| According to Max Weber, revolutionary transformation results from charismatic leadership. This charisma is defined as "a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities" (Economy and Society I.241). No one can deny that Augustus' "Roman revolution," to borrow a phrase from Syme, required such charisma. But while other Republican leaders had possessed the same quality (e.g. Marius, Sulla, Julius Caesar), Augustus' revolutionary measures, unlike theirs, outlived the charismatic leader. In Weberian terms, this resulted from the routinization of charisma.; This dissertation examines several key issues of the development of the principate. Why does Tiberius accept responsibility for consolidating a hereditary monarchy? And more importantly, how does an unpopular ruler like Tiberius secure the acceptance of Augustus' position in the state as a hereditary position? Is Tiberius consistent throughout his reign in following Augustus' facta dictaque vice legis (Tac. Ann. IV.37)? Finally, how does Tiberius routinize the charisma of Augustus into a system which would survive no matter how uncharismatic the emperor might be?; Beginning with an inspection of the assumption of power by Tiberius (chapter one), this study continues (chapter two) with an analysis of the imperial cult as it developed into an institution under Tiberius. Although the ideology of Tiberius' reign consistently promoted the image and ideals of Augustus while Tiberius himself remained in the background (chapter three), Tiberius nonetheless established stability in a previously unstable system (chapter four) by confirming the charisma of Augustus in its depersonalized form. Although forced to confront the problematic legal issues in preserving Augustus' maiestas and that of the principate, Tiberius nevertheless protected the image of the domus Augusta and ensured the peaceful succession of Caligula (chapter five). As a result, the image of Augustus as the ideal ruler continued to justify the office of the principate long after the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (chapter 6). |
