Tiberius and the Political Testament of Augustus

16 Pages·2008·9.57 MB·English

SomeReflectionsontheProductionandUseofCoinageinAncientGreece 305
As I have argued earlier, the transition from Series I to Series II must be
INHALT DES XXXI. BANDES, HEFT 3
dated c. 173/2 B. B.,44 but the clear-cut difference between the two columns
may indicate a stop in the minting of tetradrachms of some durat~on.
ABHANDLUNGEN Ifthe intentions behind the three measuresdiscussedcanbeexplainedalong
Seite the lines here indicated, namely as an attempt at introJ~cing a controlled
JURGEN MALITZ (Freiburg i. Br.), Thukydides' Weg zur GeschichtsschreibuQ.g 257
Orro M<2>RKHOLM (K0benhavn, Nationalmuseet), Some Reflections on the Production monetary policy related to the system used in Egypt since the early 3rd
and Use of Coinage in Ancient Greece . 290 century B. C. and recently introduced inPergamum, it mustbeaddedthatthe
JOSIAH OBER(MontanaStateUniversity, Bozeman), Tiberius andthePoliticalTestament
Syrian experimentsoon turned outto beafailure. Alreadyabout172B. C.the
ofAugustus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
L. A. THOMPSON (UniversityofIbadan, Nigeria), DomitianandtheJewishTax .... ~ 329 production of tetradrachms was resumed at Antioch, most probably in
RAINERBERNHARDT(Hamburg),ImmunitatundAbgabenpflichtigkeitbeiromischenKolo- connection with the preparations for the impending war with Egypt, which
nien und Munizipien in den Provinzen . 343 demanded an increase of the money ~upply. An explanation for the Syrian
ANDREW LENOX-CONYNGHAM (Heidelberg), The Topography of the Basilica Conflict
failure may befound in the fact that the administration ofthe Seleucid empire
ofA. D. 385/6inMilan . 353
RALPH W. MATHISEN (University of South Carolina, Columbia), PLRE II: Suggested was far less centralized than those of Egypt and Pergamum. Consequentlythe
Addenda and Corrigenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364 possi~ilities of exerting a narrow bureaucratic control ovet the economic life
were smaller, and the plans for a monopolistic monetary policy had to be
abandoned after aratherfeeble attempt. Theo_nlyenduringresultofthewhole
operation was that the weight of the Seleucid tetradrachm was permanently
reduced from c. 17.20toc. 16.80gm.Thehoardsofthefollowingyearsshowa
complete return to the open monetary policy with a considerable import of
foreign coins45
•
Redaktion: Prof. Dr.HEINZHEINEN,UniversitatTrier
Prof.Dr. KARLSTROHEKER,UniversitatTiibingen
K0benhavn, Nationalmuseet OttoM0rkholm
Prof.Dr. GEROLDWALSER,UniversitatBern
Redaktionsadresse: Prof. Dr. GEROLD WALSER, Seminar fiir Alte Geschichte und
EpigraphikderUniversitatBern,NeubriickstraBe10,CH3012Bern.
40 ThebestdiscussionofthiscountermarkisstillthatofH.Seyrig,Monnaiescontremarquees
Beitrage,DruckkorrekturenundAnfragensindandieRedaktionsadresseerbeten. en Syrie, Antiquites syn'ennes VI, no.61, pp. 1-11 ('= Syria 35, 1958, pp. 187-197). See also
Die hohen Druckkosten zwingen uns, Manuskripte nur in druckfertigem Zustand, in Boehringer, ZurChronologiepp.20-22.
Schreibmaschinenschrift (auch griechische Zitate), einseitiger Beschriftung und ohne Kreuzver 41 The'ho~rdofMa'arah inSyria, discovered in1979andnotyetpublished.Cf. Co£nHoards
weiseanzunehmen. AufeinheitlicheZitierweiseinnerhalbdesManuskriptesbittenwirbesonders
VI, 1981, no.37.
zuachten.
42 Cf. Georges Le Rider, Suse sous lesSeleucidesetlesParthes(Paris 1965)p. 138,pI.XXV,
Die Redaktion kann sich nichtverpflichten, unverlangte Manuskripte abzudrucken. Die Zeit
G-H.
schriftveroffentlichtkeineRezensionen.
43 Merkholm, Stud£espp.38-43.
Korrekturen: DenAutorenwirdyomVerlagnureineFahnenkorrekturzugestellt. Wirbitten,
die Druckfahnen sorgfaltig und leserlich zu korrigieren und sie ohne Texterweiterungen an die 44 Merkholm, Studiesp.37.
Redaktionzuriickzusenden. 45 My bestthanks aredueto my friends MargaretThompsonand HylaA. Troxellwhohave
read the manuscript, discussingthe subjectmatterwith me and correctingmyEnglish.Afurther
Sonderdrucke: DerVerlagliefertdenAutorenunentgeltlich je25 Sonderdruckepro Abhand
lung, 15proMiszelle. ZusatzlicheSonderdruckegegenBerechnungmiissenaufdemderFahnen paper byT. V. Buttrey,MoreontheAthenianCoinageLawof375/4B.C., Quadernit£cinesiX,
korrekturbeiliegendenBestellformulardirektbeimVerlagbestelltwerden. 1981,pp. 71-94,onlycameto myknowledgeafterthecompletionofthismanuscript.Especially
Erscheinungsweise:Jahrlich4Heftezuje8Bogen(= 128Seiten). important for my purpose arehis sections 8and 9,pp. 88-92: "Didsilvercoins struckatother
mints circulate at Athens?" and"Did the foreign imitations of Attic coinscirculate at Athens
Bezugspreis:Jahrgang1982imAbonnementDM108,-,EinzelheftDM30,-.
w£thout Legal Tender status?", where the author seems to me to be slightly too formalistic,
Verlag und Anzeigenverwaltung: Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH, Postfach 5529, Friedrich
although we agree on the main issues.
straBe24,D-6200Wie~baden.
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20
Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentofAugustus 307
injunctions existed while Tacitus maintains that a consiliumdealingonly with
expansion was associated with the breviary? Why do Dio and Tacitus (in the
TIBERIUS AND THE POLITICAL TESTAMENT OF AUGUSTUS':' Annals) refer to a general prohibition of imperial expansion, while Strabo
reports specific orders dealing with a single frontier sector? Why is the
I Augustan rescript on the ordinatio comitiorum mentioned by Velleius not
included in Dio's list? Butthese inconsistencies might beexplainedawaywere
Of particular importance in determining the nature and direction of
it not for the evidence of Suetonius.
Augustus' policies in the latter partofhis reign are several documents written
0/
In theend of his Life Augustus(101)Suetoniusliststhedocuments leftby
by the emperor which were read in the Senate after his death. Besides his will
Augustus "quae omnia in senatu aperta atque recitata sunt". These were the
these included instructions for his funeral, a description of his acta (the Res
will and tria volumina: the funeral instructions, Res Gestae, and the breviary.
Gestae Divi Augustt), and a breviary listing imperial revenues and military
Suetonius makes no mention ofafourth documentcontainingadvicenorofan
dispositions. These three documents are well attested in the sources.! The
addendum to the breviary, which according to him contained only lists of
third-century historian Cassius Dio (LVI, 33) claims that Augustus left a
army dispositions and a financial accounting. Argument ex silentio is always
fourth document consistingofaset ofinjunctions for Tiberius and the people
dangerous, but in this case Suetonius' silence must be given a good deal of
of Rome. The injunctions forbade manumission of large numbers ofslaves or
weight. Suetonius held the positions ofastudiis, abibliotheCis,and abepistulis
expansionofthecitizenpopulation,recommendedthattheimperialpowernot
underTrajan and Hadrianandpresumablyhadaccesstotheimperialarchives.3
be divided, and advised against expanding the empire beyond its existing
Suetonius certainly had Augustus' papers at hand; he quotes the emperor's
borders. H. Malcovati in his collection of the fragments of Augustus' works letters frequently and knew his handwriting well.4 Earlier in the Ltfe 0/
cites the ancient sources for this "political testament" under the rubric
AugustusSuetonius alludes toAugustus'policiesagainstmanumittingslavesor
"Mandata de administranda re publica."2 In addition to Dio, Malcovati lists
creating large numbers of new citizens (Aug. 40, 3-4), and against expanding
Strabo (VII, 1,4):Augustus'refusaltolethisgeneralscrosstotheeasternbank
th~ empire (Aug. 21,2), yet he never mentions any posthumous document in
of the Elbe River; Velleius Paterculus (II, 124, 3): a passage to do with
connectionwiththem. The pains Suetoniustooktocitedocumentaryevidence
Augustus' suggestions concerning the ordinatio comitiorum; Tacitus, Annals
for Augustan practicesuggeststhathewouldnotfailtomentionavitalpieceof
(I, 11): a statement that Augustus addita consilium against expansion to the
evidence for these policies had it existed. Nor is it likely that he would have
breviary of empire; and Tacitus, Agricola (13, 2): Tiberius' comment that he
suppressed a document forbidding the expansion of the empire. Suetonius
would treat an Augustan consilium forbidding the invasion of Britain as a
praeceptum. Despite the apparent evidence of the five passages cited by
Malcovati there is reason to doubt the reality of the political testament. 3 Aninscriptionpublishedin1952provesthatthesethreepostswereheldbySuetonius;seeE.
