imperium

impĕrĭum (inp-), ĭi, n. [impero], a command, order, direction.

• I Lit. (mostly ante-class. and post-Aug.): si quid opus est, impera: imperium exsequar. Plaut. Am. 3, 3, 1 (956); cf.: nunc pergam eri imperium exsequi, id. ib. 1, 1, 106 (258): eri imperia persequi, id. ib. 2, 1, 75 (625): imperium exsequi, id. Men. 5, 6, 16 (981); Ter. Eun. 636: obsequens obediensque est mori atque imperiis patris, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 3, 55 (459); cf. id. Trin. 2, 2, 21 (296); id. Men. 5, 7, 1 (990): tuo facit jussu, tuo imperio paret, id. As. 1, 2, 21 (147): malus et nequam est homo, qui nihili imperium eri Sui servus facit, id. Ps. 4, 7, 1 (1103); cf. id. As. 2, 4, 10 (416): quod hi neque ad concilia veniebant neque imperio parebant, Caes. B. G. 5, 2 fin.: imperium neglegere, id. ib. 5, 7, 7: neque ab uno omnia imperia administrari poterant, id. ib. 2, 22 fin.: imperio Jovis huc venio, Verg. A. 5, 726; cf.: et Jovis imperium et cari praecepta parentis Edocet, id. ib. 5, 747: imperiis deūm propalam expositis, Liv. 8, 6, 12: quidam (pueri) imperia indignantur, Quint. 1, 3, 6: aegri quoquo neglecto medentium imperio, etc., Plin. Pan. 22, 3: elephanti inest imperiorum obedientia, Plin. 8, 1, 1, § 1: naturae imperio gemimus, cum, etc., Juv. 15, 138: cujus paruit imperiis, id. 14, 331.
• II Transf., the right or power of commanding, authority, command, control (freq. and class.).
• • A In gen.: Mes. Nempe jubes? Me. Jubeo hercle, si quid imperii est in te mihi, Plaut. Men. 5, 7, 41 (1030); cf. id. Pers. 3, 1, 15 (343): Appius et caecus et senex tenebat non modo auctoritatem sed etiam imperium in suos, Cic. de Sen. 11, 37: reges in ipsos imperium est Jovis, Hor. C. 3, 1, 6: eone es ferox, quia habes imperium in beluas? Ter. Eun. 415: mater, cujus sub imperio'st, mala, id. Heaut. 233: An. Sta ilico. Ge. Hem, sates pro imperio! quisquis es, i. e. authorilatively, imperiously, id. Phorm. 197: domesticum, Cic. Caecin. 18, 52; id. Inv. 2, 47, 140: (Juppiter) Divosque mortalesque turbas Imperio regit unus aequo, Hor. C. 3, 4, 48; cf.: sed me jussa deūm ... Imperiis egere suis, Verg. A. 6, 463: Phyllius illic Imperio pueri volucresque ferumque leonem Tradiderat domitos, Ov. M. 7, 373: agricolae habent rationem cum terra, quae numquam recusat imperium, Cic. de Sen. 15, 51.—
  • B In partic.
  • • 1 In publicists’ lang., supreme power, sovereignty, sway, dominion, empire (cf.: principatus, dominatus, regnum; potestas, potentia).
    • • • α Sing.: Tarquinio dedit imperium simul et sola regni, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 298 Müll. (Ann. v. 151 Vahl.); cf.: navorum imperium servare est induperantum, id. ib. 169 Müll. (Ann. v. 413 Vahl.); and: ipse (Numa rex) de suo imperio curiatam legem tulit, Cic. Rep. 2, 13; 2, 17; 18; 20; 21: homo dominandi cupidus aut imperii singularis, sole dominion, id. ib. 1, 33: singulare et potestas regia, id. ib. 2, 9: esse consul cum summo imperio et potestate, id. Verr. 1, 13, 37; id. Fl. 8, 18; cf.: cum summo imperio et potestate versari, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 10, 31: qui (App. Claudius) tum erat summo imperio, id. Fin. 2, 20, 66: omne imperium nostri penes singulos esse voluerunt, id. Rep. 1, 40; 2, 32: de imperio Caesaris ... gravissime decernitur, Caes. B. C. 1, 5, 4: imperium extra ordinem dare, Cic. Phil. 11, 10, 25: quod imperium potest esse praestantius quam, etc., id. Rep. 1, 17: eos qui antea commodis fuerint moribus, imperio, potestate, prosperis rebus immutari, id. Lael. 15, 54: ad deponendum imperium tardior esse, id. Rep. 2, 12: expertes imperii, id. ib. 1, 31: deponentium imperium tyrannorum, Quint. 9, 2, 67 et saep.: sub populi Romani imperium dicionemque cadere, Cic. Font. 1, 2; so, with dicio, Caes. B. G. 1, 31, 7; cf.: Gallia sub populi Romani imperium redacta, id. ib. 5, 29, 4: totam ad imperium populi Romani Ciliciam adjunxit, Cic. de Imp. Pomp. 12, 35: majestas est in imperio atque in omni populi Romani dignitate, Quint. 7, 3, 35: cum duobus ducibus de imperio in Italia decertatum est, Pyrrho et Hannibale, Cic. Lael. 8, 28; cf.: de imperio dimicare, id. Off. 1, 12, 38: spes diuturnitatis atque imperii, id. Rep. 2, 3; cf.: sedem et domum summo imperio praebere, id. ib. 2, 5 fin.: quod ipse suae civitatis imperium obtenturus esset, Caes. B. G. 1, 3, 6: civitati imperium totius provinciae pollicetur, id. ib. 7, 64 fin.: cum abunde expertus esset quam bene umeris tuis sederet imperium, Plin. Pan. 10 fin.: auctoritate magis quam imperio regere, Liv. 1, 7, 8; cf.: nec illum pro imperio submovere posse ... quia ita dicatur: si vobis videtur, discedite, Quirites, id. 2, 56, 12.—
        • β Plur.: nec vero imperia expetenda ac potius aut non accipienda interdum aut deponenda nonnumquam, i.e. public offices, Cic. Off. 1, 20, 68: (cives) mandant imperia, id. Rep. 1, 31; cf.: honores, magistratus, imperia, potestates, opes amicitiae anteponere, id. Lael. 17, 63: cui (duci) dantur imperia et ea continuantur, etc., id. Rep. 1, 44: ita cepi et gessi maxima imperia, ut, etc., id. Fam. 3, 7, 5: vides tyranni satellites in imperiis, id. Att. 14, 5, 2: quod praestare dicant Gallorum quam Romanorum imperia perferre, dominion, government, Caes. B. G. 1, 17, 3: qui mobilitate ac levitate animi novis imperiis studebant, id. ib. 2, 1, 3: imperia legum potentiora quam hominum, Liv. 2, 1, 1. —
      • b Hence, transf., concr.
      • • α Dominion, realm, empire (esp. freq. since the Aug. per.): duae urbes inimicissimae huic imperio, Cic. Lael. 3, 11: jam ipsa terra ita mihi parva visa est, ut me imperii nostri paeniteret, id. Rep. 6, 16 fin.: nostrum, id. ib. 3, 29; cf.: finium imperii nostri propagatio, id. Prov. Cons. 12, 29: fines imperii propagavit, id. Rep. 3, 12: imperium Oceano, famam qui terminet astris, Verg. A. 1, 287: per quas (artes) imperi Porrecta majestas ad ortus Solis ab Hesperio cubili, Hor. C. 4, 15, 14: adjectis Britannis Imperio, id. ib. 3, 5, 4: quem vocet divum populus ruentis Imperi rebus? id. ib. 1, 2, 26; 1, 37, 8: immensum imperii corpus stare ac librari sine rectore non potest, Tac. H. 1, 16: reges socii, membra partesque imperii, Suet. Aug. 48: breviarium totius imperii, id. ib. 101: rationarium imperii, id. ib. 28: imperii fines Tiberinum natare, Juv. 8, 265: noverat luxuriam imperii veterem, i.e. of the Roman court, id. 4, 137.—
      • c Trop., rule, control (very rare but class.): illud vide, si in animis hominum regale imperium sit, unius fore dominatum, consilii scilicet, Cic. Rep. 1, 38.—Iron.: imperium judiciorum tenere, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 31, § 77: coactae imperio sexus, i.e. the ambition, Juv. 6, 135.—
    • 2 Law t. t., the jurisdiction or discretion of a magistrate: omnia autem judicia aut legitimo jure consistunt aut imperio continentur, Gai. Inst. 4, 103: ideo autem imperio contineri judicia dicuntur, quia tamdiu valent, quamdiu is qui ea praecepit imperium habet, id. ib. 4, 105; cf. 3, 181 al.—
    • 3 Milit., the chief command, command.
    • • • α Sing.: victum atque expugnatum oppidum est Imperio atque auspicio Amphitruonis maxime, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 37 (189); 1, 1, 41 (193): re impetrata contendunt, ut ipsis summa imperii transdatur, Caes. B. G. 7, 63, 5: delatam sibi summam imperii, Suet. Ner. 3: censet enim etiam ex iis, qui cum imperio sint, Cic. Fam. 1, 1, 3: nostri imperii dignitas, id. ib. 1, 7, 4: novem annis, quibus in imperio fuit, Suet. Caes. 25: legionum curam et imperium alicui demandare, id. ib. 76: alicui imperium prorogare, id. Tib. 30: imperii tempus explere, id. Caes. 26: cum imperio aut magistratu, i. e. a military or civil command, Suet. Tib. 12: qui dabat olim imperium, fasces, etc., Juv. 10, 79; cf. in the foll.—
        • β Plur.: mandant (cives) imperia, magistratus, i.e. military and civil commands, Cic. Rep. 1, 31; cf.: magistratus, imperia, amicitiae anteponere, id. Lael. 17, 63; so opp. magistratus, Suet. Caes. 54; 75; id. Aug. 61.—
      • b Transf.
      • • α Concr.: imperia, i. q. imperatores, commanding officers, commanders, generals: imperia, potestates, legationes, quom senatus creverit populusve jusserit, ex urbe exeunto, Cic. Leg. 3, 3, 9: nacti vacuas ab imperiis Sardiniam et Siciliam, Caes. B. C. 1, 31, 1; Val. Max. 1, 1, 9.—
        • β Erat plena lictorum et imperiorum provincia, differta praefectis atque exactoribus, Caes. B. C. 3, 32, 4.—
        • γ (Acc. to imperator, II. B. 3.) The imperial government, the government: tandem quasi coactus recepit imperium, Suet. Tib. 24; 55; 67; id. Calig. 12; 16; 24; id. Claud. 11; 35; 36 et saep.

