There is a moment, immediately after the death of Augustus, when...

There is a moment, immediately after the death of Augustus, when the Roman Senate was at a loss: do things return to 'normal'? What is 'normal' now? With the old man at the helm for so long there was barely anyone alive who could remember 'before'. Tiberius Nero Caesar, Augustus' legal and political heir, entered the senate and made it clear he didn't want to replace Caesar. 'How about take one of the consulships?', the senate suggested. No. In the end they persuaded him by placing a special chair mid-way between the curule thrones of the two consuls. Henceforth the princeps would sit in a space, which at first signified an anomaly, something supplementary and extra, but which would eventually be understood as the very centre of power from which the state derived its legitimacy. From this the medieval and modern notion of the state would derive...

Posted by: Patroklos | Sep 7 2024 21:37 utc