Holders of Extraordinary imperium under Augustus and Tiberius

Book excerpt: This volume focuses on special military and diplomatic missions in various provinces of the Empire that Augustus and Tiberius entrusted to selected members of the domus Augusta, granting them special prerogatives (imperia extraordinaria). Sawiński compares and analyses various primary and secondary sources exploring special powers and missions in the provinces of the domus Augusta during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, from 27 BC to AD 23, from border regions on the Rhine and the Danube to client states such as Judaea and Armenia. It explores the legal aspects of these powers wielded in the provinces and how these missions and the subsequent honours helped to solidify power within a new hereditary system of power. The reader will also find in it a critical discussion of the current state of research on this subject. Holders of Extraordinary Imperium under Augustus and Tiberius offers an important study of these powers and prerogatives of the imperial family that will be of interest to anyone working on the Augustan age, the early Empire and Principate, and the Roman imperial family. This volume should also prove useful to students of archaeology and art history.