Augustus Ascendant Part 12

From Anthony Everitt's Augustus on page 229: "Augustus was a reformer who liked to move at a snail's pace. In many aspects of his administration, change and innovation proceeded step by step over many years.

Time and again, he did his best to improve the functioning of the Senate, which, together with the people, remained the legal source of authority in the state. Rather than appoint more censors, the princeps decided in 18 B.C. to use his new consular authority to act as censor himself (as he and Agrippa had done in 28 B.C.) and review the membership of the Senate. He raised the minimum wealth of a senator from 400,000 sesterces to 1 million sesterces, a substantial sum of money. This set a significant distance between the senatorial and the equestrian orders, and helped to create a distinct senatorial class. Birth as well as property became a qualification. In the days of the Republic only senators could lay claim to senatorial status, but from now on sons of senators acquired the status as of right, while others were obliged to apply for it.

As the princeps had discovered ten years previously, cleansing the Senate of its reprobates wasa tricky and unpopular excercise. His dream was to reduce it to three hundred members, which would make it a much more effective legislative body. He devised an ingenious scheme, which was intended to achieve his objective with the least possible blame attaching to him.

He selected thirty senators, each of whom was there to choose a further five. Each group of five would be choose one of its number by lot, who would become a senator. This man would repeat the process, which was to continue until three hundred senators had been found. The scheme being too clever by half, various malpractices developed, the proceedings ground to a confused halt, and Augustus was obliged to take over the selection himself. He ended up by creating a Senate of six hundred members and seriously annoying a large number of people. In compensation, he gave various privileges to those who had been expelled. They were allowed to stand for election to the various offices of state; in due course. Most of them returned to the Senate."

Augustus had thought out his "revisions" to the Senate in the most miniscule detail- and after all of this it was almost a completely wasted effort. Augustus did continue to accord the Senate with great repsect and dignity, and also sought out its advice. Augustus even encouraged senators to speak their minds- and some took him up on it. Most senators, however, didn't live up to Augustus' expectations of them, and in 17 BC fines for nonattendance were increased and quorums were established for particular varieties of interests. Augustus also took steps to expedite decision-making sometime between 27 and 18 BC.

Going back to Augustus on page 230: "...He set up a senatorial standing committee, which consisted of himself; one or both consuls, one each from the quaestors, aediles, and praetors, and fifteen other senators chosen by lot. Some members changed every six months and the whole committee once a year, except for the princeps. Its task was to prepare business for full sessions of the Senate."

It should be noted that the standing committee idea also didn't work well. This may have been exactly what Augustus had planned. Between the high number (for an executive decision making body) of 21 and the quick turnover in members it is no wonder the group floundered. This left Augustus and a small informal group of advisers-called the amici Caesaris, "Caesar's friends," to "guide" debate in the Senate. We can only imagine that will of this scheming and maneuvering by Augustus, that the senators-and indeed any officeholders, must have been quite confused at times as just to what their job really was and how to do it!

I will again lean on Anthony Everitt and Augustus to explain more fully on page 230: "The Senate's powers remained advisory in principle, and bills were still laid before popular assemblies for approval. However, its decrees or senatus consulta were increasingly regarded as binding, especially when specifically supported or initiated by the princeps.

Both the Senate and the princeps acquired new legal powers. The old republican courts of law, the iudicia publica, remained in being, presided over by praetors. But cases of treason or otherwise high high political importance could be brought to one of two new courts, the princeps in council or the consuls in the Senate, against which there was no appeal. The ever growing number of citizens made it impractical to remit all criminal prosecutions to Rome, so proconsuls were given the authority to carry out judicial functions."

I hope to post again here soon - as I have a lot of information ready. Thanks for anyone commenting or following this blog. All the best to anyone stopping by!