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

State and Subject 

documenthasamuchwidersignificancethanthetediousdebatesaboutit
haveallowed.Firstly,ifitreallydoesreflectageneralpronouncementcon-
cernedwithsacredandpublicpropertyinallprovinces,thenitseemstobe
the earliest attested case of such an intervention in the history of Roman
ruleoutsideItaly.Secondly,if(asmanyhaveargued)adecreeoftheSenate
(senatus consultum)orsomeothercollectiveconstitutionalactprecededand
authorizedthepronouncementbyAugustusandAgrippa,thenithasvan-
ished, even from the perspective of the proconsul himself.What is more,
Agrippa,whoreallydidhavesomerole,hasalsovanished.Themoreconsti-
tutionalistone’sassumptionsabouttheoriginalprocess,themorestrikingis
the concentration by the proconsulon the figure of Augustus: ‘‘Imperator
CaesarDivifiliusAugustushasrestoredit.’’
Theinscriptionisalsoanexampleofhowanimperialrulingcouldhaveits
effectnotbydirectenforcementbutbybeingknownandbeingusedbyan
interestedparty.Boththemaninthestreetandtheproconsulactonassump-
tionswhichreflectanewmapoftheworld.Aboveandbehindthegovernor
istheunseenfigureoftheemperor,whoseword,ifknown,canbeusedto
enforcelocaleffects.
How,orif,theemperor’swordwouldbecomeknowntohissubjectsis
amonstrousproblem,stilltoolittlediscussed.Oneway,ofcourse,inthose
areaswhereatleastsomewereliterate,wasthepublicinscription.Butitwas
nottheRomanstateoritsagentswhichnormallycreatedthese,butanycity
whichfeltmovedtodoso.Thisisthecaseevenwiththemostgeneral,the
mostreformist,andthemostclearlypropagandistpronouncementofAugus-
tuswhichwehave,namelythelastofthefiveedictsinscribedinGreekin
themarket-placeofCyrene.Theprocedureinvolved,namelythepassingof
adecreeoftheSenateunderAugustus’influence,aptlyreflectstheuneasy
collaboration of Emperor and Senate; the aim, to establish a simpler pro-
cessforgainingrestitutionofmoneyimproperlyacquiredbygovernors,is
typicalofAugustus’reformingandmoralizingspirit.Thetoneofpaternal-
istic propaganda addressed to the people might belong to Diocletian.The
preambleruns:^38

Imperator Caesar Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, holding the tribuni-

cianpowerforthethtime,says:

ThedecreeoftheSenatepassed...withmyselfbeingpresentand

being named jointly as author, being relevant to the security of the

alliesoftheRomanpeople,Ihavedecided,sothatitmaybeknown

toallofwhomwehavethecare,tosendtotheprovincesandtosub-

.SEGIX,,v;Sherk(n.),no..