Strategie matrimoniali e successione. Augusto e le difficoltà di dar vita a una dinastia

Abstract

Augustus wanted a member of his family to succeed him, and he began planning for this to happen from as early as Marcellus was still alive. Augustus was vitally concerned with descent by blood. There can be little doubt in this light that dynastic succession took place in Rome during the lifetime of Augustus. In fact, it began with the rise of Octavian himself in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination. This planning obviously had implications for the state, as everyone surely knew about it, even if the message was not made explicit. The Julian family increasingly became identified with the Roman state in fundamental, practical ways. However no definite affirmation of (dynastic) Principate over (personal) principate was ever made. Augustus respectfully chose to emphasize the importance of law and tradition as the cornerstones of his rule. The constitutional ‘settlements’ of 27, 23 and 19 BC are often interpreted in relation to concerns about autocracy, whereas the creation of a dynasty tends to be discussed in connection with later events. Nevertheless, it seems probable, however, that the ideas of autocracy and dynasty were linked ideas from the start.

Keywords: Augustus descent, succession planning, domus Augusta, dynastic principate, autocracy