Studie z dějin římské ústřední správy za principátu. Císařské kanceláře, jejich činnost a organizace

Special administrative organs, came into being at the beginning of the Principate, the activities of which very distinctly participated not only in the realization of the interior and foreign policy of Roman emperors but also in its forming. These imperial departments had a firm place in the system of administrative organs of the Principate, in fact it is possible to stay that they formed the administrative centre of the Roman Empire. Information from all parts of the Roman State in the field of administration flowed into the hands of the personnel of these departments. In spite of their importance the historical sources on the contents of their activities are very scarce. In reconstructing their organizational development epigraphic evidence must be primairly used. The basis of the new imperial administrative was formed by Augustus. At the beginning of the Principate the complicated bureaucratic structure of administrative bodies that was typical of the Roman administration in later years, did not yet exist. Therefore there was no need for specialized bodies that should help the emperor to deal with the growing tasks connected with the running of the State. It was still possible that these tasks were fulfilled by the emperor’s slaves and freedmen, that means, by this home servants. The majority of their tasks were even then concerned with the affairs of the lord not as a private person, but as an emperor. This dual character of their work and later of the work of imperial departments was retained relatively long, until Hadrian’s reign. The nuclei of the later offices can be found already among the officers of Tiberius (CIL VI 8409c; 5181; 4249). On these inscriptions we can see for the first time even the descriptive denomination of offices that came into being later, which begins with the typical preposition of “a” or “ab”. Not every body thus called can be classified as an officium palatinum. It is important therefore to study the contents of their work. The body may be identified as an office if the officer was occupied with the affairs of the State apart from strictly personal business. The first offices were formed by emperor Claudius, who concentrated the administration of all affairs into four departments. Later on other offices were founded, some were abolished, or some were integrated according to momentary need. This clearly demonstrated the purely empiric way of administration of the Empire that was applied by emperors at that time. Secretaries were engaged almost in all spheres of the civil activities of the emperor. In a simplified way we can call them the emperor’s advisors, who are held responsible by the emperor. They are also the administrators of his decisions being relatively independent in their own decisions. The secretaries influenced moreover in a significant way the emperor’s decisions as they prepared the data for them together with the personnel of the office. These officers were men of great influence not only because they were in everyday contact with the emperor, but also because they very often represented him and acted in his name. The secretaries were appointed personally by the emperor. He paid them and they were responsible to him. From the beginning of their existence freedmen were placed at the head of the imperial departments. The most powerful of them were the secretaries of the emperor Claudius–Narcissus, Callistus and Pallans. First changes were made during the wars after Nero’s death. At this time the functions of the secretaries were accumulated and for the first time equites are appointed secretaries. The reason for these changes was undoubtedly the press for time under which these ephemeral emperors organized their own administration and the wish to staff all important offices by their supporters. Equites then tend to be chiefs of the administrative departments more often and under Trajan they practised the functions of the secretaries apart from the department “a libellis” in all important departments. A principal change in this field was made by Hadrian, who for the first time since the reign of Claudius, systematically approached the organization of the administrative centre. All important offices were reserved for equites and at the same time the order of their promotion from one office to the other – cursus publicus – as well as the rules for their remuneration were instituted. Secretaries of departments were classed into the second remuneration rate, they were called ducenarii. All departments became subject to central control, thus founding the roots of administration in the modern sense. Hadrian’s reforms terminated the development of administrative departments from personal offices to State offices. Although the most important posts in departments were reserved for the equites, freedmen were not completely excluded from their personnel. Under the rule of the Antonines the system of dual procuraturs became very common that was taken over from the sphere of the administration of the emperor’s private property. The equites procurator was always represented by the freedmen procurator and freedmen directed several less important departments. Other changes were made at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, secretaries change to trecenarii, and freedmen, as the result of a complete militarization of the imperial administration under the Severans are completely excluded from the administration of the departments. During the military anarchy in the 3rd century the system of departments remains almost unchanged, but their bureaucracy tends to strengthen its position. The emperors very often entirely depended on the system of administration of their predecessors. The secretaries directed relatively large departments staffed exclusively by the emperor’s slaves and freedmen. Their organization differed according to the contents and extent of their agenda. It is interesting to comment on the position of the adiutores among the large number of other officers. They ranked among “junior” officers, but as they were often charged with special tasks and often assisted procurators, they had a very specific position. The highest of all ranked the representatives of the procurators – proximi, who directed the common agenda of the office and who could even become procurators. Ab actis: The exact field of duties of this department is not clear, some authors do not consider it to be a department. It probably dealt with acta militaria and it is possible that one part of its agenda was taken over from “ab epistulis”. Ab admissionibus: The department organized official audiences given by the emperor to officials and delegations from the whole empire, as well as to deputies of foreign monarchs. They very closely cooperated with the “ab epistulis”. Ab epistulis: This office was one of the largest and most important departments. At the beginning it was only a central department but from the end of the 1st century the number of its tasks decreases because the emperor founded specific “technical” departments, which took over a part of its agenda. The main task of this department was to make out letters (epistulae) with all requirements that were addressed to outstanding private persons and to deal with the regular official correspondence. The department also received all news addressed to the emperor and even took care of military administration. The department was divided into two branches, one of them called “ab epistulis Latinis”, performed the abovementioned tasks, the other “ab epistulis Graecis” sometimes also identified as “ad legationes et responsa Graeca”, attended to correspondence with the eastern part of the Empire and with the courts of foreign rulers. Ab instrumento auxiliario: This office distributed documents made out by other departments. A bibliothecis: Some inscriptions point to the fact that the chief of this department was the emperor’s head librarian, he was also engaged in giving literary advice. For this reason the department was often, especially in the beginning of the 2nd century, integrated with the department “a studiis”. A censibus: The founding of this department is connected with the general decline of the system of the census under the rule of Flavians. Until then the emperor supervised equites and senators personally on the basis of the data collected by the senatorial department “a censibus”. This office inspected above all the state of financial affairs of persons to be ranked among both ordo and also supervised their activities. A codicillis: The task of this department was to issue letters of appointment to imperial officials. After its constitution it took over a part of the agenda of “ab epistulis”. A cognitionibus: Together with the chief of the “a libellis” the chief of this department was the emperor’s legal advisor. He was also the chairman of the imperial judicial court and therefore took part in the forming of one of the basic types of constitutiones – of decrets. Apart from that he took care of all technical problems connected with the regular operation of the imperial judicial body. It is for this reason that lawyers are rarely appointed as secretaries of this department. Contrary to other secretaries the chief of “a cognitionibus” often accompanied the emperor on his travels. A commentariis: This department served solely as the emperor’s private archives. It was not the archive of all imperial decisions, decreta, edicta, senatus consulta because every department, even individual legio had their own archives. “A commentariis” took care of the most important documents that gave basic information on the quantity of documents issued by the emperor himself and by his predecessors. In a separate section of this department called the “a commentariis beneficiorum” the documents on beneficia by the emperor were stored. A consiliis: It was mostly a “technical” department dealing with the preparations of working papers of the imperial council, with the invitations of its members, etc. The secretary of this department was not the chairman of the consilium principis as his salary, was only 100 000 HS. a copiis militaribus The principal duty of officers of this department was to keep copies of letters of appointment of military commanders and other military documents. For the whole time of its existence it was controlled by the department “ab epistulis”. A declamationibus Latinis: This department existed only under Septimius Severus, its main duty was to prepare public appearances of the emperor in Latin. A Greek section of this department probably never existed because during official occasions emperors preferred Latin to Greek. Occasional Greek speeches could be prepared by the department “a studiis” that existed parallelly. A libellis: Was one of the most important departments that attended to all sorts of requests and appeals sent to the emperor by persons of lesser status. Appeals were relatively frequent and therefore the secretary of the department closely worked with the secretary of the “a cognitionibus”. The majority of responses were probably made out by the personnel independently, the emperor only signed them. Subscriptions sent to the eastern part of the Empire were translated and despatched by the department “ab epistulis Graecis”. A mandatis: This department made out and despatched instructions — mandata, addressed to officials. Even if instructions for governors of senatorial provinces were regularly despatched as late as the time of Hadrian, this department took part in appeasing the differences between both types of provinces and therefore supported the advancement of centralization. A memoria: Although this department came into being relatively late it underwent the greatest number of changes undertaken in the sphere of administration. Its position in the system of palatine offices differs from the typical model of departments and its nature is more of the character later typical for the Dominate. At first the department “a memoria” performed the duties of the emperor’s personal secretariat, later on it took successively over duties from other mostly technical departments. All duties