University of Malta Martina Ebejer LL. B. (Hons) First Year

A brief overview on the Principate:

In this assignment, one of my main focuses will be on the period of the Principate, that together with the Dominate makes up what was known as the Imperial Government. When discussing the Principate, we would be referring to a type of government which had been part of the Early Roman Empire, “under which some of the outward forms of the Republic were maintained”³. The word Principate derives from a Latin word that when translated refers to a person who is above everyone but still must abide by the Roman law. During the beginning of the early Roman Empire, one could see different emperors that went into succession and who were trying to take on more power from the people.

The emperors managed to do this by giving off the illusion that the government was a republic in the eyes of the people, but instead the emperors had full autonomy over them. During the Principate, the term ‘citizenship’ completely changed since “outstanding men in provincial states”⁴ and “honourable discharged veterans”⁵ were granted citizenship of this Roman Empire. Although granting all these citizenships resulted in “empty dignity of Roman citizenship”⁶, this also resulted in creating the sense of unity and patriotism amongst the Roman citizens.
The Principate period had lasted around 300 years, in which the citizens passed through four different Principates, under either good or bad emperors at the time. The first Principate of the Early Roman Empire would be the Julio-Claudian dynasty, under which five emperors had ruled, who were “Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero”⁷. This first Principate lasted for thirty-one years and was established by Octavius, who was later called Augustus. The empire under the rule of Augustus was “more peaceful than the Second Triumvirate and the economy was thriving”⁸. Not only did this emperor bring back the Pax Augusta, but also reformed the power of the Senate and the Praetorian guard. Alas, not all emperors of this Principate were as peaceful as him, such as Caligula and Nero, who brought chaos in the Empire.
The second Principate is known as the Flavian Dynasty, that began in the year 69 AD and ended on 96 AD. After the suicide of the Emperor Nero, the Roman Empire fell into civil war. In a year, known as the “Year of the Four Emperors”⁹, the Empire was under four different emperors in a whole year, one of whom included Emperor Vespasian. Both emperors, Vespasian and his son Titus, were good emperors who encouraged certain constructions, such as the reconstruction of Rome after the Great Fire, the Colosseum, roads and fortifications. On the other hand, the Emperor Domitian wasn’t as liked as the others, since he was a totalitarian emperor who wanted what Emperor Augustus created, and ended up being killed. Conversely, the third Principate is referred to as the Nerva-Antoine Dynasty, that only lasted over 90 years.
This third Principate was a good and stable period due to the fact that there were “no civil wars and no military defeats abroad”¹⁰. In addition to this, the economy was thriving, and a sense of unity was felt amongst the provinces of this empire. Opposite to the last two Principates, during this Principate the emperors did not gain power due to their bloodline, but due to their good qualities. Lastly, the Severan dynasty is the last Principates of the Early Roman Empire which began in the year 192 AD and ended in the year 211 AD. This Principate consisted of a “year of turmoil with Roman generals fighting for power”¹¹, which then led to General Severus to gain all the power. This emperor was a cruel and fierce man, just like his son Caracalla, who also became an emperor. Although, Caracalla was not liked by many people, due to his cruelty and war-driven mind, he still managed to grant “Roman citizenship to all free men living in the Empire”¹².