Caesar Rules: The Emperor in the Changing Roman World

by Olvier Hekster

For centuries, Roman emperors ruled a vast empire. Yet, at least officially, the emperor did not exist. No one knew exactly what titles he possessed, how he could be portrayed, what exactly he had to do, or how the succession was organised. Everyone knew, however, that the emperor held ultimate power over the empire. There were also expectations about what he should do and be, although these varied throughout the empire and also evolved over time. How did these expectations develop and change? To what degree could an emperor deviate from prevailing norms? And what role did major developments in Roman society – such as the rise of Christianity or the choice of Constantinople as the new capital – play in the ways in which emperors could exercise their rule? This ambitious and engaging book describes the surprising stability of the Roman Empire over more than six centuries of history.

Genres: History

348 pages, Hardcover

Published February 2, 2023

Reviews

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Roman emperors, I can definitely recommend this as an exciting read, a book with many innovative concepts and a good source book with many primary sources and a multilingual bibliography.

The Roman emperor is a surprisingly enigmatic figure. He didn’t exist at all (in a certain sense). Instead, his image is so multilayered that it’s hard to talk about ‘the emperor’. Simultaneously, this seemingly omnipotent figure is constrained by the expectations of his subjects.

This argument will be demonstrated and explained by looking at the visual communication of what an emperor ‘looks’ like: his titles, his portraits, his dress and other symbols which marked him out. These symbols were always placed in a familiar context and sometimes conflicted with each other or precedents. After that, there will be focus on what the emperor ‘does’: he has multiple roles as a military figure, as a priest and as an official. Successful emperors often managed to present themselves as excelling at all these roles simultaneously. The people around the emperor were just as important: institutional groups (senators and bishops), personal favourites and family members all competed for the emperor’s ear. Whoever had it, could exercise a substantial influence on the emperor; this explains why imperial proximity (or knowing someone close) was a much sought after commodity. Lastly, the local variations of the expectations of emperorship will be explored: this was largely influenced by the memoryscape where people lived. These memoryscapes are both products of local interpretation as they shape expectations in their own right.

Overall, highly recommended.