imperium, iī, n. (impero), I) der Befehl, Machtspruch, das Gebot, der Auftrag, die Anordnung, A) im allg.: imperio Iovis, Verg., pueri, Ov.: imperiis assuetus (cervus), Verg.: ad omne imperium suum parati et intenti, Curt.: imperium accipere, Befehl bekommen, Liv.: imperium exsequi, vollziehen, Ter.: imperium abnuere, den Gehorsam verweigern, Liv.: imperiis patris oboedientem esse, Plaut.: alqm imperio (auf B.) alcis confodere, Flor. – Plur., decumarum imperia, die Zehntauflagen, Cic. Verr. 4, 111. – B) insbes., die Verordnung des Arztes, Plin. pan. 22, 3. – II) die Macht, zu befehlen, Gewalt der Eltern, der Herrschaft über das Gesinde usw., A) im allg.: domesticum, Cic.: summa imperii custodiae, Oberbefehlshaberamt über die Gefängnisse, Nep.: esse sub imperio matris, Ter.: iussa deûm imperiis egere suis, Verg.: imperium habere in alqm, Ter.: est mihi imperium in re, Plaut.: übtr., terra numquam recusat imperium (agricolae), Cic.: pro imperio, vermöge der Macht, zu befehlen, als Gebieter, gebieterisch, Ter. u. Liv.: imp. sui, Selbstbeherrschung, Plin.: immoderati adversus se imperii fuit, Sen.: animi imperio, corporis servitio magis utimur, den G. haben wir zum Herrschen, den K. mehr zum Dienen, Sall. – B) insbes.: 1) die (höchste) Gewalt, a) in einer Stadt, im Staate od. Lande, die Gewalt, Amtsgewalt, Oberge walt, Staatsgewalt, das Regiment, die Regierung, die Herrschaft, Oberherrschaft, unius imperium, die Alleinherrschaft, Liv.: acerbitas imperii, Nep.: provinciae, Caes.: imperio eius, unter seiner Regierung, Liv.: regere urbem imperio, als König, Liv. (u. so populi, non regum imperio regi, Curt.): cadere sub populi Rom. imperium, Cic.: sub populi Rom. imperium redigere, Caes.: de imperio decertare od. dimicare, Cic.: in imperio esse, im Besitze der Gewalt sein, herrschen, regieren, Liv.: summo imperio esse, die höchste Gewalt in Händen haben, Cic.: regum timendorum in proprios greges, reges in ipsos imperium est Iovis, Hor. – b) von einem einzelnen Amte, wie des Konsuls, Statthalters, die Amtsgewalt, Cic.: dah. im Plur. imperia, Befehlshaberstellen, Ehrenstellen in der Provinz (Ggstz. magistratus, d.i. in der Stadt), Suet.: so auch extraordinaria, Suet. (vgl. Bremi Suet. Caes. 54). – c) v. der kaiserlichen Regierung, imperii singularis regimen, Monarchie, Lact.: in imperium vocitari, Vopisc.: militaribus usque ad imperium gradibus evectus, Treb. Poll.: imperium recipere, deponere, Suet.: ducatus et imperia ludere, Generalissimus u. Kaiser, Suet. Ner. 35, 5. – 2) die Gewalt über das Heer, der Oberbefehl, die Befehlshaberstelle, das Kommando, summum imperium, Cic.: summa imperii, Cic. u. Nep.: maritimum, Oberbefehl zur See, Caes. u. Nep.: imperia magistratusque, Würden im Kriege u. Frieden, Nep.: magistratus gerere, imperia suscipere, Lact.: dare alci imperium, Cic. u. (Ggstz. demere) Sall. fr.: in imperio od. in imperiis esse, Feldherr sein, eine Feldherrnstelle bekleiden, Suet. u. Tac.: cum imperio esse, ein Kommando (einen Oberbefehl) haben, Cic.: cum summo imperio et potestate esse, Inhaber der höchsten Militär- u. Zivilgewalt sein, Cic.: alci imperium prorogare, Cic. u. Liv.: classem imperio praesens regebat, befehligte die Fl. in eigener Person, Plin. ep. – duo imperia, einzelne militärische Würden, Liv. – ironisch, imperium iudiciorum tenere velle, in den G. kommandieren, nach Willkür schalten wollen, Cic. Verr. 2, 77. – C) meton.: 1) der Befehlende, a) (wie ἀρχαί) = obrigkeitliche Behörde, Beamte, in conspectu summi imperii, Val. Max. 9, 12 ext. 1: erat plena lictorum et imperiorum provincia, Caes. b. c. 3, 32, 4. – b) Militärbehörden, imperia et potestates, Militär- u. Zivilbehörden, Cic. Phil. 2, 52; de legg. 3, 9: u. kommandierende Offiziere, Befehlshaber, Auct. b. Alex. 67, 1. – 2) der Befehligte, Regierte, a) das Verwaltungsgebiet, imperium tuum, Cic. ep. 1, 7, 6. – b) ein großes, unter einem Herrscher stehendes Reich, wie das römische, das röm. Reich, der röm. Staat, finium imperii nostri propagatio, Cic.: immensum imperii corpus, Tac.: adiectis Britannis imperio, Hor. – dah. c) das Reich, der Staat = die Untertanen, Plin. nat. hist. praef. § 2. Plin. pan. 10, 6. – ➳ impeirium, Corp. inscr. Lat. 2, 5041.

