the provincialisation of 305

The Provincialisation of Rome

Jesper Majbom Madsen

In a debate in the Senate, Claudius argued that the nobility of Gallia Co- mata should be admitted to the council and counted among Rome’s - litical élite: Everything, Senators, which we now hold to be of the highest antiquity, was once new. Plebeian magistrates came after the patricians; after plebe- ians; magistrates from other Italian peoples after the Latins. This practice too [the admission of the Gallic nobility] will establish itself, and what we are this day justifying by precedents, will itself be a precedent. , Ann. 11.24 (tr. Church and Brodribb, slightly amended) In the eyes of the 2nd-century historian and senator Cornelius Tacitus, who himself had a provincial background, an essential aspect of Roman self-perception was a multi-ethnic community inhabited by different peo- ple bound together by a strong sense of loyalty to Rome. Since its founda- tion, the city of Rome had first defeated and later affiliated her and Italian neighbors, assimilated the conquered élite in the Senate, and al- lowed the newcomers to take on magistracies and promagistracies. As Ro- man power expanded outside this strategy was continued. A still larger number of provincials settled in the capital, and illustrious men from Spain, Gallia Narbonensis, North Africa, and Asia Minor were enrolled in the Senate.1 As suggested by Tacitus’ account quoted above, the inclusion of the provincial élite accelerated under Claudius with the admission of the Comatan élite. In his speech, Claudius argues on ideological and prac- tical grounds. First, assimilation of foreigners and former enemies had a long tradition and the resultant strength made the Empire more successful than, for instance, Athens and Sparta had been. Secondly, and perhaps less glorious, it was better to have the newly admitted élite spend their money in Rome than in their home towns (Tac. Ann. 11.24). The admission of the provincial élites was taken a step further under Vespasian and the other Flavians. When censor in ad 73–74 Vespasian car- ried through a large reformation of the Senate. Newcomers were admitted

1 Eck 2000, 218-19. 306 jesper majbom madsen to the ranks of quaestors, aediles or , individuals who were already members of the Senate were moved to higher ranks, and families were awarded patrician status. The reason behind this dramatic reorganisation was practical as well as political. Nero’s falling-out with the Senate had led to numerous maiestas trials and the deaths of senators; and more members of the élite lost their life in the Civil Wars of ad 69.2 New blood and more money were needed to ensure a functional Senate and to maintain a form of organisation where governmental responsibility remained in the hands of the élite. By including the provincial aristocracy in greater numbers and by promoting the more illustrious of their body to the Roman élite, Vespa- sian and his sons solved the crisis and at the same time accommodated the ambitions of a wealthy and dedicated group, who in return showed both gratitude and loyalty to the dynasty. The course of this development and how the admission to the Senate of the provincial élite influenced the concept of Roman imperialism is the subject of the present chapter. A key question to be addressed here is how men of provincial background perceived and enforced Roman rule in their allocated provinces. Did magistrates and promagistrates of provincial background represent Roman interests or were they encouraged to pro- mote the interests of the provincial communities in which they served? Another question is the provincial perception of Roman rule and of their peers who followed a career in Roman administration. How did members of the provincial élite, who remained at home instead of pursuing a career in the provincial administration, view those who left the provinces with such ambitions? There were notable differences in the way élites around the Empire were admitted to the Senate. As will be discussed below, these discrepancies in the integration of the local élite was closely tied to the state of development in the newly conquered area as well as to of the need to introduce Roman laws, customs, and ways of urban living in the newly established provinces.

1. Turning Roman in the Provinces

Although aristocrats from the East were among the first non- to achieve seats in the Senate, it was in the western provinces that the first efforts to include the local aristocracy were made.3 A key element was

2 Eck 2000, 216-17. 3 Among the first Greek senators were Q. Pompeius Macer who was appointed prator under Tiberius in ad 15. Macer was the son of Cn. Pompeius Macer, procurator under