Marec and H. G. Pflaum, CRAf(1952), 76f£., and especiallyatp. 85, where thesignificanceof
Thedifferencesamongthevariousaccountsisinitiallysomewhatdisturbing.
Suetonius' tenure of the three posts for his archival work is suggested. Suetonius' use of
Di~:
Why does for example, claim that a separate book containing four documentary evidence is discussed by A. Mace, Essai sur Suitone; Bibl. des Ecoles Franf.
d'Athenes et de Rome LXXXII (1900), 1I0ff. The meager sources for the imperialarchives are
':. I would like to express special thanks to J. W. Eadiewhosaw the manuscript t'hrough its analyzed by F. Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World(1977), 259-268. Although it is not
various metamorphosesandwhoseadvicehasbeenofimmeasurablehelp.C.G.Starr,T.Kelly,C. known exactly how the archives wereorganizedor which imperialofficialshad chargeofthem,
N. Edmonson, F. Millar, R. B. Hitchner, and A. Mayor read various drafts and made valuable Suetonius'frequent citation ofdocumentaryevidence,especiallyinhis LifeofAugustus,suggests
suggestions. A generous stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities provided thatatsomepointinhiscareerhehadaccesstothearchives.ItisinterestingtonotethatMillar,op.
funds for the completion of the final draft. cit., 268, suggeststhatthe greatquantitiesofdocumentsproducedduringthe reign ofAugustus
I Thecontentsofthewilland thethreedocumentsaredescribedbySuetonius,Augustus101; may have been atypical. Therefore, Suetonius may have had considerably more documentary
Tiberius23;CassiusDioLVI,32,1ff.Tacitus,AnnalsI, 11,mentionsthebreviary.Thefollowing material at his disposal for Augustus' reign than for later reigns, which mightexplain the great
editions have been used throughout: Velleius Paterculus, edited by C. S. de Pritzwald,2nded. numbers ofdocuments cited inSuetonius'Augustus.
Teubner (1933, repro 1965); Tacitus, Annales, edited by E. Koestermann, Teubner (1965); 4 Suetonius frequently quotes Augustus' exact words and made a point of stating that the
Historiae, edited by Koestermann, Teubner (1969); Opera Minora, edited by Koestermann, letters heciteswereinAugustus'ownhand;d. Aug.51,2;71,2-4;76,1-2.HeknewAugustus'
Teubner (1964); Suetonius, De Vita Caesarum Libri, edited by M. Ihm, Teubner (1908, repro seals: Aug. 50; and mentions peculiarities of vocabulary, orthography, grammar, arid favorite
1967);CassiusDio,editedbyV.P.Boissevain,2nded.Berlin(1955).TranslationsofDioaretaken expressions which appeared in his letters: Aug. 87-88. HecitesAugustus'edicts:Aug.31,5;42,
from the editionofE. Cary, LoebClassical Library (1924). 1-3;53, 1;56, 1-2; 89,2;andtheactaSenatus:Aug.5;and knewtheexactcontentsofthewill:
2 fmperatoris CaesarisAugusti OperumFragmenta4(1962), 102f. Aug. 101.
20·
308 JOSIAH OBER Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentofAugustus 309
wrote his Livesduring the reign of Hadrian; the nonexpansion clause would the effect that the political testament was aprivatelistofinstructions,givenby
have been good propagandafor Hadrian's anti-imperialistic defensive frontier Augustus toTiberiusand passeddown intheJulio-Claudianline,ultimatelyto
policy which Suetonius appears to have endorsed.sFinally, it is not possible Nero, has found few supporters.9 The idea that no written document
that thefourth documentcould have dropped outofthe text;Suetoniusstates containing Augustan advice ever existed does not seem to have been
twice (Aug. 101, 1j 4) that Augustus leftthreevolumes(tribusvoluminibus)in considered.
addition to the will. The political testament is vital to an understanding of Augustus' foreign
The confusion in the sources concerning both the form and content of the policy and that of his successors. The injunction against imperialexpansion is
political testament becomes somewhat more ominous in light of Suetonius' frequently cited as evidence for the theory that Augustus was not. an
silence. Furthermore, there.is some confusion about when and by whom the imperialist and sought only to secure defensive frontiers.lo It is also used to
document was read. Suetonius (Aug. 101, 1) says merely that the will and the demonstrate that Tiberius, who followed a nonexpansionist foreign policy,
tria'voluminawere read in the Senate. Hedoes notsay when or bywhom the was simply adhering to the advice of his revered predecessorY The relevance
three bookswereread; thewillwas readbyafreedman(Tib. 23).Tacitus(Ann. of the political testament to imperial foreign policy calls for a fuller
I, 11) says the breviary with the associated consilium was read in a Senate examination of the individual sources.
meeting in early SeptemberofA.D. 14,themeeting de republica,anddoes not
mention the other documents. Dio (LVI, 33, 1) claims that the will and the II
~L~ALatEooaQa were read by Drusus at an earliermeeting held to determine
1. Strabo, VII, 1, 4
arrangements for Augustus' funeral. ThechronologyoftheSenatemeetingsof
August and September A.D. 14 has been the subject of much scholarly XQV JtAELWOeyvwQLlla(Germanorumgentes){JJtf]Q;EV,d EJtEtQEJtEtOL~
inquiiy.6The problems inherentin the sources forthepoliticaltestamentitself otQatllyoL~ 6 ~E~aotO~ oLa~aLVELV tOY"AA~LV IlEtLOUOL to'u~ tXELOE
are, however, frequently overlooked.7 There has been some debate over the (lJtaVLotaIlEvo'U~, V'Uvi. O'ElJJtOQWtEQOV {JJtEAa~E otQatllYELV tOY tv
e;w
question of whether Tacitus' addendum or Dio's separate document is to be XEQOi. JtOAEIlOV, Ei. tWV tOUWAA~LO~ xait'T]o'UXLavOvtWV <lJtEXOLtO
s
preferred. AtheoryproposedbyA. E. Eggerinthemid-nineteenthcenturyto xai. Ili) JtaQo;tJvOL JtQo~ ti)v XOLVWVLav tf]~ eX{}Qa~.