imperium [CL] 1 the power and office of emperor (also as form of address); b (of king); c (of majordomo in Merovingian royal household; cf. MLLM); d (in poet. phr. regere ~io). [Maximus] thronum iniquissimi ~ii apud Treveros statuens Gildas EB 13; s887 quinque itaque reges confestim, Karolo moriente, ordinati sunt, sed ~ium penes Earnulf remansit Asser Alf. 85; Lotharius ‥ insignia siquidem ab imperatrice procuraverat ornamenta ~ii Ord. Vit. XII 43 p. 467; 1146 Manuel ‥ porphirogenitus ‥ imperator ‥ ad prenobilissimum regem Francie . ‥ delata est ~io meo missa littera tue nobilitatis ‥ in qua scripsisti ~io meo quia disposuisti exire in viam Dei, et expetisti ~ium meum concessionem vie Diceto Chr. 257; 1176 (v. deprecator); de Britannia prodiit Maximus, vir ~io dignus, nisi tyrannidem arripuisset R. Niger Chr. I 44; ortum fuit scandalum inter ~ium et sacerdotium Ib. 88; imperator ‥ exercet ~ia Gir. PI I 19 (v. imperator 2); non tamen ~ii nomen aut ~ium ipsum transire voluit imperator in Sylvestrum Gerv. Tilb. pref. p. 882.  b 672 Pacificus [sc. Solomon] ‥ Israhelitici plebis ~ii sceptro fungens Aldh. Ep. 5 p. 491; cui videlicet regi [sc. Æduino] ‥ potestas terreni creverat ~ii Bede HE II 9 p. 97; regali se subdiderat ~io Asser Alf. 80 (cf. ib.: se regis dominio ‥ subdidit); ad consolationem domini mei, regis sc. Aetmundi, omnisque populi excellenti ~io ejus subjecti O. Cant. Const. 69; tremendum regie majestatis titulamus ~ium, quod preesse jugiter legibus ac salubriter frequentamus advertendum (Leg. Hen. 6. 2a) GAS 552; c1245 non ‥ aliquo modo conamur ‥ inter ~ium vestrum et sacerdotium dissonantiam procurare (ad Regem) Gros. Ep. 124 p. 349; rex ‥ qui vero in servitutem redigit Dei legem, subiciens eam suo regno et ~io, transgressor est veritatis Bacon V 47 (cf. Quadr. Reg. Spec. 34); 1398 major et civitas civium civitatis vestre Ebor’ vestro regali ~io se subjugant Mem. York II 7.  c cum Carli ducis gloriosi temporale finitum esset regnum et filiorum ejus Carlomanni et Pippini roboratum est ~ium Willib. Bonif. 7 p. 40.  d post haec imperio regeret cum Claudius orbem Aldh. VirgV 1869; sanctus ter ternis Oswald feliciter annis / imperio postquam regnorum rexit habenas Alcuin SS Ebor 500; parva quidem res est oculorum, cerne, pupilla, / sed regit imperio vivacis corporis actus Id. Carm. 30. 2. 6; regnorum regi Christo et domino dominorum / ‥ / qui regit imperio terram pelagusque polumque Ib. 69. 191 (cf. ib. 91. 1. 1, 109. 23. 2). 2 an empire (unspec.). † a738 (13c) Domino regnorum regna regenti, jura ~iorum [Chr. Abingd. I 38: †impiorum] disponenti, semper gloria CS 155; Gerv. Tilb. pref. p. 883 (v. 7b infra); Gir. PI I 19 (v. imperator 2). 3 (territory or people subject to power of) an empire (var., dist.): a Roman; b (Western, a. d.284–476); c (Eastern or Greek, a. d.284–1453; sts. w. sanctum, cf. 3d infra); d ‘Holy Roman’, founded a. d. 800 in succession to Western (sts. w. Christianum [cf. 4b infra], Francorum, sacrum, or sanctum); e Persian, Arabic, or other Asiatic; f Spanish; g Scandinavian; h (pretended). a Britannia ‥ subjectionem sui Romano ~io ‥ vovens Gildas EB 15; imperium mundi florens cum Roma teneret / atque gubernaret regnorum sceptra per orbem Aldh. VirgV 842; Claudius ‥ Orcadas quoque insulas Romano adjecit ~io Bede HE V 24 p. 352; civitas Londonia peperit aliquot qui regna plurima et Romanum sibi subdiderunt ~ium ‥ et temporibus Christianis nobilem illum edidit imperatorem Constantinum, Helene regine filium, qui urbem Romam et imperialia insignia omnia Deo donavit W. Fitzst. Thom. prol. 19; Gir. EH I 1 (v. imperare 6a); [Cestria] Romani servans limitem ~ii, claves, ut ita dixerim, Hibernorum custodire suffecit Lucian Chester 45; Constantinus vero et Galerius Maximianus primi ~ium in orientem et occidentem sibi diviserunt et v annis pariter regnaverunt R. Niger Chr. I 32.  b apud occidentis ~ium Aldh. VirgP 49 p. 303; s565 gubernaculum Romani ~ii post Justinianum Justinus minor accepit Bede HE III 4 p. 133; s409 ab illo tempore cessavit ~ium Romanorum a Britannia insula Æthelw. I 1 p. 5; Gotthi ‥ multas ~io et fidei persequutiones intulerunt R. Niger Chr. I 53; sicut a solo Deo Grecorum pendet imperium, ita a sede tantum Romana papa occidentis asserit pendere ~ium Gerv. Tilb. II 18 p. 941; Petro Constantinus ~ium occidentis dedit, cui servierat regnum Francorum, regnum Teutonum, regnum Brittonum, quinimo totus occidens et totus circumfusus orbis Ib. 19 p. 944.  c [Constantius] orientis ~ii sceptra gubernabat Aldh. VirgP 32 p. 273; erat eisdem diebus Maniches Constantinopolitane urbis administrans ~ium Osb. Clar. V. Ed. Conf. 18 p. 101; Butinacius enim Grecus nimie cupiditatis et protervie spiritu inflatus ~ium invasit, Michahelem Constantinopolitanum imperatorem de regno expulit Ord. Vit. VII 5 p. 166; ne sanctum ~ium redderetur Michaheli Ib. p. 169; de ~io Constantinopolitano ‥ invasimus quantum potest in quindecim peragrari diebus Ib. 7 p. 184; insolentia Francorum regiam urbem, que caput orientis est, ‥ impugnare ausa est. celsitudinem sancti ~ii violavit Ib. X 20 p. 124; Constantinus ‥ ~ii sedem in Bysantium, civitatem Europe, transtulit, instituens ut ‥ ad imperil Romani memoriam Nova Roma diceretur Gerv. Tilb. II 16 p. 929; Grecorum ‥ ~ium Ib. 18 (v. 3b supra); s1524 quidam nobiles ‥ de ~io Grecorum (v. hexamitum 1).  d ? 802 pro vestra incolomitate et Christiani inperii stabilitate (Ad Carolum Imperatorem) Alcuin Ep. 249 p. 402; ad Francos et Germanos translato sic Romano feliciter ~io, Bizantii tyrannos ‥ nomen et non omen imperii pretendentes ‥ sue tyrannidi ‥ relinquamus Gir. PI I 17 p. 75; regnum Francorum a status sui corruit celsitudine ab incarnatione Domini anno dccco lxx[x]ixo. Lodovicus namque, filius Caroli Calvi, solum regnum obtinuit Francorum. floruerat imperium Francorum c duobus annis. tunc Baiaorum surrexit regnum, apud quos hactenus imperium constat Romanorum R. Niger Chr. II 152; dominus papa non solum Romani ~ii sed et totius mundi optinet principatum Gerv. Cant. MM 444; regnum Francorum duximus usque ad ~ium illi coagulatum Gerv. Tilb. II 19 p. 941; 1227 de confederatione facienda inter ‥ regem Alemannie et ~ium et nos et regnum Pat 162; jus ~ii Christiani Ad. Marsh Ep. 246 p. 431 (v. Christianus 1b); s1249 ad ~ium Romanie M. Par. Maj. V 67; 1302 ego W. ‥ sacrosancte Romane ecclesie et sacri ~ii et alme urbis prefecti publicus auctoritate notarius ‥ (Ac.) EHR XXXI 119; 1416 in recuperacione et acquisicione jurium, terrarum et dominiorum ad sacrum Romanum ~ium pertinencium RParl IV 98a.  e Cirus Medorum destruxit ~ium et regnavit Persis, subverso rege Medorum Astiage Diceto Opusc. 220; Scytharum ~ia, quanquam illustria fuerint, ‥ omisimus R. Niger Chr. I 18; Heraclii siquidem tempore, languescente Romano imperio, Arabum surrexit principatus, qui hac peste [sc. heresibus] per Mahumetum regem de Mecha infecti erant. qui, sicut ~ii dominium dilataverunt, ita et hunc errorem in subditos transfuderunt Id. Chr. II 142; Cyrus ‥ destruxit ~ium Medorum, quod in illo finem accepit Gerv. Tilb. II 15 p. 926.  f imperator Hispanie ‥ vocavit R., ducem Burgundie, ‥ et dedit ei neptem et ~ium R. Niger Chr. I 80; Ib. 87 (v. imperator 3i); Ib. 92 (v. imperatrix 1d).  g in Dacia Orico juniori successit Heligon; et ei Olaff, veniens de Suevia, vi et armis adeptus est ~ium R. Niger Chr. I 77.  h s1191 imperator Cypri ‥ mandaverat totius ~ii sui convenire viros bellatores Itin. Ric. II 31 p. 187. 4 (territory or people subject to the power of) a kingdom: a (Eng.); b (Frankish); c (Norman). a qui [sc. Centuuinus] prius ~ium Saxonum rite regebat Aldh. CE 3. 3; erat ‥ rex Ædilberct in Cantia potentissimus, qui ad confinium usque Humbrae fluminis maximi, quo meridiani et septentrionales Anglorum populi dirimuntur, fines ~ii tetenderat Bede HE I 25 p. 45; 747 domino ‥ inclita Anglorum ~ii sceptra gubernanti Æthilbaldo regi ‥ salutem Bonif. Ep. 73; ad invadendum Anglicum ~ium Gosc. Transl. Mild. 18 p. 176.  b hic [sc. Pippinus] reget imperium felix feliciter istud Alcuin WillV 23. 8; 798 per orbem Christiani ~ii Id. Ep. 148 p. 241; 800 vestra vero sancta voluntas atque a Deo ordinata potestas ‥ veluti armis ~ium Christianum fortiter dilatare laborat (Ad Carolum Regem) Ib. 202 p. 336.  c omnium ‥ Anglici et Normanni ~ii magnatum libentissimo assensu, rex Willelmus ‥ doctorem ‥ ad hoc elegit negotium G. Crispin Herl. 78. 5 (w. ref. to supreme ruler) reign (esp. to define period or in reckoning of dates): a (of emperor); b (of king). a de ~io Dioclitiani Bede HE I 6 tit.; anno ~ii Marciani vjo Ib. 21 p. 41; quinto ~ii ejus anno Otto junior obiit et Otto filius ejus post eum xviij annis regnavit Ord. Vit. I 24 p. 165; in diebus hujus Octaviani Augusti, xlijo anno ~ii sui R. Niger Chr. I 19; Ovidius ‥ nascitur anno Augustalis ~ii primo Id. Chr. II 108.  