The Roman Empire: The Roman Principate

Sunday 3 January 2016

The Roman Principate - Introduction

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The Roman Imperium - Introduction

The Principate is the name given to the first period of the Roman Empire, starting with the reign of Augustus Caesar, and refers particularly to the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

The principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the emperors to preserve the illusion of the formal continuance of the Roman Republic.

The word principate is etymologically derived from the Latin word 'princeps', meaning 'chief 'or 'first', and is used to describe the political regime dominated by such a political leader, whether or not he is formally head of state and/or head of government.

This reflects the principate emperors' assertion that they were merely "first among equals" among the citizens of Rome.

In practice, the principate was a period of 'enlightened absolutism', with occasional forays into quasi-constitutional monarchy; Emperors tended not to flaunt their power, and usually respected the rights of citizens.

The title, in full, princeps senatus / princeps civitatis ("first amongst the senators" / "first amongst the citizens"), was first adopted by Octavian Caesar Augustus (27 BC–AD 14), the first Roman 'emperor', who chose - like the assassinated dictator Julius Caesar - not to reintroduce a legal monarchy.

The purpose was to establish the political stability desperately needed after the exhausting civil wars by a de facto dictatorial regime within the constitutional framework of the Roman Republic as an alternative to the hated early Roman Kingdom.

The title itself derived from the position of the 'princeps senatus', traditionally the oldest member of the Senate, who had the right to be heard first on any debate.

Although dynastic pretenses crept in from the start, formalizing this in a monarchic style remained politically unthinkable.

Under this 'Principate stricto sensu', the political reality of autocratic rule by the Emperor was still scrupulously masked by forms and conventions of oligarchic self-rule, inherited from the political period of the 'uncrowned' Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) under the motto 'Senatus Populusque Romanus' ("The Senate and people of Rome"), often abreviated to SPQR.

Initially, the theory implied the 'first citizen' had to earn his extraordinary position (de facto evolving to nearly absolute monarchy) by merit, in the style that Augustus himself had gained the position of 'auctoritas'.

Imperial propaganda developed a 'paternalistic' ideology, presenting the princeps as the very incarnation of all virtues attributed to the ideal ruler (much like a Greek tyrannos earlier), such as clemency and justice, and in turn placing the impetus upon the princeps to play this designated role within Roman society, as his political insurance as well as a moral duty.

What specifically was expected of the princeps seems to have varied according to the times; Tiberius, who amassed a huge surplus for the city of Rome, was criticized as a miser, while Caligula was criticized for his lavish spending on games and spectacles.

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" – 'panem et circenses' ), providing occasional public games, gladiators, horse races and artistic shows.

Large distributions of food for the public and charitable institutions were also means that served as popularity boosters while the construction of public works provided paid employment for the poor.