Fasti Cretae Et Cyrenarum: Imperial Magistrates of Crete and Cyrenaica During the Julio-Claudian Period (Roman Empire).

Abstract

Among senatorial provinces of praetorian grade, Crete and Cyrenaica has the highest known survival rate for names of proconsuls. This prosopographical study of the Roman magistrates of the province in the Julio-Claudian period contributes above all to our knowledge of provincial fasti, an important aspect of Roman political and social history. The study has involved both the establishing of a complete chronological list of magistrates and an analysis of their administrative functions in the province. Crete and Cyrenaica constituted an unusual administrative unit; therefore the mechanisms by which the conventional system operated and was adapted to the bureaucratic needs of this province are addressed. A special feature of this dissertation lies in the attempt to determine the social st and ing and geographical origins of the officials involved. Most of the men who governed this province were new men in the Roman senate or first generation viri praetorii, for whom this proconsulate was the high point of their careers. The individuals encountered--who occupied the lower echelons of the Roman political elite--are unlikely to have been subjects of study elsewhere; we are thus presented with an opportunity to study the less distinguished men of Italy and the provinces who entered the ranks of the Roman senate and whose backgrounds and careers reflect the patterns of social mobility in the early years of the principate. The first chapter discusses the republican background and origins of the province, the history of previous scholarship, the titulature of magistrates, the provinces with which Crete and Cyrenaica can be compared, our sources of information and methods of analysis, the careers of Julio-Claudian magistrates, the origins of proconsuls, the social status of magistrates, magisterial activities, and other aspects of the Roman presence. The five subsequent chapters constitute a prosopographical catalog of magistrates in the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius-Claudius, and Nero. For each entry, the ancient testimonia are presented first, followed by analysis and discussion. Appendices include a complete chronological list of magistrates from Augustus to Diocletian, a list of imperial procurators from Augustus to Diocletian, and an index of sources discussed.