b de ~io regis Æduini Bede HE II 9 tit.; Ædilbaldo rege Merciorum xv agente annum inperii Ib. V 24 p. 356; 801 ego Cœnuulfus gratia Dei rex Merciorum anno vo ~ii nostri CS 303; gloriosus rex Æthelstanus ‥ est rex Anglorum adnumeratus. hujus igitur ~ii temporibus ‥ B. V. Dunst. 3; 1089 ego W., rex Anglorum, ‥ secundo anno mei ~ii Regesta p. 131; Egbertus, per novem annos patrio throno retento, nihil memorabile fecit tam brevis ~ii compendio W. Malm. GR I 12. 6 (w. ref. to deity or sim.) supreme power, dominion (freq. w. defining gen.): a (of pagan god); b (of God); c (of Christ). (Senses b - c freq. in votive form, prob. w. ref. to I Tim. iv 16, I Petr. iv 11, v 11, Judas 25, etc.). a Neptunus, fama dictus regnator aquarum, / qui regit imperium ponti turgentibus undis Aldh. VirgV 1339; hic [sc. Jupiter] patris imperium, quod fantur opuscula prisca, / contra naturam pulso spadone capessit Ib. 1374.  b [omnipotens genitor] cui decus, imperium, virtus, sapientia perpes, / laus et honor semper permaneat, vigeat Æthelwulf Abb. 816; ut de societate vestra gaudium meum coram Deo augeatur, quod ipse prestare dignetur, cujus regnum et ~ium manet in secula seculorum (Ep.) Canon. G. Sempr. 101v.  c haec, inquam, virgo caelesti pignore feta / edidit ex alvo salvantem saecula regem, / imperium mundi solus qui jure gubernat Aldh. CE 2. 15 (= Id. VirgV 1693). 7 (sts. w. caeleste) the Kingdom of Heaven. b (~ium subcaeleste) the Church, as compared in its hierarchy to Heaven. ~ium celeste Gerv. Tilb. pref. p. 883; G. Hen. V 1 (v. 7b infra); quisquis enim in imperio mundi sit sublimatus et in ~io Domini non [admissus] Capgr. Hen. 5.  b omne ergo ~ium aut celeste est, quod integrum est et non veterascit, aut subceleste, quia spirituale, quod Petro datum a Christo, glorificatum a Constantino in Sylvestro, aut terrenum, quod raro pacificum et per multa tempora divisum Gerv. Tilb. pref. p. 883; celeste et subceleste ‥ ~ium G. Hen. V 1 (v. 2 dilatare 1b). 8 (~ium mortis; cf. Tob. ii, and esp. Hebr. ii 14: ut per mortem destrueret eum qui habebat mortis imperium, id est diabolum) ‘the power of death’ (AV). b (vitae et mortis ~ium) Christian’s power over life and death. redemptoris nostri nativitas dirae mortis ~ium conquassans dirupit Aldh. Met. 2 p. 69 (cf. id. VirgP 18 p. 247); ut [Filius Dei] ‥ per mortem nostrae fragilitatis destrueret eum qui habebat mortis ~ium Bede Hom. I 15. 79.  b vite vel mortis in Christo habere ~ium Mir. Hen. VI II 40 p. 107. 9 domestic authority: a (of father; transf. of God, abbot, etc.); b (of husband); c (transf., of animals). a primus viventum perdebam foedera juris, / imperio patris contemnens subdere colla Aldh. Aen. 63 (Corbus) 5; fer patris imperium, dum verbis exit in iras [cf. Disticha Catonis IV 6] Alcuin Carm. 62. 21; c1170 hec sunt que ego H. comes Cestrie S. Marie et S. Severo et monachis ibidem sub abbatis ~io secundum regulam S. Benedicti degentibus concedo Ch. Chester 181 p. 187.  b ~io mariti Gardiner VO 96 (v. detrahere 4b).  c subditus imperio [sc. galli] gallinarum regitur grex Alcuin Carm. 49. 4. 10 power, authority; b (of a command); c (of abstr.). d (leg., eccl., ~ium par in parem) power over another (cf. Decr. Greg. I 6. 20 [CJC II 62], Digest 36. 1. 13. 4). e literary or historical authority (of earlier writer or sim.). [superbia] quasi atrox regina tyrannicae potestatis ~ium et dominandi monarchiam ‥ sibi usurpare dinoscitur Aldh. VirgP 11 p. 239; pacificum passim fieret mortalibus aevum / aeternum imperium regerem si sola per orbem Bonif. Aen. (Pax) 112; aeterne Deus, benedicere digneris hunc famulum tuum Ill. [? l. N.] in officium exorcistae ut per impositionem manuum et oris officium eum eligere digneris ut ~ium habeat spiritus inmundos cohercendi Egb. Pont. 13; Normannis ‥ moris est ~ium sociis non reddere sed auferre Ord. Vit. VII 5 p. 169; gladiatores cum omni ~io arguens quod tam inordinate, tam profane, matrem suam ecclesiam introissent H. Bos. Thom. VI 2 p. 492; justum namque erat ut [homo] ‥ omnia racione carencia sub suo contineret potestativo et imperturbato atque pacato ~io Gros. Hexaem. VIII 13. 3.  b quod violenti rigido praecepti ~io complendum jubetur Aldh. VirgP 18 p. 247; terrificae jussionis ~io Ib. 29 p. 267.  c spiritus ‥ castimonia, cujus ~io [gl.: i. potestate, mihte] indomita corporalis lasciviae petulantia refrenatur Aldh. VirgP 27 p. 264; inest animo ‥ ad ~ium divinae voluntatis totam ex integro mentem ‥ transferre Bede HE III 13 p. 153; maledicat ilium Christus filius Dei vivi toto sue majestatis ~io (Forma excommunicationis) Text. Roff. p. 58; nature ~io servire parati Gir. TH I 25 p. 58.  d p1257 protestatus est dominus papa, etsi non habeat ~ium †per imparem [sic MS; but l. par in parem], non decere illam divinissimam sedem decreta ‥ suorum predecessorum ‥ in irritum revocare (Expulsio Fratrum) Mem. S. Edm. II 268; parem ‥ non habet rex in regno suo, quia sic amitteret preceptum, cum par in parem non habeat ~ium Bracton 5v; eodem modo excusat consimile auditorium vel equale, ut si justiciarii de banco nomine suo scripserint justiciariis itinerantibus, vel e converso, licet par in parem non habeat ~ium Ib. 368; Symmachus papa non intendit novam legem imponere successori suo, cum non habeat ~ium par in parem Ockham Pol. III 276.  e unus Gervasius nec non Protasius alter / imperio veterum sortita vocabula gestant Aldh. VirgV 894. 11 (leg., app. derived from Roman law): a (~ium merum) right to try and to punish capital crimes. b (~ium mixtum) jurisdiction over property transactions or sim.. Cf.Digest 2. 1. 3. a Vac. Lib. paup. 76 (v. 11b infra); 1285 de pronunciacione medietatis jurisdiccionis, meri et mixti ~ii, justicia alte et basse ville de C. RGasc II 268; 1309 cum senescallus Landarum et prepositus Aquensis pro nobis altam jurisdiccionem et merum ~ium in dicto prioratu ‥ exercere consueverint Ib. IV 297; 1313 merum et mixtum ~ium et omnimodam jurisdiccionem ac plenum et liberum exercicium meri et mixti ~ii et omnimode jurisdiccionis sub quocumque possit vocabulo comprehendi Ib. 951; 1316 cum ‥ dederimus ei ‥ terras nostras de Goose, Seignasse et Sort cum ‥ jurisdiccionibus altis et bassis ac eciam omnimodis meris et mixtis ~is ‥ ad nos spectantibus Ib. 1533; 1381 dedimus ‥ potestatem ‥ alios homines defensabiles arraiandi, ‥ merum et mixtum ~ium nedum in eis set in omnibus aliis dictas marchias concernentibus excercendi RScot II 36a; 1445 cum ‥ mero et mixto ~io, juridiccione alta et bassa, feudis, questibus, ‥ (Ch. Hen. VI) Arch. Gironde XVI 317.  b in mixto ~io quid juris sit attendimus, sc. an iste debeat persona fieri vel non, vel bonorum possessor vel non: hec de jure considerantur. istis autem alicui adjudicatis, amplius de jure nichil restat, sed de facto, sc. ut mittatur in possessionem vel sententia mancipetur effectui, quod est merum imperium Vac. Lib. paup. 76; 1285 etc. (v. 11a supra). 12 command, bidding; b (pl.) orders; c (of abstr.); d (phil., of will). quid enim, quaeso, in rerum visibilium videri valet natura quod tam ingenti studio auctoris sui praecepto pareat et regis ~ium implere contendat ‥? Aldh. VirgP 6 p. 234; [Eugenius] turificare jubet munusque litare Dianae, / alma [sc. Victoria] sed imperium sprevit complere nefandum Id. VirgV 2418; ad tui oris ~ium semper vivere studui et quicquid ignorantia vel fragilitate deliqui aeque ad tuae voluntatis arbitrium castigare curavi Bede CuthbP 28; a1190 mihi durum est aliquid scribere et longe durius vestre majestatis ~io contraire; preces siquidem vestras ~ium voco, quia ‥ ‘est orare ducum species violenta jubendi’ P. Blois Ep. 1. 1B; quis ejus imperio vinctos eduxit, / pro quorum se sterni salute letatur J. Howd. Cant. 293; sub ortacione comprehenduntur deprecacio et ~ium: deprecacio quidem respectu majorum est, hortacio respectu parium, inperium respectu minorum Ps.-Gros. Gram. 59; vox tube erit sonus quidam sensibilis et ~ium vocale Christi, quo precipiet mortuis resurgere Holcot Wisd. 203; illa tremens et pavens et viri ~io contradicere non presumens Latin Stories 32.  b eximiae dilectionis tuae ~iis obtemperans Felix Guthl. prol. p. 64; qualiter hirundines ejus ~iis obtemperabant Ib. 39 tit.; decere magnanimitatem ejus [sc. ancille] ut regie voluptatis conscia dominorum crudelium ulterius non ingemisceret ~ia W. Malm. GR II 159 p. 180.  c Magni Montis incole ‥ omnia necessitatis ~ia excluserunt J. Sal. Pol. 698B; novit habitator quam ‥ sepe vicinus accedens, nuditatis stimulo et famis ~io, frequentet locum, coactus comparet alimentum Lucian Chester 52; amor ‥ ad cujus ~ium verecundus et effrons efficior J. Godard Ep. 220; precipio tibi ante omnia ut secundum racionis agas ~ium Chaundler Apol. 15.  d per ~ium voluntatis Duns Ord. III 234 (v. imperare 1d); si ~ium voluntatis sufficeret ad causandum illum actum Ockham Quodl. 324; dominium et ~ium vel autoritatem suarum voluntatum et accionum Bradw. CD 644B (v. imperiositas).