5 On the date of the Twelve Caesars, see Mace,op. cit. (n. 3),87ftThatSuetoniusendorsed
Hadrian's policy ofdefense issuggested by A. R. Birley,'RomanFrontiersandRomanFrontier
Policy: Some Reflections on Roman Imperialism,' Transactions of the Architectural and Philologische Wochenschrift LIX (1939), column 735, defended Dio against Hohl's attack. In
ArchaeologicalSocietyofDurham andNorthumberlandN.S. III (1974), 14. recentyearsDioseemstobecarryingtheday,ifonlybydefault.Hisaccountisacceptedwithlittle
6 See, recently, D. Timpe, Untersuchungen zur Kontinuitat des fruhen Prinzipats; Historia or no discussion by, among others,Timpe,op.cit.(n.6),52t;A. H. M.Jones,Augustus(1970),
EinzelschriftV(1962),40ft;G. KampH,'ThreeSenateMeetingsintheEarlyPrincipate,'Phoenix 134f.;Levick, op.cit. (n. 7), 83, 143;and mostrecentlybyB. Parsi-Magdelain,'L'avenementde
XVII (1963), 25-58; K. Wellesley, 'The Dies Imperiiof Tiberius,'IRS LVII (1967), 23-30; D. Tibhe,' Revue hist. de droit franf. et etranger LVI (1978), 410--415. Some commentators on
Flach, 'DerRegierungsanfangdes Tiberius,' Historia XXII (1973), 552-569. Tacitus, notably F. D. R. Goodyear(ed.) TheAnnalsofTacitus(1972), I, 178,still doubt Dio's
7 For example, G. P. Baker, Tiberius Caesar (1929), 136, states simply that the brevarium account, but they appearto befighting alosingbattle.
imperiicontained a list of instructions (actually reported by Dio), thus conflating Tacitus' and 9 Examen critique des historiensanciensdelavie etdu regne d'Auguste(1844),39ft Egger's
Dio's accounts. Cf. J. Buchan, Augustus (1937), 344: Augustus left "notes of advice to his theory was accepted by Mace, op. cit. (n. 3), 145ft Egger and Mace proposed that part of the
successor"; B. Levick, Tiberius the Politician (1976),143: the advice against expansion "was a privatedocumentwas readbyTiberiusintheSenateandthisreadingwasthebasisoftheaccounts
generaldoctrine inherited from Augustusand publicly proclaimed in thedocumentsbequeathed in Dio and Tacitus, an idea that has some points in common with the theory proposed below.
to thestate by the late Princeps." Theircontentionthat aprivatedocumentwaspasseddownintheJulio-Claudianlineisbasedon
8 ThedebateoverwhetherTacitus'accountorthatofDioiscorrectisalong-standingone.T. thepropositionthatNero'spromisetofollow Augustus'praescriptum(Suetonius, Nero10)wasa
Mommsen, 'Der Rechenschaftsbericht des Augustus,' Historische ZeitschriftN. F. XXI (1887), reference to the privatedocument. Thatany documentcould have comedown toNerothrough
390andn. 1(GesammelteSchriftenIV,251andn.2),rejectedDio'saccountinfavorofTacitus'.V. the line of Julio-Claudian emperors is,however, extremely unlikely in view of the confusion
Gardthausen, Augustusundseine Zeit(1891-1904, repr. 1964),11.3,860f.,supportedDioagainst attending the accessionsofGaiusand Claudius.
Tacitus.E.Hohl,'WannhatTiberiusdasPrinzipatiibernommen?'HennesLXVIII(1933),112ft, 10 See, for example, T. Frank, Roman Imperialism (1914), 354; H. H. Scullard, From the
attackedDio'saccountas"eineErfindung."Dio'sfourthbiblionhaditsmostvigorousdefenderin GracchitoNer02(1963), 268;Jones, op. cit. (n. 8), 77.
W. Weber,Princeps:StudienzurGesch7chtedesAugustus(1936), I,67ftThenextyearHohl,'Zu 1\ See, for example, M. P. Charlesworth, CAHX (1934), 643;E.T. Salmon, Historyofthe
den Testamenten des Augustus,' Klio XXX (1937), 325ft, returned to the fray and attacked Roman Worldfrom 30 D.C. to A.D. J3aJ (1948), 112f., 128; Scullard, op. cit. (n. 10),287; R.
Weber'sdefenseofDio.TwoyearslaterF.Cornelius,'ZumpolitischenTestamentdesAugustus,' Seager, Tiberius(1972), 174;Levick, op. cit. (n. 7) 143.
·.;~L..ol... ...~- ~-~._-;.....:......
310 JOSIAH OBER Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentof Augustus 311
rei publicae tibi.. ." Here the term clearly refers to the electionsperse, not to
Malcovati apparently includes this passage because Augustus' refusal to
election reform. In fact, there is no reason to translate "rationalisation ofthe
allow his generals to cross the Elbe (Albis) is perceived to have a connection
electoral assemblies" in the one case and "the elections" in the other. The
with the general prohibition of imperial expansion mentioned byTacitus and
passage in Velleius makes perfectly good senseifweassumethathe,likePliny,
Dio. Strabo, however, makes itquite clearthat Augustus' orderregarding the
was referring to the elections themselves, rather than to election reform.
crossing of the Elbe was in effect during the emperor's own lifetime and that
Furthermore, it appears that the ordinatio comitiorum was associated in
the orderwas givenspecifically to allowhisgeneralstoconcentrateonanother
war ('tOV Ev )(EQoi :n:OAEI.lOV), presumably the Pannonian revolt. This tempo Velleius' own mindwiththeactualelections.Immediatelyafterhis referenceto
rary halt to imperialism in a partic~lar sector is very different from the the ordinatioVelleius (II, 124,4)states proudlythatatthattime(quotempore)
he and his brother were named candidati Caesarisand "...ut neque postnos
consilium against all expansion delivered in A.D. 14, after Germany had been
quemquam divus Augustus neque ante nos Caesar commendaret Tiberius."
lost and the frontier was the Rhine, rather than theElbe.TheStrabopassageis
ofnohelpindeterminingthe natureorform ofAugustus'posthumousadvice. Velleius stresses that he and his brotherwere personally commended by both
Augustus and Tiberius. This suggests that Augustus' rescript was not advice
about election procedure, but simply a list of candidates (including the two
2. Velleius Paterculus, II, 124, 3
Velleii) he wished to commend and who were subsequently confirmed by
"post redditum caelo patrem et corpus eius humanis honoribus, numen
Tiberius. No other source mentions Augustan advice to Tiberius on election
divinis honoratum, primum principalium eius (Tiberii) operum fuit
. procedure, not even Tacitus, who describes (Ann. I, 15) the actual change and
ordinatio comitiorum, quam manu sua scriptam divus Augustus reli
was certainly awareofTiberius'professedreverenceforAugustanconsilia.14In
querat."
light of these objections it is highly unlikely that Velleius was referring toa
This passage is included as evidencefor thepoliticaltestamentbecausesome reform mandated in the political testament.IS
scholars assume that the term ordinatio comitiorum refers to a change in Even if we assume that Augustus' rescriptdidconcernelectionreformthere
electoral procedure and that the Augustan rescript (scripta) alluded to by is no reason to link the rescript to the political testament. Velleius does not
Velleius must have contained advice mandating this reform. A second imply that the rescript was part of a general list of advice to Tiberius and no
assumptionfollowsthatsincethe rescriptwasusedbyTiberiusafterAugustus' reference to electoral reform is to be found in either Dio's fourth biblion or
death it must have formed part of the political testament.12 Both assumptions Tacitus' consilium. In any event Velleius cannot be used to demonstrate the
are tenuous at best and should be considered separately. existence of a document containing Augustan advice.
First, what did Velleius mean by ordinatio comitiorum?The term is often
3. Tacitus, Annals, I, 11
taken as referring tothetransferoftheelectionsfrom the comitiatotheSenate,
areform mentioned by Tacitus(Ann. 1,15).A.j. Woodmaninhiscommentary "...proferri libellum recitarique iussit. opes publicae continebantur
on Velleius suggests that "it would be exceptionally perverse to hold that quantum civium sociorumque in armis, quot classes regna provinciae,
Tiberius'primumopus, to whichV[elleius] hererefers, is notthischangeinthe tributa aut;vectigalia, etnecessitates aclargitiones.quaecunctasuamanu
role of the comitia." Woodman would translate ordinatio comitiorum "as perscripserat Augustus addideratque consilium coercendi intraterminos
something like 'the rationalisation of the electoral assemblies'."13 Yet as imperii, incertum metu an per invidiam." -
Woodman admits, a completely different meaning for the term must be
assumed when translating Pliny, Panegyricus 72, 1: "lam quod precatus es 14 Cf. Agn'cola13,3: "consilium iddivusAugustusvocabat,Tiberiuspraeceptum";Ann.IV,
37:"qui omnia facta eius vicelegisobservem," (quoted from aspeechofTiberius).
