Emperor, Senate and magistrates

Abstract

The relationship between emperor and Senate was always the result of the tension between what the majority of senators thought the emperor should be, and what he really was, or could become: princeps or dominus. Vespasian, for instance, had been a senator for more than thirty years. In Britain the reason for the appointment of a iuridicus was probably the predominantly military duties of the consular legates, at least under Vespasian and Domitian. Only in Italy were things changed to any significant degree, first by Hadrian and later by Marcus Aurelius. Despite the establishment of the eleven regiones by Augustus, Italy had no real territorial subdivisions. Hence it also had no officials who could take on the duties of regional governors, and as a result all the inhabitants of the cities of Italy had recourse only to the magistrates of Rome when they sought judgement on matters outside the competence of the municipal magistrates.

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