impĕrĭum, (5) ĭī, n. (impero), ¶ 1 commandement, ordre : prætoris imperio parere Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 76, obéir à lʼordre du préteur ; istius imperio Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 79, sur son ordre ; imperia accipere Liv. 29, 25, 7, recevoir des ordres du général en chef ; decumarum imperia Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 111, ordres de dîmes (imposant des dîmes) ¶ 2 pouvoir de donner des ordres, autorité, pouvoir : imperium in suos tenere Cic. CM 37, maintenir son autorité sur les siens, cf. Cic. Cæc. 52 ; Inv. 2, 140 ; terra numquam recusat imperium Cic. CM 51, la terre ne refuse jamais lʼobéissance ¶ 3 [officiell^t ] pouvoir suprême [attribué à certains magistrats, ou confié en dehors de la magistrature, c.-à-d. délégation de la souveraineté de lʼÉtat et comportant le commandement militaire et la juridiction] : imperium permittere, prorogare Liv. 26, 2, 9 ; 26, 1, 6, confier, proroger le pouvoir suprême ; esse cum imperio Liv. 26, 10, 9, être revêtu du pouvoir suprême ; mittere aliquem cum imperio Liv. 26, 2, 5, envoyer qqn avec les pleins pouvoirs ¶ 4 [en part.] commandement militaire : summa imperii Cæs. G. 2, 23, 4, le commandement en chef ; mandare imperia, magistratus Cic. Rep. 1, 47, confier les commandements militaires, les magistratures, cf. Cic. Læl. 63 ¶ 5 [qqf. au plur., sens concret] autorités, magistrats ou commandants, généraux : Cic. Leg. 3, 9 ; Cæs. C. 1, 31, 1 ; 3, 32, 4 ¶ 6 [en gén.] domination, souveraineté, hégémonie : imperium populi Romani Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 8, la domination du peuple romain ; de imperio decertare Cic. Læl. 28, lutter pour la domination || [sens concret] étendue de la domination, empire : duæ urbes inimicissimæ huic imperio Cic. Læl. 11, deux villes, ennemies acharnées de notre empire, cf. Cic. Prov. 29 ; Rep. 6, 16 ¶ 7 empire, gouvernement impérial : imperium recipere Suet. Tib. 24, recevoir lʼempire, cf. Suet. Cal. 12 ; 16 ; etc.

