The Emperor, the Senate, and the Provinces relationswithRomeandtheCourt.Itisthusnotanaccidentthatsomuch
oftheevidenceinthischapterconcernstheprovinceofAsia,foritwaspre-
cisely those established, civilized provinces—Asia, Africa, Baetica—which
weregivenovertoproconsularrule,whoseinhabitantswereinaposition
tomakedirectapproachestotheEmperor.AsDioofPrusasaid,addressing
hisfellowcitizens,‘‘Ifyouhadnotlistened,andtheproconsulshadpaidno
attentioneither,itwouldnothavebeendifficultformetowritetotheEm-
peror.’’^130 Thusbyaparadoxwhichwasthedirectresultofthenatureofthe
divisionoftheprovinces,iftheEmperorfoundhimselfdealingdirectlywith
the affairs of an individual, a community, or a province, these were more
likelythannottobefromthe‘‘public’’halfoftheEmpire.
Themoralissimple.TheRepublic,itmaybe,canbeseenfromRomeout-
wards.TotakethisstandpointfortheEmpireistolosecontactwithreality.
Notonlythepatternoftheliteraryevidence,ortheexistenceofanimmense
mass of local documents, but the very nature of the Empire itself, means
thatitcanonlybeunderstoodbystartingfromtheprovincesandlooking
inward.
.Or.,.