48 THE ROMAN EMPIRE
discretionary powers, and to provide safeguards against their use in the case
of certain privileged categories of people, in the fi rst instance Roman citizens.
A precise defi nition of powers might have limited their scope and fl exibility.
This imprecision was exploited in the reverse direction by emperors who
were rather less interested than the senatorial oligarchy of the Republic had
been in preserving magisterial and pro- magisterial initiative. Under the
Principate a governor was likely to possess only so much power and
independence as he was allowed by emperors.
Both the powers and independence of governors were reduced under the
Principate, and the crucial steps were taken by Augustus. The subordinate
position of governors vis-à-vis the emperor was institutionalized early in his
reign in the grant to Augustus by the senate and Roman people in 23 BC of
power superior to that of other provincial offi cials ( maius imperium ) (Cassius
Dio 51.32.5). This among other things settled the issue of whether a governor
held any military power independent of the emperor. Thereafter no one
could command an army unless with the authority of the emperor. The
control of armies by proconsuls, as distinct from imperial legates, was phased
out, and the rewards of military success – the acclamation ‘imperator’ and
the award and celebration of a triumph – were monopolized by the emperor.
The coming of the empire also made a difference to the jurisdictional
authority of the governor.^34 Under the Republic the power of a magistrate or
pro- magistrate with imperium to infl ict full punitive sanctions was limited
in respect of citizens. In particular, appeal, provocatio , was a Roman citizen’s
peculiar prerogative. The fi rst emperor was disinclined to bestow benefi ts on
citizens exclusively, and his successors showed a similar tendency not to
discriminate against aliens. The distinction between honestiores and
humiliores that fi rst makes an appearance in legal texts in the early second
century is a status distinction that cuts across the citizen/alien division: there
are citizens and non- citizens on both sides of the line. The differential
treatment of the two broad status groups is spelled out most clearly in the
area of penalties, but it is likely to have extended to all aspects of judicial
affairs. It may even have been possible for some aliens, those of high status,
to have their cases taken to a higher authority than the governor, namely the
emperor or a deputy. Citizens appear to have been able to apply to have
their cases referred to a court at Rome in the fi rst instance or on appeal after
sentence. It is unnecessary to believe, as some have done, that citizens
acquired an automatic right from about the turn of the fi rst century AD to
have their cases transferred to Rome from the court of the governor, who
now lost the power to try them, at least in capital cases. On the other hand,
it is clearly attested in the legal documents that by the Severan period
governors had lost the power to execute a man of high status, and apparently
also a citizen of any status. All such cases involving the death sentence had
to be referred to Rome.
Another aspect of imperial supervision and control of provincial
administrators is the issuing of instructions, mandata , to governors,