Augustus Relationship With The Senate

This essay will discuss the question of whether equestrians were more important than senators in the running of the empire. In doing so, I shall evaluate the role of both the Senate and individual equestrians under the Julio-Claudian emperors. I will investigate Augustus’ actions towards the Senate and his raising of the Equestrian Order, Tiberius’ relationship with the Senate and the role of Sejanus, Gaius’ relationship with the Senate, Claudius’ actions towards the Senate and his promotion of equestrians, and finally Nero, his relationship with the Senate, his use of freedmen and the role of Seneca. Whilst I acknowledge that Augustus came from an equestrian family and so did the Flavians, I am omitting the Flavian Dynasty as I wish to assess …show more content…
If this is true, it suggests that during this early stage of the Principate that the office of equestrian was not considered pre-eminent such that a non-Roman (who had been granted Roman citizenship) might take an office and rank which would allow him to conduct business with some of the wealthiest people in the city of Rome. It is worth noting that he is not inducted into the Senate as we later see with the Gauls under Claudius. It therefore appears that the position of senator was too highly esteemed simply to be conferred on an ethnically non-Roman or Italian and that such a move might have been embarrassing and defamatory to the honour of the patres …show more content…
If being of senatorial rank was such an important factor in Roman administration, we must ask why anyone would willingly refuse such a rank. This may have been due to the Lex Claudia which forbade senators from engaging in trade and other business deals, at least on the face of things. In becoming a senator or assuming such a status, an equestrian would thereafter be legally obliged to cease business and thus would lose money. Thus, an equestrian might lose the right to conduct business whilst still possessing the necessary capital for his rank which was introduced by Augustus. However, there is evidence to suggest that this law was not vociferously upheld as seen from Cicero’s comment “those are old and dead laws…which forbid it.” If this is truly the case, then the reason for refusing senatorial status may lie in the equestrians’ greater role in administration. Moreover, Brunt asserts that senators and equestrians alike could engage in trade, manufacture and moneylending activities which appears to disprove the assertion that they refused the rank due to the loss of ability to conduct business. Aspiring Romans merely had to look at the previous principes and Sejanus’ term to see that equestrians could play a key role in state governance. In all, it is clear