[Prev Page][Contents][Next Page]

Julio-Claudian Emperors

Imperator

The question on everyone's mind was: what next? What would Octavian do? He was still quite a young man, with the world to command. Would he become a tyrant? A monarch?

Octavian (I've said it before) was a conservative, traditional Roman. His desire was to preserve the Republic, and he had a genuine respect for it. At the same time, he realized clearly, perhaps more clearly than had his adoptive father, that the Republic was moribund. Something new was in order.

His goals were simple: first and foremost, there would be an end to civil war. Octavian from beginning to end insisted on peace and insisted on public order. To effect this, he had to retain control of the military. The Senate and the nobility in general had failed in their duty towards the State in this regard. Sulla had made a mistake in retiring and relinquishing control of the army. Octavian would not make that mistake.

With control of the army came control of foreign policy and, by implication, control of state finances. For a time, he simply continued by virtue of the powers he had won as a triumvir.

His official title was imperator, by which he had full consular power. As consul, he commanded the army. By other titles he had control over all the provinces and the right to appoint officials at every level of government. His personal wealth was so vast that he was able to pay the salaries of as much as a third of the government out of his own pocket.

And so he began arranging the empire. He reduced the number of legions from sixty to twenty-nine, mustering out over 100,000 soldiers and founding numerous colonies. He again packed the Senate, raising its number to 800, nearly all his own creatures. This body proceeded to give the stamp of Republican law to his every act.

It is worth noting here how makeshift this was. Octavian had no grand plan, no innovations. To outward appearance, he worked entirely within the system, employing traditional titles and traditional powers; but, in reality, he was inventing a new system. Even though he invented no new offices, never in Rome's history had one man held so many public offices himself. The title imperator would stick, though and the Imperium Romanum is traditionally dated from Actium.

Even so, it took a number of years before Octavian hit on the proper combination of titles, and the proper balance between himself and the Senate.