Constitution of The Roman Empire - Constitutional History

Constitutional History

In the year 88 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla was elected Consul of the Roman Republic, and began a civil war. While it ended within a decade, it was the first in a series civil wars that wouldn't end until the year 30 BC. The general who won the last civil war of the Roman Republic, Gaius Octavian, became the master of the state. Octavian was the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar. In the years after 30 BC, Octavian set out to reform the Roman constitution. The ultimate consequence of these reforms was the abolition of the republic, and the founding of the Roman Empire. When Octavian returned to Rome two years after defeating Mark Antony, no one remained to oppose him. Decades of war had taken a terrible toll on the People of Rome. The political situation was unstable, and there was a constant threat of renewed warfare. Octavian's arrival alone caused a wave of optimism to ripple throughout Italy. As soon as he arrived, he began addressing the problems that were plaguing Rome. Octavian's popularity soon reached new heights, which ultimately gave him the support he needed to implement his reforms.

When Octavian deposed Mark Antony in 32 BC, he resigned his position as triumvir, but was probably vested with powers similar to those that he had given up. Octavian wanted to solidify his status as master of the state, but avoid the fate of his adopted father. On January 13 of 27 BC, Octavian transferred control of the state back to the Senate and the People of Rome, but neither the Senate nor the People of Rome were willing to accept what was, in effect, Octavian's resignation. Octavian was allowed to remain Roman Consul (the chief-executive under the old Republic), and was also allowed to retain his tribunician powers (similar to those of the Plebeian Tribunes, or chief representatives of the people). This arrangement, in effect, functioned as a popular ratification of his position within the state. The Senate then granted Octavian a unique grade of Proconsular command authority (imperium) for a period of ten years. With this particular grade of power, he was given power and authority over all of Rome's military governors, and thus, over the entire Roman army. Octavian was also granted the title of "Augustus" ("venerable") and of Princeps ("first citizen"). In 23 BC, Augustus (as Octavian now called himself) gave up his Consulship, and expanded both his Proconsular imperium and his tribunician powers. After these final reforms had been instituted, Augustus never again altered his constitution. Augustus' final goal was to figure out a method to ensure an orderly succession. Augustus could not transfer his powers to a successor upon his death, and so any successor needed to have powers that were independent of Augustus' own powers. In 6 BC Augustus granted tribunician powers to his stepson Tiberius, and quickly recognized Tiberius as his heir. In 13 AD a law was passed which made Tiberius' legal powers equivalent to, and independent from, those of Augustus. Within a year, Augustus was dead.

When Augustus died in 14 AD, the Principate legally ended. Tiberius knew that if he secured the support of the army, the rest of the government would soon follow. Therefore, Tiberius assumed command of the Praetorian Guard, and used his Proconsular imperium to force the armies to swear allegiance to him. As soon as this occurred, the Senate and the magistrates acquiesced. Under Tiberius, the power to elect magistrates was transferred from the assemblies to the Senate. When Tiberius died, Caligula was proclaimed Emperor by the Senate. In 41 Caligula was assassinated, and for two days following his assassination, the Senate debated the merits of restoring the Republic. Due to the demands of the army, however, Claudius was ultimately declared Emperor. Claudius' antiquarian interests resulted in his attempts to revive the old Censorship, but he was ultimately killed, and Nero was declared Emperor.

In the decades after the death of Augustus, the Roman Empire was, in a sense, a union of inchoate principalities, which could have disintegrated at any time. In 68 AD, Ser. Sulpicius Galba, the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, was proclaimed Emperor by his troops. In Rome, the emperor Nero quickly lost his supporters and committed suicide, although Galba did not prove to be a wise leader. The governor of Lower Germany, A. Vitellius, was soon proclaimed Emperor by his troops, and in Rome, the Praetorian Guard proclaimed M. Salvius Otho Emperor. In January 69, Galba was assassinated, and the Senate proclaimed Otho Emperor. Otho took an army to Germany to defeat Vitellius, but was himself defeated by Vitellius. He committed suicide, and Vitellius was proclaimed Emperor by the Senate. Another general, Vespasian, soon defeated Vitellius. Vitellius was executed, and Vespasian was named Augustus, elected Consul, and given tribunician powers.

Under the emperor Vespasian, the Roman constitution began a slide toward outright monarchy, in part because the senate returned to its original role as an advisory council. Vespasian died in 79, and was succeeded by his son, Titus. 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. Domitian, ultimately, was a tyrant with the character which always makes tyranny repulsive, and this derived in part from his own paranoia, which itself 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.