<caelites), ut ilia ipsa ordinatio comitiorum bene ac feliciter eveniret nobis ut
IS The view that the ordinatio comitiorum refers to the elections perse and the Augustan
rescript to alistofcandidatesseemstobesupportedbyG.V.Sumner,'TheTruthaboutVelleius
12 See, for example, D. C. A. Shotter, 'Elections underTiberius,' CQN.S. XVI (1966), 331; Paterculus: Prolegomena,' HSCPh LXXIV (1970), 274f.; W. K. Lacey, 'Nominatio and the
Levick, op. cit. (n. 7), 83; and especially A. J. Woodman, Velleius Paterculus: The Tiberian Elections underTiberius,' Historia XII(1963), 169f., 176. Onthe problemofTiberius'election
Narrative (2.94-131)(1977),227: ".•.itis notopentoquestionwhetherAug[ustus]himselfhad reformseealso R. Syme, Tacitus(1958), II, 756ff.;B. Levick, 'ImperialControloftheElections
left instructions for the [electoral] changes... the ordinatio comitiorum presumably therefore under the Early Principate. Commendatio, Suffragatio, and "Nominatio",'Historia XVI (1967)
formed partofthefourthbookwhichAug[ustus]leftonhisdeath(Dio56.34.3)or,ifDioisnotto 218f; A. H. M. Jones, 'The Elections under Augustus,' IRS XLV (1955), 20. For a full
be believed, possibly an addition to the third book... mentioned bySuet. Aug. 10104." bibliographyof the question see A. Garzetti, From TiberiustotheAntonines(translated byJ. R.
13 Woodman, op. cit. (n. 12), 225. .Foster, 1974),565f., 734.
.."'~.
312 JOSIAH OBER Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentof Augustus 313
Tacitus' reference to an Augustan consiliumforbidding furtherexpansionof 4. Tacitus, Agricola, 13, 3
the empire would appear to be solid evidence for the existence of a written
"mox bella civilia et in rem publicam versa principum arma, ac longa
document left by Augustus to adviseTiberius. Uponcloseranalysis, however,
16 oblivio Britanniae etiam in pace: consilium id divus Augustus vocabat,
the passage is revealed to be more complex than is usually assumed. Most
Tiberius praeceptum."
translations imply that the advice to keep theempirewithinits presentbounds
was added in writing to the breviary by Augustus himself. It is possible, It is tempting to equate the consilium which Tiberius considered a
however, that Tacitus meant that Augustus gave the consilium to Tiberius praeceptumwith the generalprohibitionofexpansionofAnnalsI, 11.Tiberius
verbally. "Quae cuncta sua manu perscripserat Augustus" refers to the may have made somestatementattheSenatemeetingderepublicatotheeffect
preceding "opes publicae" etc., and not necessarily 'to the following clause that he would treat Augustus' consilium as apraeceptum. On the otherhand,
"addideratque consilium..." Thus, it is not certain that Tacitus meant the the Agricola consilium seems to concern only Britain and may have been a
consiliumwas also written in Augustus' own hand.17The verbadderecan,and separate piece of advice delivered at some other time. The problem is
in Tacitus often does, mean "to add something to something else" and compounded by the fact that the Agricola appears to have been written well
addideratque is thus often translated "and he had added."18 Tacitus does, before the Annals; it is impossible to determine whether Tacitus wasfamiliar
however, use addere in its other sense, "to send" or "to give." The closest with the proceedings of the meeting de re publica when he wrote the
parallel to the passage under consideration is Histories II, 29: "tum Alfenus Agricola.21 Although the exact relationship between the two passages is
Varus praefectus castrorum, deflagrante paulatim seditione, addit consilium, obscure, itis significantthatinbothTacitususes theterm consiliumtodescribe
vetitis obire vigilias centurionibus..." Here addit consilium should probably a prohibition of expansion. The Agn'cola passage seems to provethatatsome
be translated "contributed (or sent) advice."19 In another passage (Hist. I, 74: pointTiberius did claim to base arefusaltoexpandtheempireonanAugustan
"addit epistulas Fabius Valens nomineGermaniciexercitus ad praetorias...") consilium. This assumption is, however, ofno help indeterminingwhen,orin
additclearly means sent, not added. Therefore, while itispossiblethatTacitus what form, the consilium (or consilia) was (or were) delivered.22
meant that the consilium was added in writing to the libel/um containing the
breviary, he mayonlyhavemeantthattheAugustusgaveorsentthe consilium.
Finally, although the term consilium can be used for written advice (d. Hist. 5. Cassius Dio, LVI, 3323
III, 8), Tacitus uses the term much more frequently for advice transmitted
Dio claims four documents «(3L(3ALa t€ooaQa) were left by Augustus in
orally.20 In sum, the passage may be interpreted two different ways; Tacitus'
additiontothewill:thefuneral instructions,theResGestae,thebreviaryand:
referencecannotby itself provetheexistence ofawritten political testament.
to t€taQtOV EvtOA.a~xai. Emoxil"l'EL~tep TL(3EQLQ>xai.tep XOLVep,alla~
tE xai. onoo~ f..Ltlt' Ct3tEAEU'3EQ<i>oLnoAAou~, tva f..Li] navtobanou OXAOU
16 Goodyear,op.cit.(n.8);E. Koestermann(ed.), CorneliusTacitus:Annalen(1963-68);and tTJv nOALVnAl]QoooooOL, f..Ltlt' 0:0E~tTJv nOALtEiav ouxvoiJ~ EO)'Qa<pooOLv,
H. Furneaux (ed.), The AnnalsofTacitus, (18962),ad. loc., seemto find nodifficultieswith the tvanOAu to bUl<poQovO'ljtoi:~ nQo~tOU~unl]xoou~~. to.tEXOLVanam
translationofthephrase"quae...consilium."
17 This difficulty is often simply ignored; E. Kornemann, Tiberius (1960), 64, writes: toi:~ bUVaf..L€VOL~xai. Etbv€ aL xai. nQo.ttELv EmtQn€ ELV, xai. E~ f..Ll]bv€ a
"AngeschlossenwareinNachtrag...derwiedasBreviariumeigenhandigniedergeschriebenwar..." (ha) avaQtav aUta naQ~VEO€ O<pLOLV, onoo~ f..LtltE tUQawLbo~tL~
18 Tacitus often uses addere in referring to the resumption of a speech which has been Endh'f..LtlOlJ, f..Ltlt' au ntaLOavtO~exELVOU to bl]f..LOOLOV o<paAij.yvOOf..Ll]V
interrupted;seeforexampleAnn.I, 12;III,34;XII,11,22;XV,20.ThetranslationofTacitusby
A.J.ChurchandW.J.Brodribb,ModernLibrary(1942),istypicaloftranslationsofthispassage:
21 TheAgricolaseemsto have beenwrittenin A.D. 97/8;the first threebooksoftheAnnals
"Allthesedetails Augustus had written with his own hand and had added acounsel..."
sometimeafterA.D. 116.SeeSyme,op. cit. (n. 15),I, 19;II, 471.
19 This passageisdifficulttotranslateprecisely.Mosttranslationsseemtoavoidthedifficulty 22 TwootherpassagesinTacitus,Ann.I,77;IV,37,refertoTiberius'reverenceforAugustus'
bydoingviolence toboththegrammarandthesenseofthesentence;d.thetranslationofC.H. dicta.Thesubjectmatterofthedictainquestion(freedomofspeechinthetheaterandthe,imperial
Moore, Loeb Classical Library (1925): Varus "helped the situation by the device of forbid cult) has nothing to do with the consilia as reponed by Tacitus and Dio, however, and these
ding..." H. Heubner (ed.), P. Cornelius Tacitus: Die Historien (1963-76), ad. loc., translates:
passagesare not, therefore, of useinexplicatingtheproblemof thepoliticaltestament.
"steuen...einen k1ugen Rat bei, nach dem es den Centurionen..." This is somewhat more
23 ThepassageinDiodescribingthepoliticaldocumentisactuallytakenfromhisepitomator,
accurate. Following Heubner, I would translate,"Varus... contributed (orsent,presumably to Xiphilinus.Xiphilinustended,however,toreproducesectionsofDioalmosti'nfullandoftenkept
his commandingofficer,Valens)advicefor forbidding the centurions..."Atany ratethephrase veryclosetoDio'sownwording;seeF.MillarAStudyofCassiusDio(1964),2.Thisappearstobe
should not beinterpreted to mean that the consiliumwasadded tosomethingelse. thc:caseinthedescriptionofthepoliticaldocument;notehowneatlyXiphilinus'wordingmeshes
20 See,for example, Hist. II, 44;III, 17;58;69;IV,69; Germania8,2. withthatofDiohimselfwherethemanuscriptbreaksoffatLVI,31,3andresumesatLVI,34,2.
