Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

Triumvirate and Principate 

thatwehavenoevidenceatthisstage.Itremainsentirelyopentosuggest
thattheprovincialaspectsofthesettlementofamount,onAugustus’side,
simplyandsolelytotherighttoappointlegatesasgovernorsofmostofthe
majormilitaryprovinces.

Asregardsthecitymagistracies,ourevidencetendstosuggestthattheformof
republicanelectionshadcontinuedthroughtheTriumviralperiod(seetext
tonn.–).Ifthatiscorrect,anditisnotcertain,thenwhenDioasserts
(,,–)thatelectoralassembliesbegantomeetagainfromonwards,
we may take this as a reference to the recommencement of genuine com-
petitionforelection,whichisclearlyattestedfortheAugustanperiod;the
competitionwaslimitedinpractice,butnotformally,byimperialrecom-
mendation(commendatio).^91 (Nonetheless,oursourcesdoincertaininstances
speakofAugustus‘‘offering’’or‘‘giving’’theconsulatetoaman.^92 )Asregards
theholdersofthecitymagistracies,nochangewasmadeintheirpowersin
,fornoformalchangehadbeenmadeintheTriumviralperiod.
Thusthechangeswhichculminatedinwereofafairlylimitedkind,
andnotallofthemclearlytendedtowardsarevivedRepublic.Butthatbrings
ustoourcentralquestion:nowthatwehaveseentheextenttowhichthe
institutionsoftheres publicasurvivedthroughtheTriumviralperiod,what
evidence havewe to justify the normal view that  saweithera real ora
proclaimed‘‘RestorationoftheRepublic’’?^93

Thequestioninvolvesacuteproblemsastowhattermsareusedinoursources
todescribethechangeoforthestateofaffairsresultingfromit,andwhat
these terms meant at different periods.When if ever, for instance,wasres
publicaused to mean ‘‘the Republic’’ in our sense? It surely has something
like that meaning in one passage of Tacitus, referring to the year..:
‘‘how many were left who had seen the Republicwith theirown eyes?’’^94
Butdidithavethesamemeaninginthes..?Alreadyin..theSen-
ateandPeopleof RomehadmadeadedicationtoOctavian‘‘theres publica
havingbeenpreserved’’(re publica conservata).^95 Moreimportantperhapsisa
passagefromthethirdbookofLivy,writtenpreciselyinthetwoyearsafter

. Seeworkscitedinn..
. Tac.,Ann.,(CalpurniusPiso);,(AteiusCapito);Seneca,De Clementia,,,
(L.Cinna);Dig.,,,(AntistiusLabeo).
. Thefollowingargumentreturns,ingreatlyexpandedform,tosomepointsbriefly
madeinCR,n.s.,():–.
. Tacitus,Ann.,,.
.CILVI,;ILS.