imperium , ii. n.
命令。國土。主。權柄。Summum imperium 王位。作國王。Cum imperio esse 有權。

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imperium (inp-) ī, n

• impero, a command, order, direction, injunction: meum Inperium exequi, T.: imperio parere, Cs.: Iovis, V.: imperiis deūm expositis, L.: Naturae imperio gemimus, cum, etc., Iu.—Command, authority, control, power, ascendency, sway: mitto imperium, T.: tenere imperium in suos: Reges in ipsos imperium est Iovis, H.: mater, quoius sub imperiost, mala, T.: pro imperio submovere, arbitrarily, L.: domesticum: arcesse, aut imperium fer, give the order yourself, H.: imperio pueri leonem tradere, O.: Di, quibus imperium est animarum, V.: rerum imperiis hominumque minor, subject to, H.—Supreme power, sovereignty, sway, dominion, empire, supremacy, authority: regium, S.: cupidus imperi singularis, sole dominion: Caesaris, Cs.: imperium extra ordinem dare: sub populiR.imperium dicionemque cadere: Imperium Dido regit, V.: de imperio dimicare: civitati imperium totius provinciae pollicetur, Cs.: auctoritate magis quam imperio regere, L.: Romanorum imperia perferre, dominion, Cs.: imperia legum potentiora quam hominum, L.: gravidam imperiis Italiam regere, sovereignties, V.—A public office, magistracy: cuius (consulis) in imperio, term: nec imperia expetenda: gessi maxima imperia.—Command-in-chief, supreme command, military authority: cum imperio esse: unum imperium cum ipsis habere, be under the same military head, Cs.: mercatorem cum imperio ac securibus misimus.—A dominion, realm, empire: urbes inimicissimae huic imperio: contra imperium populiR.pugnare, Cs.: Imperium Oceano qui terminet, V.: auspicia imperi Romani, Ta.: luxuria imperii, i. e. of the court, Iu.—Of persons, an authority, officer, general: sine imperio copias relinquere, Cs.: imperia et potestates, military and civil authorities: Erat plena lictorum et imperiorum provincia, Cs.—Fig., rule, control: vide, si in animis hominum regale imperium sit: coactae Imperio sexūs, i. e. ambition, Iu.

IMPERIUM

IMPE´RIUMand IMPERA´TOR. Imperium is the name of the power attaching to the higher magistrate of the Roman People, as soon as he has been fully installed in office by the passing of a Lex Curiata. It is qualified by the nature of the office to which it appertains (Mommsen, Staatsr. ii.3 p. 845): we have a kingly imperium, a consular imperium, a praetorian imperium, and a dictatorial imperium. In all cases it includes the capacity for both civil and military command. The praetor, for instance, is equally qualified to take command of an army and to administer justice between the citizens ; he does both by virtue of the imperium of his office. The details of the manner in which the imperium operates in the processes of Roman Law will be better discussed under JURISDICTIOHere we have rather to consider the historical and constitutional aspects of the question.

Imperium domi et militiae. --Instead of dividing (as modern states commonly do) the functions of civil and military command, the Romans merely distinguished locally two spheres of administration. Outside the walls (militiae, on service) the imperium exists in all its fulness. Its civil and military powers are exercised at pleasure by every provincial governor. Inside the walls (domi) the imperium is, under the Republic, limited by various restrictions; it is subject to the intercessio of a colleague, to provocatio ad populum, and to extinction by the lapse of the period of time assigned to the office. From the year 494 B.C. the imperium at home is likewise crossed by the rival power of the magistrates of the plebs. From all these restrictions the imperium abroad is free. The difference between the two is not sufficient to make military rule absolutely impossible in the city. On the occasion of a triumph the magistrate (unless he be stopped by a tribune) rides with his army through the street. When the city is actually attacked, it must of course be defended by men enrolled under military discipline, and to the magistrate with imperium the command of these men would necessarily belong; unless, however, he got rid of intercessio and provocatio by being nominated dictator, he would be somewhat hampered in the exercise of that command. But under ordinary circumstances the distinction between the two localities was enough practically to exclude military government from the space within the walls, to confine the magistrate at home to the civil functions of his imperium, and so to justify the verbal opposition of domi and militiae.

The magistrate legally qualified to act both domi and militiae was further bound by constitutional custom not to confuse the two spheres, but to mark his entry on the freer field of authority by a solemn exit under special auspices, by the change of dress in which he laid aside the gown of peace for the crimson mantle (paludamentum), and by the assumption of the axes which symbolised his enlarged powers. Under the regulations of the later Republic, the occasions on which he was to transfer himself from the one field of government to the other were not left to the discretion of the magistrate, but were marked out for him by the law. The praetor, for instance, who has the urbana provincia assigned to him, must remain at home administering justice. Under Sulla's regulations the same appears to have been the case with the consuls, unless the contrary was ordered by a senatusconsultum ut exeant paludati (Cic. ad Fam. 8.1. 0), which again could be frustrated by the veto of a tribune. On the other hand, this march out must not be put off too long. If the magistrate allows the last day of his year of office to pass while he is still within the walls, his imperium will lapse along with his magistracy. Probably Sulla's law prescribed a precise time in the December of each year for the ceremony. These points are best illustrated by the situation described in Cicero's speech de Provinciis Consularibus, ch. 15; and fully discussed in Mommsen's monograph entitled Rechtsfrage zwischen Caesar und den Senat.

Acquisition of the Imperium.--It would perhaps be going too far to say that the imperium was conferred by a Lex Curiata. We find consuls who have failed to obtain this nevertheless holding the senate and conducting the general business of chief magistrate at Rome. It seems to follow that by virtue of their election they can exercise much of the power of their office, and it is that power which is called imperium. Nevertheless it is clear that some of the main functions appertaining to the imperium could not properly be performed unless the magistrate were empowered by a Lex Curiata. Without this the praetor could not sit in judgment (Dio Cass.), the consul could not hold the assembly for the election of his successors (Dio Cass.) nor triumph after a victory (Cic. ad Att. 4.1. 6, 12). It even seems that he could not without it properly take the command of an army at all ( consuli, si legem curiatam non habet, attingere rem militarem non licet, Cic. de Leg. Agr. 2.1. 2, 30). Such rules might, however, be evaded. The Agrarian Law of Rullus (B.C. 63) provided indeed first that a Lex Curiata should be passed for the commissioners, but ordained further that if it were not passed its effects should nevertheless accrue to them. (Cic. ib. 11, 28, quid postea si ea lata non erit? . . . tum ii decemviri, inquit, eodem jure sint quo qui optima lege.) This provision, though Cicero speaks of it as monstrous, could be inserted in any law or plebiscitum creating an extraordinary command. Even in the case of the consul, it was held that the law of Sulla practically dispensed with the necessity for his getting a Lex Curiata before he took command of his province and army. Appius Claudius, consul in 54 B.C., who had been prevented by tribunician intercessio from passing his Lex. Curiata, declared nevertheless (Cic. ad Fam. 1.9, 25), se, quoniam ex S. C. provinciam haberet, lege Cornelia imperium habiturum quoad urbem introisset. The law of Sulla manifestly only repeated the old doctrine [see MAGISTRATUS] that the magistrate cum imperio, though he may be prohibited from exercising his power except in his own provincia, does not lose it (however long the lapse of time) till he comes again within the city walls. But as the law says, totidem litteris, that he is to be cum imperio, this is held by Appius to confer the imperium by implication. Cicero, though he thinks that Lentulus may have a fighting case if he wishes to dispute the claim of Appius to supersede him, nevertheless is clearly of opinion that this claim is good in law ( ne id quidem valde dubium est).

Collision of Imperium.--The rules as to the collision of imperium, when two magistrates, inferior and superior, are acting in one sphere, are the same as those for the collision of auspices [see MAGISTRATUS]. When two magistrates of equal power are acting together at home, their relations are ruled by the principle of intercessio [see MAGISTRATUS]. As the imperium outside the walls is not subject to intercessio, a different principle there obtains. Two equal magistrates must either agree between themselves who is to command (Liv. 22.30, 4), or must divide the army between them (ib. 27, 9), or must take command alternately (ib. 27, 6). In any case there is always some one whom each soldier is bound to obey without question or interference.

Transition to the Principate.--After the Second Punic War the assignment of definite districts to each single magistrate becomes the rule, and a double command is rare. Each magistrate or pro-magistrate cum. imperio, having now his locally defined province, is commonly bound not to interfere with his colleagues by exercising any authority in their districts. Nevertheless we have instances in which a coordinate or superior proconsular power is committed to a person other than the proper governor of a province. This infinitum imperium is ascribed by Cicero (in err. 2.3.8, and 3.91.213) to M. Antonius, praetor of 74 B.C., who was commissioned against the pirates. Pompey received it for the same purpose by the Gabinian Law (B.C. 67). Pompey had an aequum imperium cum proconsulibus (Vell. 2.31) on any ground within 50 miles of the sea. At a later period (B.C. 57) the imperium infinitum was again granted to Pompey as curator of the corn supply of Rome, and it was even proposed, though not carried, to give him a majus imperium over that of the ordinary governors (Cic. ad Att. 4.1, 7). Such a superior command was actually voted to the proconsuls Brutus and Cassius in the last days of the Republic. (See Mommsen, Staatsr. ii.3 p. 655.)

