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EMPEROR

Originally an honorific title (Lat. imperator) granted to Roman commanders by their soldiers after a victory. Octavian (Augustus Caesar) began the tradition of taking the title as a part of his name, apparently to lay unique claim to military authority. Most subsequent Roman emperors adopted the title upon accession. In the later empire, an emperor might be proclaimed imperator several times by his army following notable victories. The term that actually communicated the status of emperor was “Augustus.”

The creation of the position of emperor by Octavian had earlier precedents. Since the deposal of the last Tarquin king in 510 b.c.e., Rome had been a republic governed largely by a senate composed of aristocrats, with an assembly of common people represented by tribunes, who theoretically held veto power over senatorial legislation. However, the successes of the Roman armies resulted in the control of vast territories in the Mediterranean world and the rise to prominence and power of several generals, which threatened the traditional republican structure. The senate recognized the necessity of having powerful leaders but resisted losing its rule. The First Triumvirate — Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus — represented a careful balancing of these concerns, but Caesar became prominent and was reluctantly acknowledged as “dictator” by the senate. His assassination by several senators was the death blow to the old republican government.

The Second Triumvirate, established in the crisis of Caesar’s death, fell to the victories of Octavian over his rivals and led to his absolute rule. Now one person, by virtue primarily of military strength, was recognized as the supreme leader of the empire. The power of the emperor was enhanced by his role as commander of the armies, his personal praetorian guard, his presiding at public games and ceremonies, his appointive and legislative powers, his alliances with the equestrian (knights) class, his patronage of the general populace, and his bureaucracy mostly of freedmen. The status of emperors was further enhanced by the worship of Octavian and the establishment of the cult of Divus Augustus following his death. Though promoted through the building of temples by later emperors, only a few (e.g., Caligula, Domitian) advocated their own worship.

Bibliography. M. Cary and H. H. Scullard, A History of Rome: Down to the Reign of Constantine, 3rd ed. (New York, 1975); F. Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World, 31 b.c.–a.d. 337, 2nd ed. (Ithaca, 1992); C. Scarre, Chronicle of the Roman Emperors (London, 1995).

Scott Nash

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

EMPEROR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)