'~'-'
314 JOSIAH OBER Tiberius and the PoliticalTestamentofAugustus 315
'tE uu'toi~ EbwXE 'toI~ 'tE nUQOUOLV a.QXEO'6ilVUL xui ~llbu~&~ Ere( due to the fact that these actually were Augustan policies and motives, butit
nAElov 'ti)v a.Qxi)v Enuu;'iiouL E'6'EA'iiouL· buoqnJAux'toV 'tE yo.Q uu'ti)v could be argued that Dio, who probably had access to Suetonius, got the idea
EOEo'6'UL, xui xLvbuVEUOELV EX 'tou'tou xui 'to. ov'tu a.noAEouL EfPll. for the two policies directly from Suetonius' Life ofAugustuS.29
'tOU'to yo.Q xui uu'to~ ov'tw~ aEL no'tE ou AOycp ~ovov aAAo. ~ui EQYcp Dio's own opinions on the question of manumissions and the creation of
E'ttlQllOE· nUQov youv uu't<p nOAAo. EX 'tOU ~UQ~UQLXOU new citizens are also significant. Dio, like most upper-class Roman citizens,
nQoox'ttlOuo'6'uL oux i}'6'EAllOE. disliked pushy freedmen; his feelings were probably reinforced by the actions
Having demonstrated the uselessness of Strabo and Velleius as sources for of Caracalla's freedmen, Theocritus and Epagathus, whom Dio bitterly
Augustus' posthumous advice and given the obscurity of Tacitus' two castigates.3o Dio tends to relate the· policy of manumission to greed,
references to the consilium (or consilia) against expansion, we are left with demagoguery, and violence.31 He elsewhere (LV, 13, 7) makes special note of
Cassius Dio; the existence of a written political testament must stand or fall Augustus' legislation which was designed to slow the rate of manumissions
with Dio's account. Dio is at best an indifferent historian; his few strengths and commends Tiberius (LVII, 11, 6) for his unwillingness to free a popular
and many weaknesses have been elucidated by F. Millar's A Study ofCassius actor without first receiving permission from the master and makingsurethe
Dio.24 One ofDio's majorflaws is his almost totalfailure to citedocumentary latter was properly recompensed. On the subject of the creation of large
evidence.25 The political testamentis, for example, the only document of the numbers of new citizens Dio's views were quite definite. He hated Caracalla
posthumous collection (will, breviary, etc.) that Dio sees fit to reproduce, a and states (LXXVIII, '9, 5) that the Constitutio Antoniniana was motivated
fact that immediately arouses suspicion.26 Furthermore, Dio frequently allows solely by greed.32 It appear~that Diowould readily favor policies to limitthe
personal opinions to influence his description of Augustus' reign.27 While numberoffreedmen and forbid the creation ofvast numbers of new citizens.
Dio's views on correct policy are not always easy to determine, all of the The third clause: "He exhorted them to entrust the public business to all
injunctions supposedly written by Augustus in the political testament can be who had ability both to understand and to act, and never to let it depend on
shown to coincide with Dio's own opinions.28 Keeping this in mind we may anyone person; in this way no one would set his mind on a tyranny, nor
proceed with a closer analysis of Dio's 'tE'tUQ'tOV BL~A(OV. would the state, onthe otherhand, go to ruin ifonemanfell," ismoresuspect
The first two clauses, forbidding the manumission of many slaves, in order than the first two. Literally interpreted, the clause is practicallyablueprintfor
that the city not become filled with aheterogeneous mob, and forbidding the a return to republican forms. The position of princeps, which Augustus had
creationofnewcitizens,inordertopreservethedistinctionbetweencitizensand been so careful to create for himself, and for which Tiberius was most
foreigners, are historically unexceptionable.Suetonius(Aug. 40,3-4)mentions definitely slatedaccordingtoAugustus'plans,wouldineffectbeabolishedand
Augustus' policies of limiting manumissions and grants of citizenship, replaced by some sortof committee. Controlofthestatewouldbereturnedto
claiming that the emperorthoughtitimportantnottoletRomanstockbecome the Senate. That Augustus could 'have contemplated this plan in A.D. 14 is
tainted by foreign blood ("magni praetereaexistimanssiqcerumatqueabomni incredible. Suetonius (Aug. 28) states that Augustus considered the possibility
colluvione peregrini ac servilis sanguinis incorruptum servare populum, et of restoringthe republic in23 B.C.,butonreconsideration"hedecidedthatto
civitates Romanas. parcissime dedit et manumittendi modum terminavit").
Like Dio, Suetonius links the policies of limiting manumission with limiting
29 ForAugustus'policiesonmanumissionandtheextensionofthefranchise,seeJones,op.cit.
the franchise and adduces as the basis of Augustus' policies the desire to (n. 8), 133£.; A. N. Sherwin-White, The Roman Citizenship (19732), 225-236. That Dio used
maintain the elite position of the Roman citizen body. The similarity may be Suetoniusisdenied bySyme,op.cit.(n. 15),II,690.Millar,op.cit.(n.23),85£.,however,argues
vigorouslythatthereisgoodreasontosupposethatDiodiduseSuetonius.Cf.alsoB.Manuwald,
CassiusDioundAugustus(1978),258-268.
24 Millar, op. cit. (n. 23), passim. 30 Dio's dislike of pushy freedmen: XLVIII, 45, 8-9; 34,4-5. His hatredofTheocritus and
25 Ibid., 37. Epagathus: LXXVIII, 21,2-4.
26 Weber,op.cit.(n.8),67f.,suggeststhattheprominentpositiongiventhepoliticaltestament 31 Cf.II,9,6:ServiusTulliusintroducesmanumissionfordemagogicpurposes;XXXIX,24,1:
is evidence for its reliability. Quite the contrary, given Dio's reluctance to cite documents, the slaves freed by masters inorderto take part inthe graindole; XL, 48,2: Milofrees slaves who
emphasis placed onthis one renders itsuspect. helped murder Clodius.
27 Millar, op. cit. (n. 23), 83-102, traces thevarious influences, includingDio's ownpolitical 32 SeeMillar,op.cit.(n.23), 104f.,153.Dio(LII, 19,6)hasMaecenaspraisethepossibilityof
views, on Dio's narrativeofthe reign ofAugustus. universalcitizenship(cf.Augustus'praiseforthispolicyinaspeech,LVI,7,5),but,asMillar,op.
28 ThegeneralproblemofsortingoutDio'spoliticalviewsisconsideredbyMillar,op.cit.{n. cit., 104,points out, this is clearly mereflatteryofCaracalla,duringwhosereignbooksXLVIto
23),73££. LVIII werewritten.
316 JOSIAH OBER Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentof Augustus 317
divide the responsibilities of government among several hands would be to dbEvm xat 3tQattHV but the similarity in terminology undermines the
jeopardize not only his own life, but national security as well and so he did likelihood that the language of the third injunction reflects that of an actual
nothing" ("sed reputans etse privatum non sine periculoforeetillamplurium document. The third injunction appears to represent Dio's own ideas and
arbitrio temerecomitti,inretinendaperseveravit").AsE. Hohlpointsout,itis terminology more closely than Augustus'.
inconceivable that Augustus would have undercut the position of his Even more disconcerting is the very close relationship between the ideas
33
designated successor with an injunction of the sort reported by Dio. expressed in Dios' third injunction and Tiberius' ownstatementstotheSenate
On the other hand, the sentiments expressed in Dio's third clause seem to in the meeting de republica, the same meeting, according to Tacitus (Ann. I,
match very closely Dio's own feeling on the ideal position of the Senate in 11), at which Augustus' breviary of empire was read in the Senate. Tiberius
government. Dio considered monarchy superior to democracy, as shown by claimed (sincerely or not) that he wished to take on only apart of the empire,
the whole of the Maecenas speech (LII, 14-40), which Millar has suggested otherwise he must be assigned colleagues by the Senate to help him manage
usually reflects Dio's own opinions.34 Dio's personal experiences hadcon it.36 Dio's third injunction is particularly reminiscent of a sentence inTacitus
vinced him, however, that the Senate must be given a larger role in the (Ann. I, 11): "proinde in civitate tot inlustribus viris subnixa non ad unum
government and the succession process rationalized. Dio suffered through the deferrent: plures facilius munia rei publicae sociatis laboribus exsecuturos."
