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

206 The Imperial Government

tribute-payingcommunities,enjoyingnospecificRomanstatus,situatedin
theLatin-speakingwesternprovinces.So,forinstance,wefindVespasianin
the70sreplyingtoanembassyfromatotallyobscurecommunityinnorth-
ernCorsica.Onceagainourknowledgeoftheexchangeisowedentirelyto
theinscriptionwhichthecommunitylaterputup:

ImperatorCaesarVespasianusAugustustothemagistratesandsenators

oftheVanacini,greeting.

IampleasedtolearnthatOtaciliusSagitta,myfriendandprocura-

tor,exercisedhisauthorityoveryouinsuchawayastoearnyourcom-

mendation. On the controversy which you are engaged in with the

Mariani...ThebusinesswasconductedbytheambassadorsLasemus

sonofLeucanus,priestofAugustus,andEunussonofTomasus,priest

ofAugustus.^18

Inthiscasetherealsubordinationofthecommunitytoimperialcontrolis
made perfectly explicit, while the conventional diplomatic form is main-
tained.
Wearenot,however,entirelydependentforourknowledgeofthenature
oftheseexchangesonthedeterminationofprovincialtownstoimmortalize
inpublicformtheanswerstheyreceivedfromemperors.Whilediplomatic
(orother)archives,inthesensefamiliarfrommorerecentperiodsofhistory,
areunknown,ascatteringofcomparabletextsexistspreservedonperishable
materials,notablyprivatecopiesfoundonpapyrifromRomanEgypt.One
strikingexample,almost(inaweaksense)deservingtheterm‘‘archive,’’is
providedbyagroupofpapyrishowingexactlycomparableembassies,with
repliesinletterform,beingdirectedtoemperorsfromClaudiusinthemid-
firstcenturytoSeverusAlexanderintheearlythird,bytheworld-wideasso-
ciation(literally‘‘oecumenicalsynod’’)ofGreekactors,thatis,professionals
whoperformedatthemajorfestivals.^19
Thereceptionofsuchembassieswasaregularpublicoccasionfortheem-
perors,andhenceforthatreasonafruitfulsourceofanecdotesillustrating
theirnotoriouslywiderangeofpersonalpeculiarities.Itissignificantthat
whilejurisdiction,anotherroleperformedbyemperorsinperson,wasoften
delegated,especiallyfromtheearlythirdcenturyon,thehearingofembas-
sies almost never was.The sole exception is provided by Augustus, in ad-
vancedoldage.^20

18.Corpus Inscriptionum LatinarumX,no.8038.

19.ERW,460–61.

20. CassiusDio,Roman History54,33,5;56,25,7.