The legacy of one of the most powerful states in the world - the Roman Empire - we still use. The system of European values, legal rights cannot be comprehended without knowledge of the foundations and principles of public administration of Ancient Rome. That is why the political heritage of the empire is still being studied at law schools. One of the important concepts that came to us from the Roman past is the principle.
Meaning of the word
The emergence of the ancient Roman state is attributed to the genius of Octavian Augustus. It was he who built new political relations on the basis of archaic interactions of power and society. It was thanks to Augustus that the principate appeared. This definition can be explained as the "power of principle." Who were the princes of ancient Rome? Consider this issue.
In essence, a principate is a cross between a leader and a monarch. There was still someone to protect the ancient rights and freedoms of the tribes - the polis structures based on the principles of archaic democracy still existed. Octavian at the dawn of his dominion had to reckon with the legacy of the polis, although the time of republican traditions almost passed by the beginning of a new era. By the middle of the 1st century AD e. a shift in political emphasis has already taken place from elective power to imperial absolutism - the Roman power has become more bureaucratic in essence and less “Roman” in spirit.
The power of principles
As a political system, the principle is the minimum number of officials and relatively strong centralization. The legacy from the time of the Republic of Rome went to a paradoxical, in modern opinion, bureaucratic system, consisting of slave officials. Each slave belonged to one or another Roman who occupied a public post. The richer the master was, the more slaves he could set aside to carry out his own state duties. Paradoxically, the principle is the era where slaves could reach the very heights of real power in ancient Rome and rule the empire on a par with their masters. At local levels, management was carried out by a council of decurions, for whom this power was honorable in itself, and who did not receive any funds from Rome for service. In fact, the empire was managed quite effectively, while spending minimal resources to finance the system.
Dominate appearance
Subsequent rulers successfully ruled the Octavian system, strengthening the monarchical principle, but not abolishing the tradition of policies. The era of the principate ended in the 3rd century, when the empire was headed by Septimius Severus. During his reign, the principle of the complete domination of the monarch was developed and began to be introduced into political life. Such a system of government was called the dominate.
Characteristic features of the principle and dominate
What is the difference between these two types of political system, separated by one century? Under the principle, the appearance of the republican form of government is preserved : there are elected bodies of power, the Senate is convening. But in fact, the principle is almost a monarchy. All elective appointments are in fact controlled by the principle. The supreme ruler simultaneously performs the functions of priest, supreme judge, commander in chief, and tribune.
The powers of public assemblies were significantly limited. They rarely gathered, and their decisions could be annulled by principle at any time. Nevertheless, the Senate, and popular assemblies, and magistrates still existed, although their role was almost decorative. The management rule “what the principles decided - becomes the law” receives widespread confirmation.
The reign of Septimus Severus put everything in its place. It was in the 3rd century AD e. the differences between the principle and dominate were especially pronounced. National assemblies dissolve and forever leave the political life of the empire. The powers of local governments have significantly reduced. State administration is handled by several departments, which are managed by dignitaries. The role of slaves decreases, and aristocrats are seriously engaged in official work. Officials began to be directly financed from the treasury, and now they have the right to retirement.
The importance of dominants for European history
The dominance system was so effective that it retained its significance even after the division of the empire into its western and eastern parts. At first, such a division was positioned as a purely administrative procedure that helps to manage both parts of the state equally effectively - from Rome and from Constantinople. But after the border they became more serious, and the huge state fell into two parts, more and more separated from each other both in the methods of political governance and in religious and secular life.
Dominance as a political form of government was continued during the formation of monarchical states in Western Europe. Its foundations formed the basis for building absolute monarchies of the European type.