reign of Caracalla and feared the tyrannical powers of an unrestrained According to Tacitus, this statement was made byTiberius himself inaspeech
emperor.35The series of usurpations following the death ofCommodusin 193 delivered just before the breviary was read. This immediately raises the
must have made Dio aware of the horrors a disputed succession could entail. suspicion that Dio somehow transferred Tiberius' statement, which accorded
Thus in the Maecenas speech (LII, 19, 1-3) Dio has Maecenas argue that so well with his own views, from a report of Tiberius' speech (whether in
Augustus should use the senators as helpers (OUVEQYOl) in administering the Tacitus or not) to the putative political document.
state. Dio also discusses the subject of expanding the Senate's powers in a The most significant clause, both in terms of the amount of space Dio
speechput in Augustus' mouth in27B.C.,whentheemperorfalsely promised devotes to it, and the·importance attached to it by modern historians, is the
to turn overthe control ofthe governmentto theSenate and the people(LIII, fourth and final clauseforbidding expansion oftheempireonthegroundsthat
8,5ff.): if enlarged it would become harder to defend and more difficult to hold. The
passage concludes with Augustus' pious claim that he himself had always
u!!Iv yaQ, u!!Iv toI<;.OQlOtOL<; xat <PQoVL!!wtatOL<; 3tavta to XOLVO
adhered to the policy of nonexpansion, both in principle and infact and that,
ovatlell!!L ... xat to XOLVO XOLV<i><; c'iv 3tOA:U ~EAtWV atE xat U3tO
while he could have taken over large areas from the barbarian world, he had
3tOAA<i>v a!!a ~hay6!!EVaxat !!'l1 E<; Eva tLVO OVrl(?tll!!Eva [HOLxoito.
not chosen to do so.
Itis notable, and highly suspicious, that in thispassageDiouses languagevery The statement that Augustus had not added barbarian territory to the
similar to thatofthe third injunction.ThepassagedemonstratesthatDiomust empire is completely inaccurate. Augustus had in fact conquered vast regions
have been referring to the Senate by the phrase 3tOOL toI<; bUVa!!EvOL<; xat and had enlarged the empire tremendously.37 Furthermore, Augustus was
proud of his conquests and celebrated them publicly. In 7 B.C. he formally
expanded thepomerium, aceremony allowed only to Romans who had added.
33 Hohl,art. cit.('WannhatTiberius,'n.8),113.Cornelius,loc.cit.(n.8),defendedthisclause
on the grounds thatAugustushadoftenassociatedsomeotherman inhisimperiumandthatDio
misunderstoodtheelaborationofthispolicyinthepoliticaltestament.Thisisunlikely. Although
Tiberiuswasforced toadoptGermanicus,thereisnoevidencethatAugustuswishedtoestablisha 36 Velleius II, 124;Suetonius, Tib. 24f.;Tacitus, Ann. I, 1Iff.; Dio LVII, 2,4ff.Tacitusand
formal system of coregency, much less the sort of division of power suggested in Dio's third SuetoniusconsideredTiberius'reluctancetoundertakeresponsibilityfortheempiretobeasham.
injunction. Even lesslikely is the theory ofParsi-Magdelain,loc.cit.(n.8),thatAugustuswrote Velleiusimpliesthathisreluctanc~ wasgenuine.Levick,op.cit.(n.7),171ff.;andKampff,art.cit.,
thethirdinjunctioninajealousattempttodenyhissuccessortheall-powerfulpositionhehimself (n. 6),32ff. (who, however, bases partofhis.argumentonDio'spoliticaltestament),suggestthat
had held. This makesamockeryofallAugustus'carefullylaidplanstoensurethestabilityofthe Tiberius'hesitationmayhavebeengenuine.F.B.Marsh,TheReignofTiberius(1931),48andn.1,
empire by establishingan orderlysystem ofsuccession. suggested thatDiomighthaveconfusedTiberius'speechwiththereadingofthebreviary;Marsh
did not, however, follow this idea to the logicalconclusionthat Dio's politicaltestament never
34 Millar,op.cit.(n.23),73f.ThespeechesinDiowere,ofcourse,createdbyDiohimselfand
have little or no relationship to the wording or contents of the speeches that were actually existed.
delivered;seeibid.,78ff.ForDio'sviewsonmonarchy,seealsoManuwald,op.cit.(n.29),8-26. 37 Cf. RGDA 26-33. Scullard, op. cit. (n. 10), 2SS-268, is a succinct modern account of
Augustus'conquests. Note,however,thatScullardconsiderstheseconquestsmerelyanattemptto
35 Dio's hatredfor Caracallaand his despotic approach to imperiai powerisevidentin Dio's
accountofCaracalla's reign, books LXXVIII and LXXIX;d. Millar,op. cit. (n. 23), ISo-160. providedefensible bordersfor the empire.
. .. ..:..._,__.,.._..__
, __.__L __~._<-I.'.~_••..:~._•••__..~~_.>_~_ ...:~ 0•........~,_.:...__•._••_...J....~_........ ~.:.._._._••~_.-_...:....._••~,._...~._.-...----.~-~~....-....
319
318 JOSIAH OBER Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentofAugustus
to the imperium.38 Suetonius (Aug. 31, 5) states that, after the gods, Augustus and Birley have been endorsed by otherscholars and the view ofAugustus as
42
most revered the memory of those Romans who had raised the empire from an imperialist appears to be gaining increasing acceptance.
obscurity to its present greatness ("qui imperium p. R. ex minimo maximum Yet the view of Augustus as a lifelong imperialist has foundered on the
reddidissent"). Augustus accordingly restored the buildings and inscriptions evidence of the political testament. In order to explain the consilium against
of these men, dedicated statues to them, and proclaimed in an edict cited by expansion, even most scholars who argue that Augustus' foreign policy was
Suetonius (loc. cit.) that he had done so in order to exhort the citizens to imperialistic throughout most of his reign have conceded that Augustus must
require him and his successors to live up to the deeds ofthe greatconquerors have switchedfrom an imperialistic to adefensive posture afterthePannonian
of the past ("commentum id se,ut ad illorum <vitam) velut ad exemplar et revolt of A.D. 6-9 and theVarus disasterof A.D. 9.43 Asidefrom the political
ipse, durn viveret, et insequentium aetatium principes exigerenturacivibus"). testament, however, the evidence suggests that Augustus did not abandon his
Most significantly of all, the Res Gestae, Augustus; official and ultimate. dreams of world conquest in A.D. 9. In A.D. 13 Augustus sent his grand
description of his acta, culminates with explicit statements concerning nephew Germanicus, whom Tiberius had beenforced to adopt as his son and
Augustus' successful expansion: "Omnium provine [iarum populi Romani], heir presumptive, to command the eight legions on the Rhine. Velleius
quibus finitimae fuerunt II gentes quae n [on parerent imperio nos] tro, fines Paterculus (II, 123, 1) reports that Germanicus had beensentoutbyAugustus
auxi." This claim is then substantiated by a lengthy list of the peoples "reliquabelli patraturum." ItseemsquiteclearthatGermanicuswaspreparing
conquered by Augustus (RGDA26-33).AccordingtoDio(LVI,33,1)theRes for an attempt to reconquer the Germans east of the Rhine and that his
Gestae and the political document were read at thesame Senate meeting. The preparations had been approved by Augustus.44 In A.D. 14 aRomanroadwas
contrast would have been more than striking! completed inAfricaProconsularisbetweenCapsaandTacapae,whichcutdeep
Despite the evidence of the Res Gestae many scholars have argued that into the lands ofthebarbarianMusulamii,whothreeyearslaterrevoltedunder
Augustus' foreign policy was not imperialistic, but defensive. In order to Tacfarinas against this new imperialistic thrust.45 Augustus does not seemto
determine whether Dio's fourth injunctioncould reflect Augustus'desiresitis have abandoned hishopesofcontinuedexpansioninGermanyandAfrica.The
necessary to consider briefly the controversy over Augustus' foreign policy. tenor of Dio's fourth injunction appears patently contrary to Augustus'
The recent debate on the subject was initiated by H.D. Meyer who argues in imperialistic plans in his final years.
