Les aspects religieux de l’exercice du pouvoir impérial

Abstract

This paper reviews the recent debate about some religious aspects of the imperial power. Like every other public authority in Rome, the power of the emperor was confirmed by the gods. The figure of the emperor and the new imperial constitution are a sign of the benevolence of the gods toward the res publica of the Romans. However, we should not mistake this sacralization of the imperial rule with a theology of the divine origin of his power. Moreover, the prince never exercized a supreme religious authority over the empire by the fact that he was pontifex maximus. This charge remained, as always, limited to the context of the city of Rome. Finally, the recent discussions on the submission of all armies to the auspices of the prince has confirmed that this process was linked to the progressive extension of his imperium and not to a religious reform.

Keywords

• Roman religion
• imperial investiture
• auspices
• Arval brethren
• pontifex maximus