Читать книгу Why Rome Fell - Michael Arnheim - Страница 63

This brings us back to the fundamental question: Was monarchical power under Diocletian and the tetrarchy more autocratic than imperial power under the Principate? As mentioned above, unlike Augustus, Diocletian was not in the least bit bashful about revealing his power. Indeed, on the contrary, he revelled in displaying it. Gone was Augustus’s demure, even modest demeanor, replaced by pomp and bombast although, as we have seen, a number of Augustus’s successors had already blazed a trail toward the ostentation of the Dominate. We have the valuable insider view of the Emperor Julian, who was not taken in by the play-acting of either Augustus or Diocletian. And neither was Gibbon, from his very different vantage point. In sum, Diocletian’s actual power was probably not much greater, if at all, than that of Augustus three centuries earlier.

The real difference between these two great rulers was in their perception of threats to their position. Augustus’s elaborate charade was undoubtedly prompted by his concern not to meet the same fate as his adoptive father assassinated by a small band of aristocrats. Hence, he eschewed titles like “king” and “dictator” redolent of one-man rule while, at the same time, he fostered his inherited popularity with the masses, who shared none of the aristocracy’s republican sensibilities but actually wanted a strong ruler to champion their cause.

Diocletian had nothing but scorn and disdain for the senatorial aristocracy, which he demonstrated by essentially removing them from practically all positions of power. They had already been largely sidelined by successive emperors, so Diocletian had nothing to fear from them. And, as for the plebs urbana, the common people of Rome, he did nothing to court them either. He hardly ever set foot in Rome, which he clearly regarded as the capital of the Empire in name only. He came to power through the army, and any threat to his position would come from that quarter. Enough of his predecessors over the past century had been overthrown by military force. Hence his close attention to the army, which not only protected his position as emperor but also shored up the integrity of the empire. So, although Diocletian’s power may not have been any greater than that of Augustus, his power-base was very different.