DieAussenpolitikdesAugustusunddieaugusteischeDichtung, that inspiteof
the numerous bellicose references in the Augustan poets, Augustuswas notim
imperialist.39 In acelebrated review ofMeyer,P.A. Bruntanalyzesthe literary 42 See,forexample,C.Wells, TheGermanPolicyofAugustus(1972),4ff.;E.N.Luttwak, The
GrandStrategy oftheRoman Empire(1975),50;Woodman,op. cit. (n. 12),38f.
and epigraphic evidence for Augustus' foreign policy and advances the
43 See,forexample,Brunt,art. cit.(n.40),172;Birley,art. cit.(n.5),13;Luttwak,loc.cit.(n.
argument that Augustus was in fact an unabashed imperialist and that he 42). Baker, op. cit. (n. 7), 144f.,suggested that during his lastdays Augustus was persuaded by
believed in the possibility of the Roman conquest of the world.40 In an TiberiustochangefromanoffensivetoadefensivepolicyontheRhinefrontierandthathewrote
important article building on Brunt's thesis, A. Birley emphasizes that the consiliumagainstexpansionatTiberius' request to allow hissuccessortoimplementthenew
statements in Suetonius and Dio that Augustus did not desire to expand the policy.
44 E. Koestermann,'DieFe1dziigedesGermanicus,14-16n.Chr.'HistoriaVI(1957),466;and
empire must be viewed in light of the periods in which they wrote and their
Seager,op. cit. (n. 11),74, 89, argued thatAugustus had sentGermanicus to theRhinewiththe
own personal feelings on the question.4I The impressive arguments of Brunt aimofreconqueringGermanytotheElbe.Onceagainthepoliticaltestamentistheonlyevidence
standinginthewayofthisinterpretation.Wells,op.cit.(n.42),241f£.,suggests,forexample,that
38 Tacitus, Ann. XII, 23;Dio LV, 6,6. NotethatDiofailstomentionwhyAugustushadthe an expansionist attempt by Germanicus ordered by Augustus is "hard to reconcile" with the
right to extend thepomerium. Onthe date, seevon Blumenthal, REXXI, 2(1952), 1874. consilium against expansion. Cf. also D. Timpe, DerTriumph des Germanicus;AntiquitasI. 16
39 Kainer historische Abhandlungen V (1961). The idea that Augustus' foreign policy was (1968),33-38. For afull bibliography of Germanicus' campaigns, see Garzetti, op. cit. (n. 15),
defensiveis notnew;seeforexampleW.A.OldfatherandH.V.Cantor,'TheDefeatofVarusand 572-576, 734f.
the German Frontier Policy of Augustus,' Univ. ofIllinois Studies in the SocialSciences, IV. 2 45 Milestonesfor the road were laid inA.D. 14bytheproconsulL. NonniusAsprenus; ClL
VIII, 10018, 10023. On the road, see especially M. Rachet, Rome et les Berberes; Colleetwn
(1915),59:theviewthatAugustuswasaimingataworldempire"meritslittleconsideration,asit
has been rejected by practicallyeverycompetenthistorianwhohas investigatedthesubject."C£' LatomusCX(1970),78f£.,whoarguesconvincingly(p.79)thatthedecisiontobuildtheroadwas
madebyAugustusand(p.83)thatitwaspartof"lesdernieresmesuresimperialistesd'Auguste,"
also Frank, op. cit. (n. 10),348-354; R. Syme, CAHX (1934),340f£.;Scullard, op. cit. (n. 10),
whichprovokedtherevoltofTaefarinas.C£'alsoT.R.S.Broughton,TheRomanizationofAfrica
251-268.
Proconsularis (1929), 89f£.; P. Trousset, Recherches surIe Limes Tripolitanus (1974),146£.; C.
~ jRSLIII (1963).170-176.
Wells,'TheDefenseof Carthage,' in New LightonAncientCarthage(1980),50.
4\ Birley, art. cit. (n. 5), 14,20.
••~_••• _I••.••••~••_•••••.••.•-_•.• _._._._--.:.-_.__•..:.........._...-.......~~._-
320
JOSIAH OBER
Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentofAugustus 321
Once again, Dio's own views must be taken into consideration. Dio
considered SeptimiusSeverus' conquests both costly and unnecessaryandwas Senate, imperialistic foreign policy) would give Dio a means of criticizing
a staunch opponent of imperial expansion who repeatedly stressed the Caracallawithoutputtinghis ownneckontheline. Afterall, Diocouldhardly
excellence of the policy of peace and defense.46 The Maecenas speech again be held accountable for a document supposedly written by the divine
provides the most succinct exposition of Dio's views. Dio's Maecenas Augustus himself.
continually urges an end to expansion, most notably in a passage (LII, 37, 1) That Dio's fourth biblion was written by Augustus appears very unlikely.
written in language suspiciously reminiscent of the wording of the fourth On the other hand, as suggested above, there is reason to believe that
f.tTjbEVO~ nAEtOVo~
clause in the political testament:1:tff.tEv ouvyvOOf.tU xui1:<p Suetonius' ~countof the documents left by Augustus is accurate. Thus when
1:WVunuQXOvtwv tnLthJf.tEiv dQTjVLXOOT:a1:0V ElvucOE XQi]... Anotherpassage forced to choose between Dio's assertion that a fourth book containing
(LVI, 41, 7) from Tiberius's funeral oration for Augustus, also mirrors the Augustan advice existed and Suetoni~s'explicitstatementthatbesidesthewill,
sentiments and language of the fourth injunctions: only three volumes had been left by Augustus, the latter is definitely to be
preferred. It appears that Diohimselfcreatedthepoliticaltestamentasacovert
1:oi~ &nu~ avuyxutW~
1:0 x1:Tj'DEiOLV aQxEoihivaL UU1:0V xui f.tTjbEv
t~ M~UvtE~ means of criticizing certain of Caracalla's policies he found objectionable.
ET:EQOV nQooXU1:EQyuouo'DaL t'DEAijOaL, of, nAELOVWv av
aQXELv xui 1:0 Ovtu anwAEOUf.tEV...
III
It is perhaps also salient that a phrase from Dio's nonexpansion clause (LVI, Yet Dio did not make up the "Augustan" policies ex nihilo. There is
33, 6) aEt nou ou A6ycp f.tovov aAAa xui EQYcp hi]QTjOE contains the A6ycp/ independent evidence in the form of Tacitus' consilium against expansion
EQYcp contrast that was afavorite with Dio; itis unlikely that thephrasecould which demonstrates that insome manner thepolicyofnonexpansionhad been
reflect Augustus' style, even at third hand.47 The fourth injunction, like the attributed to Augustus at the Senate meeting de republica. There also remains
third, would appear to be more representative of Dio's views and language the problemofSuetonius'failure tomentionthe consiliuminhisdescriptionof
than of Augustus'.
the breviary. Tacitus' consiliumand its relationship to Dio's fourth clause and
Upon examinationDio's fourth biblionbegins to lookmoreand morelikea to Suetonius' silence must still be explained.
forgery. The two passages on which Dio places most emphasis, the clauses It was set forth above (p. 317) that Dio's thirdclause, forbidding<;me-man
forbidding one-manruleandimperialexpansion,aredemonstrablycontraryto rule, isremarkablysimilartoapassageinTacitus(Ann. I, 11)inwhichTiberius
Augustus' policies. The other two clauses, forbidding manumission and asks that the power of the emperor be divided. The speech, according to
expansion of the franchise, while not contrary to Augustan policy, are Tacitus, was delivered just before the breviary of empire was read and it was
unattested as Augustan consilia by any otherancient authority. The language therefore suggested that Dio couldhave trallsferredTiberius' statementto th..:
of certain passages of Dio's political testament seems to match wording in
fictitious political testament. I would argue that something somewhat similar
other parts of his history and cannot be considered even an indirect echo of took place in the case of the nonexpansion clause: that Tiberius himself
Augustus' ownphraseology. Finally, allfour ofthe clausesinDio'sdocument claimed in a speech at the meeting de re publica that Augustus had verbally
reflect policies that Dio himself thought good,' but which contradicted the advised him againstimperial expansion. Ifthis werethecaseTacitus' consi:iur.J
imperial policies ofhisowntimes.Itshould bekeptin mindthatDiowrotehis becomes explicable and can be reconciled with Suetonius' silence.
