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1 results

  • 3 - Modelling the Emperor

  • Edited by Amy Russell, Brown University, Rhode Island, Monica Hellström, University of Durham
  • Book:
    The Social Dynamics of Roman Imperial Imagery
    Published online:
    09 November 2020
    Print publication:
    12 November 2020, pp 52-75

  • Summary

    This chapter argues that client kings played a significant, even leading role in disseminating the images associated with the princeps and the imperium Romanum at the outskirts of the empire. Dependent rulers faced a unique challenge, as they had to pay homage to the emperor as the superior authority while maintaining and communicating their own royal prestige and local legitimacy. In the context of these intricate dynamics, client kings developed a mode of representation that reflected their authority as well as the superiority of the emperor. To this end, they adopted and adapted models from the centre of the empire for their own purposes, turning modes of imperial representation into a shared idiom of power. However, the hierarchy between emperor and dependent ruler always remained clear and was reinforced through the imperial cult. Instead of undercutting the local legitimacy of client kings, the reverence of an even higher authority, elevated beyond mortality, was used to strengthen the position of dependent rulers whose power relied on the centre’s approval.