I think we need to put as a theory of why the Roman Empire fell the sheer incompetence and corruption of later emperors and the failure of the senate to rein them in back on the table. Seems plausible to me now.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
The senate had pretty little power behind them after Augustus gave them only those provinces with few legions and keeping those with the most legions for himself (ostensibly to "help")
Also, the grain supply was always completely in imperial hands.
It was the senator Didius Julianus, following Pertinax, who for the first time literally bought the title of emperor, and killing any legitimacy outside of the armies that the title of emperor had.
The Severan dynasty then gave it the killing blow.
Still, it was Augustus that gutted the Senate of power by taking away any military power that could threaten him, which was probably the reason it worked.
Comments
Also, the grain supply was always completely in imperial hands.
The Severan dynasty then gave it the killing blow.