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

The Emperor, the Senate, and the Provinces 

PrisonersSentfromImperialProvinces

ImperiallegatesonoccasionsentprisonerstotheEmperortobejudged.^32
Theearliestclearinstanceisthatin..whenQuinctiliusVarus,aslegate
ofSyria,senttheringleadersoftheJewishrisingafterthedeathof Herod
tostandtrialbeforeAugustus.^33 InVitellius,legateofSyria,sentPilateto
Romewhen accused by the Samaritans.^34 About  Ummidius Quadratus,
legateofSyria,sentCumanustheprocuratorofJudaea,Celeratribune,and
anumberofleadingJewsandSamaritanstobetriedbyClaudius.^35 Similarly,
JuliusCivilishadbeensentfromGaulfortrialbeforeNero,presumablyin
 or , and was freed by Galba.^36 At about the same timeVespasian ad-
visedAgrippaIItosendhisgeneral(strategos),Philippus,tobetriedbyNero,
ontheaccusationoftheTyrians,^37 andintendedtosendJosephuswhenhe
fellcaptiveatJotapatain.^38 OneofDomitian’slastactswastocondemna
haruspex(diviner)whohadbeensentfromGermanybythelegate,accused
ofpredictinghisdeath.^39
ItisthusclearthatitwascommonforlegatestopassontotheEmperor
casesinvolvingsubversionordangertotheEmperor’sperson.

TheSenateandProconsuls

WhatevidenceisthereforeithermandataoftheSenatetoproconsulsorspe-
cificcommunicationsfromtheSenatetoindividualproconsulswhileintheir
provinces?Theanswerissimple—none.

TheSenateandthePublicProvinces

IfwehavenoevidenceoftheSenateinstructingorcommunicatingwiththe
proconsulsthemselves,dowehaveevidenceofit‘‘administering’’thepublic

. Iignoreherethequestionofprisonerswhohadappealed.Comparethediscussion
inJRS():ff.byP.D.A.Garnsey.
. Jos.,Bell. Jud.,–;Ant. Jud.,.
. Jos.,Ant. Jud.,–.
. Jos.,Bell. Jud.,–;Ant. Jud.,–.PaceE.M.Smallwood,‘‘SomeCom-
mentsonTacitus,Annals,,’’Latomus():,IbelievethatTacitus’accountof
theseeventsisjustwrong,andcannotbecombinedwiththenarrativeinJosephus.
. Tac.,Hist.,.
. Jos.,Vita–.
. Jos.,Bell. Jud.,.
. Suet.,Dom.;Dio,,.Comparethepreciselysimilarcaseofaseersentfrom
Egyptin,Dio,,.