Macht der Vergangenheit

After the death of Nero and the civil turmoil of 68/9 AD, Vespasian was the first to bring back stability and continuity to Roman political life. Unlike his predecessors, he came from municipal aristocracy and went through the normal senatorial cursus, so that the legitimation of his rule was particularly called into question. Against this background, the present study investigates the way in which Vespasian and his three sons interacted with and handled the past. The discussion is divided into three sections: first, the struggle over the Principate during the civil war; second, the stabilization of the Principate by the balancing of the power structure between senators and Princeps; and finally, the refinement of the Principate and its alignment to Julio-Claudian rule.