Saturday, December 5, 2009

Notes - Chapt 3 - The Constitution of the Roman Empire - Age of the Antonines

Gibbons proceeds to set forth the manner in which the Roman Empire was governed. He defines a monarchy as a state in which one supreme leader is entrusted with the execution of the laws, the management of the revenue and the command of the army. We might also call this a military dictatorship. We must remember however, that this was a different age from ours. Considering the development of government during the 18th century, Gibbon may be drawing parallels to his own age, during which the French and American Revolutions took place.

He comments on how Augustus stripped the Senate of its independence, thus strengthening his own powers. The generals had absolute authority and power over their soldiers and the people they conquered and subsequently governed in the provinces. In fact they were monarchs or despots of their own territory.

Gibbon describes how starting with Augustus, the power of the Senate, the natural balance against a despotic monarchy, was eroded over the years to the point where he would define the governance of the Roman Empire as an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms of a commonwealth. The honours bestowed upon the emperor naturally culminated in their deification. With the adoption of the successor as a son, the emperor assumed the status of a god.

Taking us through the age of the Antonines, he lauds the wisdom of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, a practicing Stoic and philosopher who detested war. He is upheld as the example of a benevolent ruler. The benevolent Age of the Antonines is both preceded and succeeded by unworthy despotic regimes, starting with the reign of Commodus, which will be described in the next chapter.

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