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Augustus and the Senate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2009

Richard J. A. Talbert
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Extract

The relationship between Tiberius and the senate as a corporate body has attracted frequent attention. That between Augustus and the senate, on the other hand, has suffered comparative neglect. Explanations of the contrast quickly suggest themselves. Not only did Tiberius prove the more willing of the two emperors to participate at sessions; his relationship with the senate is also much better documented, since it forms one of the principal themes of Tacitus' account of the reign in his Annals. But although the relationship which Tiberius determined to establish did have its own distinctive character from the outset, it is important to recognize that it was developed from a foundation painstakingly laid by Augustus. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to trace the nature and growth of Augustus' relationship with the senate, and to assess briefly the significance for the corporate body of Tiberius' different attitude.

Type
Research Article
Information
Greece & Rome , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , April 1984 , pp. 55 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1984

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References

Notes

1. See, for example, Momigliano, A. in OCD2 s.v. Senatus, p. 973Google Scholar.

2. The arguments on this point, and on many others made here, are set out in my forthcoming book, The Senate of Imperial Rome (Princeton, 1984)Google Scholar. It should be noted, however, that this study focuses principally upon the procedure and functions of the senate as a working assembly, not upon its relations with individual emperors.

3. This is the right commonly referred to as ius primae relationis, though there is no ancient testimony for such a formulation, and the phrasing of our sole informant Dio (53.32.5), reflected here, is looser and more discreet.

4. It is true that Augustus' ban on unrestricted access to the comprehensive record of proceedings in acta senatus was never lifted, either now or later. Yet selected items of business were regularly made known through official channels.

5. I should like to thank my colleague, Dr Raymond P. Davis, for his advice in the preparation of this article. He is not to be taken as agreeing with all the views expressed.