fifty-sixth book during the reign of Caracalla.48 The creation of a document As suggested above (p. 312) Tacitus' reference to the consilium against
containingAugustaninjunctions thatdirectly contradicted Caracalla'spolicies expansion may be translated in such a way to suggestthat Augustus had sent
(dependence on freedmen, the universal franchise, autocratic scorn of the
verbal advice forbidding the enlargement oftheempire to the Senate. Onthis
interpretation we may assume that the advice was sent via Tiberius and the
46 For example, LII, 15,4; 16, 2ff.; 18,5; 37, 1(all from Maecenas' speech); LIII, 10,4(a difficulty of reconcilingTacitus' and Suetonius' descriptions ofthe breviary is
speech of Augustus); LIV, 9, r (another speech); LVI, 41, 7 (Tiberius' funeral oration for resolved. Even if the revised translation is notaccepted,Tacitus'referencemay
Augustus).Millar,op.cit.(n.23),82,90f.,138,141ff.;Brunt,art. cit.(n.40),172;andBirley,art. be explained by thebrevityofhisaccountofthemeeting derepublt~a. Tacitus'
cit. (n. 5),20, all make note ofDio's anti-imperialisticopinions.
description of the meeting appears to derive largely from someearlierliterary
47 ForDio'suseofMYlp/fQYQ>,seeMillar,op.cit.(n.23),97f.TotheexamplescitedbyMillar
(LIII, 12,3; LVI, 16,1)could beadded LIII,9,2; LVI, 3, 9;47,1. source.49 His accountis extremely compressed because hewasmoreinterested
48 Millar,op. cit. (n. 23), 194. 47 SeeSyme,op.cit.(n. 15),I,273,whosuggeststhatthesamesourcemayhavebeenfollowed
byDioin his report ofthe meeting.
_. --.~!.- _.-_ ..~._...."_..•.._._-~-_.~_.~.~-_.- .~._--'._._'~."..--~..~_._-_.:....-_"-
323
Tiberiusand the PoliticalTestamentof Augustus
322 JOSIAH OBER
Suetonius (Aug. 98, 5; Tib. 21, 1), perhaps relying on an officialversioninthe
in showing the hypocrisy ofTiberius' vacillation than in describing the actual archives, gives much the same account and adds that whenTiberius arrivedhe
proceedings. It is possible that Tacitus read the relevant passage in his source and Augustus spent the whole day in confidential discussion (Tib. 21, 1:
hurriedly and thus may have himself conflated Tiberius' statement about the "fuitque una secreto per totum diem").Thus there was atradition, surely the
consiliumagainstexpansion, whichlogicallywouldhavefollowed immediately one Tiberius wished people to believe, that he had been present at Augustus'
upon thereadingofthebreviaryofempire,withthebreviaryitself.Whetheror deathbed and had been able to discuss matters with him in private. The
notoneacceptsthe revisedtranslation, theambiguityofTacitus'accountofthe discussion could well have included the subject of foreign policy.
consilium is explicable in light of his lack ofinterest in the actual proceedings Dio, however, did nqt believe that Tiberius had been able to visit with
and his consequent compression of the details. Augustusbeforethedeathofthelatter.Dioacceptedthedubioustraditionthat
Suetonius' silence on the subject of the political testament is also explained Livia poisoned Augustus and that Tiberius therefore had not been able to
by the assumption that there never was a written document containing arrive at the bedside before his predecessor expired from the (presumably
injunctions from Augustus and that Tiberius claimed to have received the rapid) effects of the drug. This version of events Dio claims (LVI, 31, 1) was
consilium against expansion verbally from his predecessor. Suetonius relied accepted by "most writers and the more trustworthy ones."S2IfTiberius had
heavily upon documents from Augustus' reign in writing his Life of not seen Augustus on his deathbed he could not have received injunctions
Augustus.so It was not until the Life of Tiberius that Suetonius (Tib. 23) from Augustus atthattimeand thus, iftheadviceagainstexpansionwhich,asI
mentionsTiberius' speechtotheSenate.Therefore,duetohisbiographicaland have argued, Tiberius claimed to have received verbally and which Dio
archival approach, Suetonius probably did not come across the consilium thoughtsosalutary,wastobepreservedawrittendocumentmustbeinvented.
mentioned by Tiberius until after completing his Ltfe ofAugustus. In any An analysis of Dio's language lends some credence to this theory for the
event, ifthere were no written injunctions Suetonius would not haveincluded creation of the political testament. Although Dio did not himself believethat
Augustan advice in his list of documents left after the emperor's death. Tiberius could have received last-minute advice from Augustus he does
mention (LVI, 31, 1) that "other writers" claimed that Tiberius was present
IV during Augustus' final illness and receivedcertaininjunctionsfromhimatthat
Au~Ei:v
time (btLoxi]'\V ; 'tLVo.i;;3tuQ' uu'tou Eq>UOUV). Ifourreconstructionof
ELC
The question of Dio's motivationfor the forgery remains. Why would Dio
events is correct, these writers (whoever they might be) presumably got their
feel it necessary to translate Augustus' verbal advice into awrittendocument?
evidencefor the tmoxi]'\VELi;;from the speech in whichTiberiusmentionedthe
The question is best answered by the assumption that Tiberius claimed the
verbal consilium. Dio rejected theiraccounts, but it is strikingthat heusedthe
advice was given to him by Augustus at the last possible time: at a deathbed
term t3tLoxi]'\VELi;; in his description ofthe fourth biblion(LVI, 33, 3): tV'toAo.i;;
meeting between the emperor and his intended successor. There are avariety Tt~EQL<P
xul tmoxi]'\VELi;; 't<p xul't<pXOLV<p...The fact thatDio uses the term
of traditions about the last days ofAugustus, butthe mostsignificantfor our
tmoxi]'\VELi;; to describe both the deathbed injunctions in which he disbelieved
purposes is that followed by Velleius Paterculus and Suetonius. Velleius was,
or claimed to be, a great admirer of Tiberius and wrote his history during
Tiberius' reign; his account is likely to reflect the official government
52 ThetraditionthatLiviapoisonedAugustusbecauseofanintriguewithAgrippaposthumous
position.s1 Velleius (II, 123) says that when Augustus knew his health was
isprobablylate.ItfirstappearsinDioLVI,30,2.Tacitus,Ann.I,5;Pliny, NHVII,45,150;and
failing he sent for Tiberius knowing "for whom he must send if he wished to Plutarch, Moralia508a-b,allmentiontheintrigue,butwereapparentlyignorantofthepoisoning
leave everying secure behind him." Tiberius arrived even before he was story. See especially M. P. Charlesworth, AJPhXLIV(1923), 145ff.; CRXLI (1927), 55ff.;H.
expected. Then Augustus, with his arms around Tiberius "commending Willrich, HermesLXII (1927), 77;R. H. Martin, CQN.S. V(1955), 123H.;C.Questa, PPXIV
(1959), 41H. Why Dioaccepted the poisoningstoryisamatterforspeculation.Dio(LVII, 12,3;
Tiberius to their joint work" ("commendans illi sua atque ipsius opera")
-LVII,3,3)statesthatLiviaherselfclaimedtohavemadeTiberiusemperor;perhapsDiotookthe
asserted that his mind was at ease and that he was prepared to meet his fate.
statement literally. Dio, however, generally gave credence to stories of violent successions (d.
Gaius' smothering of Tiberius, LVIII, 28, 3). It seems likely that Dio was influenced by the
50 TheimportanceofdocumentaryevidenceinSuetonius'LifeofAugustusisemphasizedbyE.
tendenciesofhisownageandfound ithardtoimaginethatAugustuscouldhavediedpeacefully,
D. Shuckburgh (ed.), C. Suetoni Tranqui/li:DivusAugustus(1896),xxxi-xxxii;Mace,op.cit.(n.
especiallysincetherewasapossibleclaimantforthethroneinthepersonofAgrippaPosthumous.
3), 110-166.Seealso above, n. 4.
ThusDiowasconditionedtoacceptthestoryofLivia'smurderousplotswhenhecameacrossitin
51 Sumner, art. cit. (n. 15), 270,296,argues convincinglythatVelleius admiredTiberius. Cf.
Woodman,op.cit.(n.12),46-56.Velleius'historywaswritteninA.D.29/30;seeSumner,op.cit., hissources.
284ff.
21'
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