Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Government and Diplomacy 205

munitieshadaddressedthemselvesnotonlytotheSenateinRomebutto
individualRomancommandersinthefield;and,secondly,thatimmediately
afterthebattleofActiumin31b.c.,suchcommunitieswereawarethatthe
sourceofauthorityhadbeendecisivelyconcentratedinonemanandacted
accordingly.WemaytakeasaclearexamplethereplywhichOctavian,the
future Augustus, wrote from Ephesus to the small Syrian city of Rhosus,
some time between the battle on 31 Septemberand the end of theyear. It
wasaddressedinformalstyleto‘‘themagistrates,council,andpeopleofthe
sacred,inviolate,andautonomouscityoftheRhosians,’’andbeganwiththe
standardgreeting:

Ifyouarewell,itiswell;Itoo,withmyarmy,amwell.Theambas-

sadors sent by you...havingcometomeatEphesus, addressed me

onthemattersonwhichtheyhadinstructions.OnreceivingthemI

foundthemtobepatrioticandgoodmen,andacceptedthehonours

andthegoldcrown.WhenIcometothosepartsIwilldomybestto

beofservicetoyouandtopreservetheprivilegesofthecity.

Onceagainweoweourknowledgeofthisexchangeentirelytothefactthat
the city decided to have this and other related documents inscribed pub-
licly.^17 Itwouldbepossibletocitecomparableexamplesfromthefollowing
centuries but is surely unnecessary. Such exchanges can be shown to have
beeninitiatedbyalltypesofcitiesorself-governingcommunities.Thecom-
positionofdecrees,thesendingofembassies,thereceptionoftheseembas-
siesataformalsessionbytheemperor,thedeliveryofthewrittendecrees
totheaccompanimentofabrieforation,andthebringingbackofareply:
suchformalexchangeswerecommonbothtoplaceswhichstoodinsome
legalisticsense‘‘outside’’theimperialsystem,andtooneswhichmightbe
presumedtohavebeenfarinsideit,tohavebeeninarealsensepartofthe
Romanres publicaitself—bythatImeanregularcoloniae(colonies),formally
establishedbythepopulus Romanus‘‘ofwhichthosecoloniescanberegarded
asbeingminiatureeffigiesandasitwererepresentations,’’asAulusGellius
putitinthesecondcentury(NoctesAtticae16,13).Butsuchcolonies,whether
situated in Italy, all of whose inhabitants were Roman citizens, or in the
provinces,inwhichcasethestatusofcoloniesitselfautomaticallyconferred
theRomancitizenship,nonethelessaddressedthemselvestotheemperor,
andwereaddressedbyhim,inpreciselythe‘‘diplomatic’’manner,moresug-
gestive of equal sovereign states, described above.The same is also true of

17. R.K.Sherk,Roman Documents from the Greek East (Senatus Consulta and Epistulae to
    the Age of Augustus)(Baltimore,1969),no.58,III.