The general rule, that the magistrate must govern his province personally, was also broken through in favour of Pompey. From the year 55 B.C. till Caesar's victory at Herda in 49 B.C. he was proconsul of Spain; yet he never set foot in his province, but governed it through legati, while he remained at Rome. In the year 52 he was both consul and pro-consul; for the remaining years he was specially exempted from the rule that the imperium of the promagistrate must lapse, as soon as its holder comes within the city walls.

Pompey set a yet more notable precedent for the system of the Principate, when he lent to Caesar for service in Gaul a legion which had pronounced the sacramentum in his name. The soldiers so lent owed allegiance to Pompey even while serving in Caesar's army; and when the senate required each of the two proconsuls to send a legion for service against the Parthians, Pompey offered as his contribution that one which was in Caesar's camp. Caesar at once acquiesced in the demand.

Proconsulare Imperium of the Principate.--In B.C. 27 the senate assigned certain provinces to Augustus. He governed them, as Pompey had done, by means of legati, who were invested with the subordinate imperium pro praetore. The Emperor remained in the city without forfeiting his proconsular imperium, although it is not clear whether the latter could be exercised over the city itself. Besides his proconsular authority over his own provinces, Augustus had an infinitum imperium majus, concurrently with his brother proconsuls in the senatorial provinces (Dio Cass., 5; cf. also the case of Germanicus, Tac. Ann. 2.43). The infinitum imperium was especially convenient for the command of the fleet which was concentrated in the hand of Augustus. Lastly, every soldier in the empire had pronounced the sacramentum in verba Caesaris Augusti. The precedent of Pompey's Gallic legion was extended to the whole army: all were soldiers of the Emperor. He either commanded them personally or by his legates, or else lent them to his colleagues in the Proconsulare Imperium or to the proconsuls of the senatorial provinces. Germanicus in Germany and Blaesus in Africa have each an independent imperium, but have only borrowed troops. They may command them in the field, but the Emperor retains the sole appointment of the officers, the sole charge of the recruiting, and the sole right to discharge men from the service. If these powers are ever exercised by another person, it is only by delegation from the Emperor (Mommsen, Staatsr. ii.3 pp. 848-851).

The Emperor being regarded as continually a general at the head of his army, not only keeps the insignia commonly associated with the name of Imperator, the laurel wreath and laurelled fasces, but has various prerogatives which may be deduced from those of the Republican general. The guard of honour which escorted the commander in the field attends the Emperor at home, and becomes the garrison of the town of Rome. [See PRAETORIANI] The power of the general to settle his invalided veterans on the lands he has conquered (as Scipio did at the Spanish Italica: Appian, App. Hisp. 38) is interpreted as conferring on the Emperor the right to grant away the ager publicus; and the power of rewarding good service on the part of the auxiliary soldiers by the gift of citizenship (Cic. pro Balbo, 8, 19) develops into the right to make Roman citizens at will.

It is noticeable that the proconsulare imperium, though it was in truth, as Mommsen says (Staatsr. ii.3 p. 840), the single definite qualification absolutely necessary to the Princeps, and further sufficient by itself alone to constitute the office, is never mentioned by Augustus himself in the account of his own offices and powers, which is preserved to us in the Monumentum Ancyranum. The assignment of provinces was undoubtedly within the competence of the senate, and it was now held (in extension of the theory propounded by Ap. Claudius) that the senate might therewith confer the power necessary for their government. The official silence gives us to understand that it was a mere matter of administrative arrangement that the charge of certain provinces and armies with the proconsular imperium thereto appertaining was committed to Augustus. [PRINCEPS]

Title of Imperator under the Republic.--Imperator means, of course, one possessed of the imperium. Strictly speaking, then, the title should be equally applicable at home and on service. But from a very early period it was felt to be uncivil in the magistrate to flaunt his authority in the face of his fellow-citizens at home. The nickname of Imperiosus applied to a Manlius who had unduly magnified his office (Liv. 7.4, 3) shows the invidious associations of the word. Hence the title of Imperator is never assumed by the magistrate discharging civic functions, nor is the word ever used to describe him. In the army, on the other hand, Imperator is the regular mode of address of the soldier to the magistrate under whom he is serving. It is quite clear from Liv. 7.10, 10, and 7.16, 5, that this address was used from the first moment that the general took the field, and not only after a victory. The same may be gathered from Appian's story (Bell. Civ. 4.40) of a proscribed man, Rheginus (who had never, so far as we know, won a victory or enjoyed a triumph); one of his old soldiers is described as recognising him with the words: Ἄπιθι χαίρων, αὐτοκράτορ: τοῦτο γάρ μοι προσήκει καὶ νῦν καλεῖν σε.

After a victory it was the custom for the troops to greet their commander with a solemn acclamation. In so saluting they employed their every-day title of address, and the cry Imperator, Imperator, sounded from rank to rank. This ceremony relieved the general so honoured from the obligation of veiling his imperium, and stamped upon him the appellation thus publicly uttered. Henceforth he appends the word Imperator to his name, and the title is used even by civilians who have occasion to address him. In the later Republic the senate sometimes gives emphasis to the honourable distinction by itself inviting or sanctioning the assumption of the title by a victorious general. This assumption is commonly the first step towards claiming a triumph. If it befall a man more than once in his life to achieve successes in the field which thus authorise him to advertise his imperium to the world, he sometimes indicates in adverbial phrase the repetition of his honours, and signs himself Imperator iterum or Imperator ter. Though not every possessor of the imperium is justified in styling himself Imperator, the converse is strictly true; it is impossible for any one to be called Imperator unless he is vested with the imperium. No officer serving under the direct command of another without independent auspices of his own may accept this address (it was refused to the elder Drusus while still only a legate, Dio Cass., 5), and no one who has the title can retain it after he lays down his imperium. This occurs for the proconsul the moment he comes within the city walls, unless his imperium be extended for the day of triumph by decree of the people. [See TRIUMPHUS] In this case the title lapses with the imperium after that day.

Use of the title by Caesar.--The elder Caesar during the last fourteen years of his life always styled himself Imperator. There is no reason to suppose that in so doing he overstepped any legal restriction. From the day of his victory over the Helvetii in B.C. 58 down to his death he was continuously vested with the imperium, first as Proconsul, then as Consul (B.C. 48), and then as Dictator. As the imperium never lapsed there was no necessity to lay down the title, though his retention of it in the city was uncivil doubtless, and arrogant. The title follows Caesar's name in all official documents. [PRINCEPS]

Praenomen Imperatoris. --With Octavian we come to an entirely new use of the word. In the third year of the triumvirate (B.C. 40) he dropped his praenomen Caius and adopted instead the word Imperator as a praenomen. Side by side with Marcus Antonius Marci filius we now find Imperator Caesar Divi filius. Mommsen (Staatsr. ii.3 pp. 767-770) has explained this strange transformation in a most ingenious conjecture. He holds that Octavian chose to assume that the title Imperator had so coalesced with the name of Caesar as to have become a sort of honorary cognomen, like Magnus or Africanus. On this assumption he himself would have a hereditary right to his adoptive father's appellation; and once granted that Imperator was a part of the name, it might be transferred at will from the place of cognomen to that of praenomen, just as Nero and Drusus were used as praenomina by several members of the imperial family. Whether we accept this explanation or not, there is no doubt of the fact that Augustus employed the word Imperator as a proper name--ὥσπερ τι κύριον, as Dio Cassius (Dio Cass. 43.44) says of the emperors of his own time. The next three principes did not adopt the praenomen imperatoris, but retained each his own ordinary praenomen of Tiberius or Caius. With Nero the practice of Augustus was revived, and succeeding emperors likewise assumed this praenomen, some in conjunction with, some in substitution for, the ordinary one.

