The Augustan Revolution
but does not make it clear, that senatorial governors in the people’s prov-
incesboretherepublicantitleof‘‘proconsul,’’whilethoseappointedbythe
emperorboreatitlewhichexplicitlyreferredtotheirdependenceonhim,
namelylegatus,ordeputy.Hecouldnothavefailedtoknow,fortheobvi-
ousreasonthatthesetitlesappearedeverywhereonpublicinscriptions.He
might perhaps not have known, what Cassius Dio was later to explain so
clearly(,–),that,whilethelegateswereappointedbyAugustusand
served until he chose to replace them, the proconsuls were chosen by the
ancientsystemofthelotandservedforayearonly.Intheircasetherefore
therighttosubmittheirnametothelotwasonewhichcametothemauto-
maticallyfiveyearsafterholdingtheelectedofficeofpraetororconsul.The
governmentoftheseprovinceswasthusconferredbythevoteofthepeople,
evenif indirectly,andimperialpatronageplayednopart.Butlegateswere
appointedbyimperialpatronage,andtheirpublictitleproclaimedthisfact.
WhereasundertheTriumvirate,orsoitseems,allgovernorshadbeenap-
pointees,nowamancouldonceagainbecomeproconsulofthegreatand
richprovinceofAfricaorAsia,whileowingnothingtoanyone’spatronage.
WasthishoweveralwaysclearlyperceptibletotheclassofeducatedGreeks
who,likeStrabo,acceptedthefactofRomandominanceandrantheirown
cities within its framework? It does not seem so. One of the most famous
ofAugustandocumentsisthegreatdossierwhichrecordshowin..the
citiesofAsiacelebratedthenewerabyagreeingtostartalltheirseparatean-
nualcalendarsfromAugustus’birthday,September.^24 Theproposal,indeed
instruction,forthishadactuallycomefromtheproconsulofAsiahimself,
PaullusFabiusMaximus,thedescendantofaprominentrepublicanfamily.^25
Inresponsetohissycophanticepistlethekoinon(provincialcouncil)ofAsia
dulypassedadecreemakingthenewarrangements;inititalludedtotheir
proconsulinthefollowingterms:‘‘theproconsularbenefactoroftheprov-
ince,sentbyhis[Augustus’]righthandandjudgement.’’
Sohereisanothersignificantmistake;eventhisdistinction,betweenap-
pointeesandnon-appointees,couldvanishfromtheperspectiveofthelead-
ingcitizensofarichandcivilizedprovince.However,Ihavesofarexpressed
myself as if this division in the method of appointment of governors, to-
getherwiththenewname‘‘Augustus,’’wereallthattherewas,fromapro-
vincialpointofview,tothesettlementof..Thatisindeedexactlywhat
Ithink;theideathattherewereevertwoseparatespheresofauthorityorad-
. ThefullestdiscussionofthevarioustextsisU.Laffi,‘‘Leiscrizionirelativiall’intro-
duzionenela.C.delnuovocalendariodellaprovinciad’Asia,’’Stud.Class.eOr.():.
.PIR^2 F;seeR.Syme,History in Ovid(),chap..