History of The Constitution of The Roman Empire - The Flavian Emperors

The Flavian Emperors

Under the emperor Vespasian, the Roman constitution began a slide toward outright monarchy. Vespasian appointed citizens throughout the empire to the senate, and granted many more citizenship. Before Vespasian, one usually had to be elected to a magisterial office before they could become a senator. Since the senate elected individuals to magisterial offices, the senate controlled its own membership, but under Vespasian, the senate lost this power. This act alone weakened the prestige, and thus the power, of both the senate and the magisterial offices. Under Vespasian, the senate returned to its original role as an advisory council. Vespasian's reforms, however, did a great deal to strengthen the empire. The honors which the emperor now bestowed upon citizens were highly sought after. Individuals who had received such honors were proud of them, and as a consequence became more loyal to the emperor, while individuals who had not yet received such honors sought to earn them. Several future emperors (such as Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius) emerged as a consequence of these reforms. Despite the success that Vespasian had in strengthening the empire, he failed to address the issue of succession, although he may have chosen not to address this issue because, with two sons, he was easily able to secure the accession of his own successor. He had made his son, Titus, his colleague in both the Consulship and the Censorship, granted him the tribunician powers, and following his successes in Judea, granted him the honorary title of imperator. Vespasian died in 79.

Titus' reign did not last long enough for him to enact many constitutional changes. His reign, however, did see a further weakening in the powers of the senate. He was succeeded by his brother, Domitian, in 81. Domitian's reign marked a significant turning point on the road to monarchy. After making himself Consul for ten years, Domitian made himself Censor for life, and unlike his father, he used these powers to further subjugate the senate by controlling its membership. He also changed the law so that he could preside over capital trials against senators. The manner in which he was able to dominate his Consular colleagues helped to further illustrate the powerlessness of the Consulship. To reduce the risk of an armed uprising against him, Domitian ensured that no single general could command more than two legions at once. Domitian did, however, divide the empire into smaller administrative units. This system was quite efficient, and was revived two centuries later by the emperor Diocletian. Domitian, ultimately, was a tyrant with the character which always makes tyranny repulsive, and this derived in part from his own paranoia. His paranoia was a consequence of the fact that he had no son. Since he had no son, and thus no obvious heir, he was constantly in danger of being overthrown. Thus, the unresolved issue of succession again proved to be deadly, and in September 96, Domitian was murdered.