| The Fathers of the Roman senate were very attentive to ambassadorial missions in the second century. They were especially careful to fill their eastern delegations with knowledgeable men. They dispatched senators who were familiar with the Greeks, who had years of diplomatic experience and military service in the Hellenistic world. But the Fathers never developed a professional diplomatic corps. They were reluctant to criticize fellow senators or to hold them accountable. As a consequence, many delegates used their appointments to solicit clients and to accumulate gifts and favors. Eventually such self-interested enterprises were actually sanctioned by the senate: the libera legatio allowed prominent Romans to travel abroad with all the perks of senatorial assignment, but without any of the responsibilities. Rome thus operated in the Greek world without an effective diplomatic service and instead relied on force. |
