duration
In a more limited and precise chronological sense, the term Principate is applied either to the entire Empire (in the sense of the post-Republican Roman state), or specifically to the earlier of the two phases of Imperial government in the ancient
History
The title, in full, of princeps senatus / princeps civitatis ("first amongst the senators" / "first amongst the citizens") was first adopted by
Although dynastic pretences crept in from the start, formalizing this in a monarchic style remained politically perilous;[8] and Octavian was undoubtedly correct to work through established Republican forms to consolidate his power.[9] He began with the powers of a Roman consul, combined with those of a tribune of the plebs; later added the role of the censor and finally became pontifex maximus as well.[10]
Nevertheless, under this "Principate stricto sensu", the political reality of
Imperial
Generally speaking, it was expected of the Emperor to be generous but not frivolous, not just as a good ruler but also with his personal fortune (as in the proverbial "bread and circuses" –
Redefinition under Vespasian
With the fall of the
Under the Antonine dynasty, it was standard for the Emperor to appoint a successful and politically promising individual as his successor. In modern historical analysis, this is treated by many authors as an "ideal" situation: the individual who was most capable was promoted to the position of princeps. Of the Antonine dynasty, Edward Gibbon famously wrote that this was the happiest and most productive period in human history, and credited the system of succession as the key factor.
Dominate
The autocratic elements in the Principate tended to increase over time.
It was after the Crisis of the Third Century almost resulted in the Roman Empire's political collapse that Diocletian firmly consolidated the trend to autocracy.[19] He replaced the one-headed principate with the Tetrarchy (c. AD 300, two Augusti ranking above two Caesares),[20] in which the vestigial pretence of the old republican forms was largely abandoned. The title of princeps disappeared – like the territorial unity of the Empire – in favor of dominus; and new forms of pomp and awe were deliberately used in an attempt to insulate the emperor and the civil authority from the unbridled and mutinous soldiery of the mid-century.[21]
The political role of the Senate went into final eclipse,
See also
References
- ^ K Lowenstein, The Governance of Rome (1973) p. 370 [ISBN missing]
- ^ "Principate – government". britannica.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-11.
- ISBN 0333278305[page needed]
- ISBN 9781846683800[page needed]
- ^ O Seyffeert, A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (London 1891) p. 516
- ^ H J Rose, A Handbook of Latin Literature (Methuen 1967) pp. 99, 235
- ^ D Wormersley ed, Abridged Decline and Fall (Penguin 2005) p. 73
- ^ J Burrow, A History of Histories (Penguin 2007) pp. 124–125
- ^ J Boardman ed. The Oxford History of the Classical World (1991) p. 538
- ^ D Wormersley ed, Abridged Decline and Fall (Penguin 2005) pp. 70–71
- ^ Quoted in J Boardman ed. The Oxford History of the Classical World (1991) p. 540
- ^ J Boardman ed. The Oxford History of the Classical World (1991) p. 549
- ^ Digital Reproduction of diagram found in The Anchor Atlas of World History, Vol. 1 (From the Stone Age to the Eve of the French Revolution) Paperback – December 17, 1974 by Werner Hilgemann, Hermann Kinder, Ernest A. Menze (Translator), Harald Bukor (Cartographer), Ruth Bukor (Cartographer)
- ^ C Edwards Intro, Lives of the Caesars (OUP 2000) p. xxi
- ^ C Edwards Intro, Lives of the Caesars (OUP 2000) pp. xxiii–xxv
- ^ J Boardman ed, The Oxford History of the Classical World (1991) p. 561
- ^ J Boardman ed, The Oxford History of the Classical World (1991) pp. 561, 573
- ^ H M Gwatkin ed., The Cambridge Medieval History Vol I (1924) p. 25
- ^ H M Gwatkin ed., The Cambridge Medieval History Vol I (1924) p. 25
- ^ H M Gwatkin ed., The Cambridge Medieval History Vol I (1924) p. 27
- ^ H M Gwatkin ed., The Cambridge Medieval History Vol I (1924) p. 25
- ^ J Boardman ed. The Oxford History of the Classical World (1991) p. 808
- ^ H M Gwatkin ed., The Cambridge Medieval History Vol I (1924) p. 29
- ^ H M Gwatkin ed., The Cambridge Medieval History Vol I (1924) p. 28
Sources
- Alston, Richard. 1998. Aspects of Roman History. AD 14–117. London: Routledge.
- Aparicio Pérez, Antonio. 2009. “Taxation in Times of the Principate.” Gerión 27:1: 207–217.
- Bleicken, Jochen. 1978. Prinzipat und Dominat. Gedanken zur Periodisierung der römischen Kaiserzeit. Wiesbaden: Fr. Stein.
- Flaig, Egon. 2011. “The Transition from Republic to Principate: Loss of Legitimacy, Revolution, and Acceptance.” In The Roman Empire in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, Edited by Jóhann Páll Arnason and Kurt A. Raaflaub. Ancient World, 67–84. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Gallia, Andrew B. 2012. Remembering the Roman Republic: Culture, Politics and History under the Principate. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Gibson, A. G. G., ed. 2013. The Julio-Claudian Succession: Reality and Perception of the Augustan model. Mnemosyne. Supplements; 349. Leiden: Brill.
- Harlow, Mary and Laurence, Ray. 2017. “Augustus Senex: Old Age and the Remaking of the Principate.” Greece and Rome 64.2: 115–131.
- Kousser, Rachel Meredith. 2005. “From Conquest to Civilization: The Rhetoric of Imperialism in the Early Principate.” In A Tall Order: Writing the Social History of the Ancient World: Essays in Honor of William V. Harris, Edited by Jean-Jacques Aubert and Zsuzsanna Várhelyi. Beiträge zur Altertumskunde; 216, 185–202. München: Saur.
- Melounová, Markéta. 2012. “Trials with Religious and Political Charges from the Principate to the Dominate.” Series archaeologica et classica 17.2: 117–130.
- Raaflaub, Kurt A, Mark Toher, and G. W Bowersock. 1990. Between Republic and Empire: Interpretations of Augustus and His Principate. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Williams, Kathryn Frances. 2009. “Tacitus' Germanicus and the Principate.” Latomus 68.1: 117–130.