The Emperor, the Senate, and the Provinces TheEmperorandProconsuls
It has already been noted above (text to nn. –) that Emperors did in
factissuemandatatoproconsulsaswellastolegates.Moreover,someocca-
sions have been mentioned on which an Emperor gave directmandatato
proconsuls,AugustustoNorbanusFlaccusandAsiniusGallus,Tiberiustoall
governors.TheCyreneEdictsIandIVlaiddownaprocedureforthepro-
consuls,butmaynothaveinvolveddirectmandatatothem.Afurtherpos-
siblecaseisreportedbyTacitus,whosaysthat‘‘somepeople’’recordedthat
the soldiers who killed Julia in.. had been sent not from Rome but
byL.Asprenas,theproconsulofAfrica,‘‘atTiberius’initiative.’’^107 Thevery
fragmentaryletterofClaudiustoDelphiin,whichmentionstheprocon-
sulJuniusGallio,mightindicateconsultationofClaudiusbyhim,mandata
tohim,orneither.^108
TheevidenceisfullerfortheFlavianperiod.TheletterofTitustoMuni-
guainBaetica,resultingfromanappealbythemunicipiumagainstthejudge-
mentofaformerproconsul,mentionsthathehassentmandatatotheprocon-
sul—‘‘sinceIwrotetoGallicanustheproconsul,myfriend.’’^109 Plinyinhis
correspondencewithTrajanmentionslettersofDomitiantoLappiusMaxi-
mus, evidently proconsul of Bithynia, to Avidius Nigrinus and Armenius
Brocchus proconsuls (probably of Achaea), and to Minicius Rufus, and of
Nerva toTullius Iustus, both probably proconsuls of Bithynia.^110 Similarly
wehaveonaninscriptionfromDelphireferencesbothbyDomitianhim-
self,writingtotheDelphians,andbytheproconsul,toaletterofhisgiving
mandatatotheproconsuls;inreferringtothesetheproconsulusesexpres-
sionslike‘‘byorder’’and‘‘astheemperorhasordered.’’^111 AlsofromDelphi
wehavealetterofTrajaninwhichheseemstorefertomandatahehasgiven
bothtotheproconsulandtotheprocuratorofAchaea.^112
FromthereignofHadrianwehavetheearliestcertainevidenceofpro-
consuls writing to consult the Emperor, and receiving answers from him.
TheDigestmentionsrescriptsofHadriantoproconsulsofMacedonia,^113 Bae-
lished in its present incomplete state. See nowThe Emperor in the Roman World^2 (),
chap..
. Tac.,Ann.,,.
.Syll.^3 D.
. M.Nesselhauf,Madrider Mitteilungen():;AE,.
. Pliny,Epp.,,,.
.Syll.^3 McCrumandWoodhead,Select Documents,no..
. E.Bourguet,De rebus Delphicis(),.
.Dig.,,,.