Dominate
Encyclopedia
The Dominate was the "despotic
" latter phase of government in the ancient Roman Empire
from the conclusion of the Third Century Crisis
of 235–284 until the formal date of the collapse of the Western Empire
in AD 476. It followed the period known as the Principate
. In the Eastern half of the Empire, and especially from the time of Justinian I
, the system of the Dominate evolved into Byzantine
absolutism.
The word is derived from the Latin
dominus, meaning lord or master, an owner versus his slave—this had been used sycophantically to address emperors from the Julio-Claudian (first) dynasty on, but not used by them as a style—Tiberius
in particular is said to have reviled it openly. It became common under Diocletian
, who is therefore a logical choice as the first ruler of the "early" dominate. Historian David Potter describes the transformation of government under Diocletian when describing the shifts in imagery the Emperor used to display his power (in this case the building of a huge new palace at Sirmium
):
During the Principate
, the formalities of the constitutionally-never-abolished Roman Republic were still very much the "politically correct" image of Imperial government. It has also often been said to have ended after the 235–284 AD Crisis of the Third Century
, which concluded when Diocletian established himself as Emperor. Moving the notion of the Emperor away from the republican forms of the Empire's first three centuries, Diocletian introduced a novel system of joint rule by four monarchs, the Tetrarchy
, and he and his colleagues and his successors (in two imperial territories, east and west, not four) chose to stop using the title princeps. Instead, they openly displayed the naked face of Imperial power, adopting a Hellenistic style of government more influenced by the veneration of the Eastern potentates of ancient Egypt
and Persia than by the heritage of civic collegiality amongst the Roman governing class passed down from the days of the "uncrowned" Roman Republic
.
Emperors of the Principate, emulating Augustus in his fiction of a republican government, created the idea of the Emperor as a concentration of the various civil and military offices upon one individual, nevertheless hiding any autocratic or despotic connotations by the preservation of the Senate and other facets of the Republican period, such as the annual paired consulship. After Diocletian, however, Emperors started to wear jeweled robes and shoes (in contrast with the simple toga praetexta used by Principate Emperors in emulation of Augustus), inhabiting luxurious palaces (the ruins of Diocletian's enormous palace in Dalmatia
survive to this day; see Diocletian's Palace
) and surrounded by a court of individuals who, only due to the favor and proximity of the Emperor, attained the highest honorific titles and bureaucratic functions. In fact, many offices associated with the palatine life and that suggested intimate relationship with royalty eventually developed connotations of power, such as the offices of Chamberlain
and Constable
. The titles of Senator and Consul, after the loss of every residue of political power they had had in the Principate, became a honorific in the later Empire.
The adoption of Dominus as a formal title reflected the divine status (divus) that has come to be a prerogative of the Imperial position. Originally an exceptional honour awarded by the Senate to an Emperor posthumously, the elevation had devolved to an expected convention for still living Ceasars. To dissuade the rebellions and usurpations of the Crisis of the Third Century
, the Emperors sought the kind of divine legitimacy invoked by Eastern monarchies
, importing rituals such as kneeling before the Emperor and kissing of the hem of the Imperial robe (proskynesis
). After the personal adoption of Christianity by Constantine I
(312) and its installation as the official state religion by Theodosius
as the state religion in 380, Imperial divinity became directly associated with the Christian Church. In the Eastern Roman Empire after AD 476
, the symbiotic relation between the Imperial Crown in Constantinople
and the Orthodox Church led to the distinctive character of the medieval Byzantine state.
Another clear symptom of the upgrading of the imperial status was the notion of the emperor as an incarnation of the majesty
of Rome; thus lèse majesté
became high treason.
Present historians reject the interpretation of the transition from Principate to Dominate as a clear, easily definable break (cf. Late Antiquity
). Rather, they now characterize it as a much more subtle, gradual transformation, in which Diocletian's reforms of the Imperial office, while significant, are but one point on a sliding scale. Nevertheless, the distinction between two primary phases of Imperial government in Rome remains an important and useful one.
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
" latter phase of government in the ancient Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
from the conclusion of the Third Century Crisis
Crisis of the Third Century
The Crisis of the Third Century was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression...
of 235–284 until the formal date of the collapse of the Western Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
in AD 476. It followed the period known as the Principate
Principate
The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate. The Principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the Emperors to preserve the...
. In the Eastern half of the Empire, and especially from the time of Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
, the system of the Dominate evolved into Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
absolutism.
The word is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
dominus, meaning lord or master, an owner versus his slave—this had been used sycophantically to address emperors from the Julio-Claudian (first) dynasty on, but not used by them as a style—Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
in particular is said to have reviled it openly. It became common under Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
, who is therefore a logical choice as the first ruler of the "early" dominate. Historian David Potter describes the transformation of government under Diocletian when describing the shifts in imagery the Emperor used to display his power (in this case the building of a huge new palace at Sirmium
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in ancient Roman Pannonia. Firstly mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by the Illyrians and Celts, it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Lower Pannonia. In 294 AD, Sirmium was...
