05-05-2013, 05:33 PM
I had a nice long post prepared, with plenty of quotes and references and examples and explanations, but it wouldn't let me post it. I tried from Chrome and Internet Explorer and got the same thing with both. :x
Anywho, the gist was that I don't think there was a single crowning ceremony, at least early in the Principate. The Emperor was a man with a plethora of different powers and titles - tribune, Pontifex Maximus, censor, consular imperium, and all that. I think that the "crowning" of an Emperor consisted of his getting these individual powers conferred upon him separately. For some of them, like consul, we have pretty good sources that tell us how it was done. Most of the ceremonies were religious in nature, and finally they needed to be confirmed by the Senate to make it official.
Anywho, the gist was that I don't think there was a single crowning ceremony, at least early in the Principate. The Emperor was a man with a plethora of different powers and titles - tribune, Pontifex Maximus, censor, consular imperium, and all that. I think that the "crowning" of an Emperor consisted of his getting these individual powers conferred upon him separately. For some of them, like consul, we have pretty good sources that tell us how it was done. Most of the ceremonies were religious in nature, and finally they needed to be confirmed by the Senate to make it official.
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
www.davidcord.com