Salutation Pro Imperio.--Though not every princeps assumed the word Imperator as part of his name, yet every one of them possessed the proconsulare imperium, and was therefore qualified to be addressed as Imperator either by his troops or by the senate. It was the custom at the beginning of each reign for the senate and soldiers to attest their recognition of this qualification in a solemn greeting which exactly follows the precedent of the greeting after a victory. The study of the imperial coins has led the best authorities (see Mommsen, Staatsr. ii.3 p. 782) to the conclusion that, notwithstanding the immense difference in the practical significance of the ceremony in the two cases, the salutation pro imperio and the salutation after a victory are in law precisely the same thing, and that they are counted as similar units by every emperor who signifies the number of his acclamations among his list of honours. Thus, if we find Imp. IV. attached to a name, we are to understand that the sum is made up by one accession to the throne and three victories.

Whensoever the senate thus salutes a man as. Imperator, this is a solemn proclamation that they have either conferred on him (as is their right) the proconsulare imperium, or fully acknowledge him as already invested with it. It is not unnatural that such a salutation by the senate should count as the dies imperii, the day from which the Emperor dates the commencement of his reign. In the register of the sacred college of the Arval Brothers we find a feast ob diem imperii [Vitellii] . . . Germanici quod xiii. Kal. Mai. statutum est, and the date is found to synchronise with the day on which the senate heard of the defeat and death of Otho and voted the customary decrees for his successor (Henzen, Acta Fratr. Arv. p. xciv.; Tac. Hist. 2.55; Mommsen, Staatsr. ii.3 p. 842). In the case of Caligula the dies imperii is still more clearly defined. The 18th of March is honoured w<*> a festival, quod hoc die C. Caesar Augustus Germanicus a senatu Imperator appellatus est (Henzen, ib. p. xliii.).

The case is different when we find the soldiers giving this salutation to a man who does not possess the imperium which is its legitimate foundation. There are republican precedents to show that this need not in every case be construed as an act of mutiny. In the 7th year of the Second Punic War, after the defeat and, death of P. and Cn. Scipio in Spain, the remnant of the Roman army placed at their head a knight named Marcius, who extricated them from their danger. When Marcius sent letters to the senate announcing these events (Liv. 26.2), he signed himself pro praetore, thus assuming that he had de facto acquired the imperium necessary to justify his command of the troops. As he styled himself pro praetore his soldiers would doubtless address him as Imperator, indicating thereby their intention to treat him as if he were their lawful commander. The same lesson may be gathered from the story of the first meeting of Sulla and Pompey. Pompey had on his own authority raised an army in Picenum, had baffled the superior forces opposed to him, and effected a junction with Sulla. When the two met, Pompey of course addressed the victorious proconsul as Imperator: Sulla made use of the same title in reply, thus acknowledging Pompey, not as a mere officer of his own, but as invested with an independent command. In both these cases the de facto imperium was presumed without any intention of rebellion against legal authority, but in obedience to the supposed necessities of the situation, and with the intention of having the assumption afterwards properly ratified. In somewhat the same way under the Principate, troops whose command was vacant by the death of him whose soldiers they had been, might, irregularly but without any gross breach of constitutional order, offer a provisional allegiance to a new commander. This was done by the praetorians to Claudius after the assassination of Caligula. In the present decay of its practical power no choice was left to the senate but to confirm the initiative of the soldiers. This initiative is all the more justified when the person chosen (as Nero, for instance) already possesses the proconsular imperium as colleague of his predecessor. In this case, as no new imperium begins, the event is not counted in the list of acclamations (Mommsen, Staatsr. ii.3 1155). More generally, however, the soldiers in giving this salutation discard a prior allegiance. Here, too, we may find an early parallel in the story told by Livy (Liv. 7.39), of a military insurrection during the Samnite War. The mutineers seized on a retired officer named Quinctius, and offered him the choice of death or imperium et honorem. Forced to submit, he was at once saluted Imperator, and carried to the camp. In like manner when the army of Germany, for instance, greeted its legate Vitellius as Imperator, this acclamation was an act of revolution and civil war. It ascribed the proconsulare imperium to one who not only did not already possess it, but who could not possess it without supplanting his legal commander. It further proclaimed the intention of these soldiers to prove their assertion good at the point of the sword.

Vitellius, as we have already seen, dated his reign not from this first salutation, but from the day when his authority was acknowledged by the senate. It was no doubt the more correct and more modest proceeding that the Emperor should thus ignore the irregular inception of his reign, and refer his power to the moment when it was legitimately conferred. But we also find another theory prevalent. From the moment when the pretender has accepted from any voice the salutation of Imperator, he has claimed to be in possession of the magisterial authority which serves as a basis for that title. If these pretensions are afterwards made good, he may without any great breach of propriety look upon them as having received a retrospective sanction, and may refer back to the moment of claim as the moment of acquisition. So we are told (Suet. Vesp. 6) that Vespasian kept as his dies imperii the day (July 1st) when he was first saluted Imperator by the legions of Egypt, though for months later the senate and the city of Rome were under the control of his rivals.

History of the Title under the Principate.--The supreme importance of the proconsulare imperium and of the functions attached to it added lustre to the derived name of Imperator. It might indeed attach to other persons than the reigning princeps. The Emperor's colleagues might accept the solemn salutation after a. victory and assume the title of honour. Tacitus tells us (Ann. 1.3) that Augustus privignos imperatoriis nominibus auxit, and again (2.26) of the younger Drusus, that he nonnisi apud Germanos assequi nomen imperatoris et deportare lauream posse. The title is frequent on their coins, and the word is sometimes used to describe them (Tac. Ann. 2.17, 2; 3.12-Z2, 4). It is also clear that Imperator was the everyday mode of address which the soldiers used towards them no less than towards the princeps. Velleius tells (2.104) that when Tiberius was sent by Augustus to take command of the army of Pannonia, his old soldiers crowded round him, exclaiming, Videmus te, Imperator, salvum recepimus . . . ego tecum, Imperator, in Armenia, &c. The same was probably the case with the senatorial proconsuls of Africa. The soldiers would not have been likely publicly to salute Blaesus Imperator, as they did after his victory over Tacfarinas (Tac. Ann. 3.74), unless they had been used to call him by that name in private. On this occasion Tiberius allowed to Blaesus the assumption of the title, but the precedent was not afterwards followed. By the time of Domitian the word had become so distinctive an emblem of the supreme power that an unfortunate senator was put to death because by a slip of the tongue on the part of the crier he had been proclaimed Imperator instead of Consul. Gradually the proconsular and military associations connected with the words imperium and imperator fall away. In the jurists of the 2nd century imperium and imperatoria potestas denote the whole of the powers conferred on the chief of the state (Mommsen, Staatsr. ii.3 p. 877, n. 1). Imperator becomes the title of the chief magistracy, and to a great extent supplants that of princeps by which Augustus had chosen to describe himself.

[J.L.S.D]

Imperium

The full kingly power among the Romans, the royal authority over all members of the State. It was conferred on the newly-elected king by the Comitia Curiata, a formal assembly of the patricians comprising the curiae, and it consisted of the rights of levying the citizens for military service, of leading the army, of celebrating a triumph, of exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction, and of inflicting punishment on the citizens, whether corporal or capital, or such as affected either their property or their liberty. A symbol of this authority was the axe and the bundle of rods borne by the lictors. See fasces.

At the establishment of the Republic the imperium was transferred to the two consuls, as the successors of the kings; but the full power of the imperium was then limited by the fact that both possessed the same power, and that, in the penalties they inflicted in times of peace, they were subject to the right of appeal (see provocatio), and to the intervention of the tribunes of the people, after the institution of that office. When the consulship was deprived of its civil jurisdiction and the praetorship instituted for this purpose, the praetors also received the imperium; nevertheless it was more limited (minus) than that of the consuls, who, in contrast with the praetors and all other magistrates except the tribunes, had the right of ordering and forbidding. The imperium in its undivided and unlimited form was conferred on those who in exceptional cases were appointed dictators. It was also possessed by the interrex, but for five days only. For consuls and praetors the imperium could be prorogued, i. e. prolonged beyond their time of office; but the imperium thus prolonged was finitum, i. e. bounded within the limits of their province. In the Republic it could also be conferred by means of the Comitia Curiata, but this act fell into a mere formality. Under the Empire the term imperium included the highest military authority, which resided in the emperor and was the foundation of all his power. It was taken up either at the instance of the Senate or the troops. Its full validity depended on its recognition by both. See princeps.