Coming to Terms with Dynastic Power, 30 BC–AD 69
By Alison E. Cooley
Abstract: The chapter starts with an assessment of the importance of Italy’s support for Augustus in the lead up to Actium, and how the theme of tota Italia continued to be promoted afterwards. It explores the impact upon Italy of the emergence not only of a de facto monarch, but also of the accompanying domus Augusta and imperial court: the change in political regime at Rome came to impinge not only upon Italy’s political landscape, but also upon its religious and economic character. Members of the imperial family were major landowners and exploited natural resources of their properties outside Rome. Imperial slaves and freedmen were active in promoting the emperor’s economic interests beyond Rome. It also changed the ways in which buildings were constructed, how local elites represented themselves, and the degree to which they became integrated into political life at Rome. The chapter ends with the impact upon Italy of the civil wars of AD 68–69.
Chapter in Cooley, A. (2016) A Companion to Roman Italy.
Published by Wiley-Blackwell.