Principate

The Principate was the political system of the early Roman Empire, created by Augustus after the civil wars. It preserved the Senate, magistracies and republican language of power, while key powers were concentrated in the princeps.

In brief:

• the Principate is usually dated from 27 BCE;
• princeps meant 'first citizen', not an open king;
• the system joined monarchical power with republican forms.

The Principate is the modern historical name for the early imperial system, conventionally dated from 27 BCE to 284 CE. Princeps meant “first”; the princeps senatus headed the senatorial list. Imperial authority, however, was not simply the right to speak first in the Senate.

Augustus combined proconsular command, tribunician powers and exceptional political authority. Tribunician power did not mean that he annually held the plebeian magistracy of tribune: as a patrician, he received its powers separately.

The Senate, assemblies and magistracies survived, but their independence was constrained by the princeps’ predominance and control of armies and provinces. Imperial administration developed under successive rulers. The transition to the Dominatee was gradual, not an instantaneous abolition of every republican institution.

Main stages of the Principate era:

• Octavian Augustus and the formation of the Principate systems

• Emperors of Rome

• Rule of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC-68 AD)

• Year of the Four Emperors (68-69 AD)

• Imperial policy under the Flavians (69-96 AD)

• Golden Age of the Antonines (96-192 AD): Trajan's Wars, Hadrian, Crisis of the last Antonines

• Year of the Five Emperors (A.D. 193)

• Rule of the Severan dynasty (193-235 AD)

• Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 AD)

The emergence of the Principate was preceded, as emphasized by Prof. A.B. Egorov of St. Petersburg State University, by one of the great systemic crises in ancient Roman history — the era of civil wars from 133 to 31 BC. Professor V.S. Sergeev of Moscow State University noted that the first decades of the Principate were characterized by a revival in all areas of economic and cultural life for the entire Roman world. As E.D. Frolov notes, the creators of the Principate sought to restore the significance of traditional pagan Roman cults, whose authority was severely shaken in the 2nd-1st centuries BC. The term "Principate" in historical literature corresponds to the term "early empire", which is considered more accurate.

FAQ

Was the Principate a republic or a monarchy? Republican institutions formally remained, but supreme power was effectively concentrated in the princeps.

Why did Augustus avoid the word 'king'? Kingship was a dangerous association in Roman political culture, so Augustus framed power through republican titles.

When did the Principate become the Dominatee? The transition was gradual, but it is usually linked with Diocletian's reforms in the late third century.

Related topics

• Roman Empire
• Dominate
• Octavian Augustus
• Senate
• Comitia

Literature and sources

• Augustus. Res Gestae