):
The style of Government so memorably described by Marcus, whereby the emperor sought to show himself as a model of correct aristocratic deportment, had given way to a style in which the emperor was seen to be distinct from all other mortals. His house could no longer be a grander version of houses that other people might live in: it, like him, had to be different.
During the Principate
Principate
The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate. The Principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the Emperors to preserve the...
, the formalities of the constitutionally-never-abolished Roman Republic were still very much the "politically correct" image of Imperial government. It has also often been said to have ended after the 235–284 AD Crisis of the Third Century
Crisis of the Third Century
The Crisis of the Third Century was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression...
, which concluded when Diocletian established himself as Emperor. Moving the notion of the Emperor away from the republican forms of the Empire's first three centuries, Diocletian introduced a novel system of joint rule by four monarchs, the Tetrarchy
Tetrarchy
The term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire...
, and he and his colleagues and his successors (in two imperial territories, east and west, not four) chose to stop using the title princeps. Instead, they openly displayed the naked face of Imperial power, adopting a Hellenistic style of government more influenced by the veneration of the Eastern potentates of ancient Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Persia than by the heritage of civic collegiality amongst the Roman governing class passed down from the days of the "uncrowned" Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
.
Emperors of the Principate, emulating Augustus in his fiction of a republican government, created the idea of the Emperor as a concentration of the various civil and military offices upon one individual, nevertheless hiding any autocratic or despotic connotations by the preservation of the Senate and other facets of the Republican period, such as the annual paired consulship. After Diocletian, however, Emperors started to wear jeweled robes and shoes (in contrast with the simple toga praetexta used by Principate Emperors in emulation of Augustus), inhabiting luxurious palaces (the ruins of Diocletian's enormous palace in Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
survive to this day; see Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace is a building in Split, Croatia, that was built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD.Diocletian built the massive palace in preparation for his retirement on 1 May 305 AD. It lies in a bay on the south side of a short peninsula running out from...
) and surrounded by a court of individuals who, only due to the favor and proximity of the Emperor, attained the highest honorific titles and bureaucratic functions. In fact, many offices associated with the palatine life and that suggested intimate relationship with royalty eventually developed connotations of power, such as the offices of Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
and Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
. The titles of Senator and Consul, after the loss of every residue of political power they had had in the Principate, became a honorific in the later Empire.
The adoption of Dominus as a formal title reflected the divine status (divus) that has come to be a prerogative of the Imperial position. Originally an exceptional honour awarded by the Senate to an Emperor posthumously, the elevation had devolved to an expected convention for still living Ceasars. To dissuade the rebellions and usurpations of the Crisis of the Third Century
Crisis of the Third Century
The Crisis of the Third Century was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression...
, the Emperors sought the kind of divine legitimacy invoked by Eastern monarchies
Oriental despotism
Oriental despotism is a term used to describe a despotic form of government that opposes the western tradition. Historically, the term's meaning has varied and today it is hardly ever used at all, largely because of all the issues surrounding the concept of orientalism.- Origins in Ancient Greece...
, importing rituals such as kneeling before the Emperor and kissing of the hem of the Imperial robe (proskynesis
Proskynesis
Proskynesis refers to the traditional Persian act of prostrating oneself before a person of higher social rank....
). After the personal adoption of Christianity by Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
(312) and its installation as the official state religion by Theodosius
Theodosius
Theodosius is a name which might refer to one of several people:* One of three emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium:** Theodosius I , son of Count Theodosius...
as the state religion in 380, Imperial divinity became directly associated with the Christian Church. In the Eastern Roman Empire after AD 476
476
Year 476 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Basiliscus and Armatus...
, the symbiotic relation between the Imperial Crown in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and the Orthodox Church led to the distinctive character of the medieval Byzantine state.
Another clear symptom of the upgrading of the imperial status was the notion of the emperor as an incarnation of the majesty
Majesty
Majesty is an English word derived ultimately from the Latin maiestas, meaning "greatness".- Origin :Originally, during the Roman republic, the word maiestas was the legal term for the supreme status and dignity of the state, to be respected above everything else...
of Rome; thus lèse majesté
Lèse majesté
Lese-majesty is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome...
became high treason.
Present historians reject the interpretation of the transition from Principate to Dominate as a clear, easily definable break (cf. Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
). Rather, they now characterize it as a much more subtle, gradual transformation, in which Diocletian's reforms of the Imperial office, while significant, are but one point on a sliding scale. Nevertheless, the distinction between two primary phases of Imperial government in Rome remains an important and useful one.