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

 The Augustan Revolution

mightalsogetlettersofinstruction;givingjudgementoverdisputedlandin
..,Domitianwastorecall:‘‘TheletterofthedeifiedAugustus,amost
diligentprincepsandmostindulgenttowardshisquartani[theveteransofthe
fourthlegionsettledatFirmum],inwhichheadvisedthemtomakearecord
of,andsell,alltheirunassignedplots.’’‘‘Idonotdoubt,’’Domitianconcludes,
‘‘thattheyobeyedsuchsalubriousadvice.’’^35
InItaly,soSuetoniusrecords(Aug.),thetwenty-eightcolonies,once
founded,usedtobevisitedbyAugustus,whowouldequipthemwithbuild-
ingsandpublicrevenues.Elsewheretheimperialwillcouldstillbefeltata
distance.Anotherrelativelynewdocument,fromthecolonyofAlexandria
Troas,refersto‘‘theworkscarriedoutinthecolonybytheorderofAugus-
tus,’’aswellastothelevyconductedbyhimandTiberiusinRome,andto
militarydecorationsgrantedbyGermanicus(AE,).Weshouldnot
treatasbanalthefactthataLatininscriptionfromthenorth-westcornerof
Turkeyshouldrecallspecificactionsonthepartofthreedifferentmembers
oftheimperialhouse.
Evenoutsidethecolonieswecomeacrossmanytracesofbothindividual
decisionsandgeneralrulesissuedbyAugustusandaffectingthecitiesofthe
Empire:inthewesternMediterranean,forinstance,variousbenefitsgranted
totheobscurecommunityoftheVanaciniinCorsica,orrevenues(vectigalia)
to the equally obscure Saborenses in Spain.^36 The apparent source of au-
thorityforgeneralruleshadchangedalso.Isayapparentauthority,because
wecanrarelybequitecertainwhetherornotsomeconstitutionalprocesses
did not precede, or perhaps follow, pronouncements by Augustus. For an
exampleofthatproblemwemaylookagainatthefamousdocumentfrom
Kyme in Asia, first published in .^37 What I think is certain about this
much-debatedtextisasfollows.Firstly,AugustusandAgrippa,asconsulsin
..,issuedsomeformofgeneralpronouncementorderingtherestitution
ofsacredorpublicpropertieswhichwereillegallyinprivatepossession.Sec-
ondly,amanfromKymeapproachedtheproconsulofAsiaanddemonstrated
thatashrineinKymewasillegallyinprivatepossession.Thirdly,theprocon-
sulwrotetothemagistratesofKymetosaythattheshrinewastoberestored
in accordancewith the order (iussum) of Augustus, and was to have an in-
scriptionsaying‘‘ImperatorCaesarDivifiliusAugustushasrestored[it].’’The

.CILIX,;FIRA^2 I,no..
.FIRA^2 I,;.
.SEGXVIII,;Sherk(n.),no.;I. K. Kymeno.  (with restorations which
seemtomeilladvised).SeemostrecentlyN.Charbonnel,‘‘Àproposdel’inscriptionde
Kyméetdespouvoirsd’Augustedanslesprovincesaulendemaindurèglementdeav.
n.è.,’’RIDA():.