of this department were connected with the regular operation of the departments but their integration enabled in a large extent the supervision of other offices. A pactionibus: The exact character of duties of this department cannot be specified; it probably dealt with underterminable pacta. A patrimonio (res privata): This department administered the emperor’s personal property, which consisted mainly of imperial estates. In the first period of the Principate patrimonium had the character of family property that passed into possession according to regular rules of hereditary succession. After the “year of four emperors” patrimonium became the exclusive crown property that was administered by the emperor himself by the virtue of the title Head of the State. Under the Antonines the character of patrimonium began to draw nearer to the fiscus and the emperor could not dispose of it as freely as before. This fact provoked*the need to form apart from patrimonium private property called res(ratio) privata. After the great confiscation in 193–7 A. D., which brought about the enlargement of these estates, Septimius Severus formed the administration of res privata. Patrimonium did not disappear immediately after the establishment of res privata. They continue to exist side by side until the reign of Maximinus Thrax, though patrimonium was probably supervised by res privata. A rationibus: The position of the secretary of this department was exceptional as he was in fact the absolute ruler of all finances of the Roman Empire. Apart from the administration of the central imperial treasury (fiscus) “a rationibus” supervised, as the financial centre, all Roman treasuries including patrimonium. Furthermore, he received reports from all financial officers of all ranks, he put together the State budget and the summary reports on the state of the finances of the Roman Empire. The chief of the fiscus even performed the function of the head arbitrator in all financial disputes. It is interesting that the title of this secretary changed most frequently. A studiis: The secretary of this office was the emperor’s advisor in cultural affairs, he instructed him on history, philosophy and literature. He also instructed by the him in the matters of law, this fact being documented large number of known renowned lawyers who directed this department. A voluptatibus: The duties of this department were rather specific as it organized the imperial entertainment. Its secretary should have therefore belonged to the purely palace servants, but as historical sources mention equites in the place of these secretaries, one may, with a certain reservation, rank them among the chiefs of other imperial administrative departments. The time of origin of bureaucracy in Ancient Rome cannot be exactly determined as it was a long-term process. During the Republic the system of offices founded on the circulation of officers did not allow for the existence of bureaucracy. The conditions for its forming were set as late as under Augustus, who established professional officers, mainly procurators. Changes made by emperor Claudius in the structure of the offices of the court formed an important milestone in its evolution. Claudius established the first offices and later during the reign of Hadrian equites-lawyers represented the backbone of the system of officers. Furthermore, because of their professional knowledge, they were the only ones capable of attending to duties in the field of administration. In the wide sense of the word, in Rome as a lawyer can be considered every member of higher classes because the knowledge of the principal elements of law was a part of education of youths of these classes. The whole development of the bureaucracy is identical with the evolution and institutionalization of the imperial administrative and therefore cannot be connected with the name of only one emperor. It is only natural that bureaucracy furthered the interests of the ruling class of slavers, the owners of large estates represented by the emperor himself. We may speak of bureaucracy in the condictions of the Roman Empire only when at a certain moment of development the following conditions occur simultaneously: 1. Lawyers – equites are the sole executors of the emperor’s orders and thus form the backbone of the whole administrative because freedmen were too much personally dependent on the emperor. The bureaucracy could not be independent in the 1st century A. D. 2. The departments are stable enough to give officers financial and social security. 3. The cursus honorum and the system of offices as a whole are thus advanced that they ensure the officers not only the security of their practice but offer space for the inner stabilization of the administrative machinery, which becomes autonomous to a certain extent already in the 2nd century A. D. This process came into being without any initiative from the emperor or the officers themselves. The bureaucratic methods of work are not typical of equites but of departments developing a specific atmosphere, an unvariable style of work represented by the personnel composed of freedmen and slaves. Paradoxically these methods are identified with the process of work of equites. During the Principate bureaucracy is represented by a group of individuals determined by their profession (lawyers) and offices they held. The members of this group are free to enter or leave it. Bureaucracy is personified by all individuals engaged at the given moment in the field of administration as well as by those who were momentarily not in service. Under the term of bureaucracy during the Principate we may in a simplified way understand a permanent official machinery with a specific complicated structure that is directly dependent on the emperor but has a relatively free scope for independent decisions. The development of the bureaucracy is determined by strong centralization of the administrative, by the considerably increasing number of departments and therefore by the intrication of the public life of the Roman society together with the growth of financial funds that enable it.