Constitution of The Late Roman Empire - Augusti and Caesares

Augusti and Caesares

Under Diocletian's new constitution, power was shared between two emperors called Augusti. The establishment of two co-equal Augusti marked a rebirth of the old republican principle of collegiality, as all laws, decrees, and appointments that came from one of the Augusti, were to be recognized as coming from both conjointly. One Augustus was to rule the western half of the Empire, and the other Augustus was to rule the eastern half of the Empire. Diocletian made Maximian his co-Augustus, and gave him the Western Empire, while Diocletian took the Eastern Empire. Diocletian made Nicomedia his capital, and Maximian made Milan his capital. To make the two halves symbolically appear to be one, Diocletian called his territory patres Orientis, while Maximian called his territory patres Occidentis.

The Augusti were legally distinct from the old Princeps (Roman Emperors under the Principate), because under the Principate, the Princeps took the place of the old republican magistrates. When a Princeps issued a decree, that decree was only valid so long as that Princeps was Emperor, whereas in contrast, under the Republic, any decree issued by a magistrate was only good so long as that magistrate was in office. Under the Republic and the Principate, only the Senate and legislative assemblies were continuous institutions, and thus only they could pass laws that remained in effect indefinitely. Under Diocletian's new Dominate, the Augusti took the place of the Senate and the assemblies, and thus any decree of an Augustus remained in force even after that particular emperor left office. Such an act could only be invalidated by a future Emperor. The logical extension of this concept meant that neither a magistrate, the assemblies, nor the senate, could legally restrain the Emperor.

The old republican magistrates, as well as the Princeps, both had legal status. Under the Republic, the state gave the magistrates the authorization to hold their office, while under the Principate, the state gave the Princeps the legal authorization to be emperor. Any Augusti, in contrast, did not need authorization from the state to be emperor, because the Augusti became the state. The higher authority of the Augusti was illustrated by their robes (which were trimmed with precious stones) and the imperial diadem, as well as the elaborate ceremony required of anyone who approached them. Unlike the old Princeps, the Augusti were viewed as being more than mortal, which was illustrated by the honors that they received. These honors had, in the past, been reserved only for the Gods. While emperors had received such honors in the past, they only received these honors after their death, and yet, the Augusti could receive such honors while they were still alive.

In 293, Diocletian and Maximian appointed two Caesares, which resulted in an arrangement known as the "Tetrarchy" ("rule by four"). The Caesares were subordinate to their Augusti, and the only authority that they had was that which had been given to them by their Augusti. Their status was so inferior to the Augusti that they received a fixed salary. The powers that were delegated to them usually included the right to hear appeals, and a set of provinces were often assigned to them so that they could supervise the governors of those provinces. The reason why Diocletian created the office of Caesar was to create a method by which orderly successions could occur, so that when one Augustus died, one of the two Caesares replaced that Augustus. When a new Caesar was appointed, his Augustus adopted him. Diocletian had hoped that the Augusti would jointly resign at a given point in time, and allow their Caesares to replace them.