The Augustan Empire 43 BC

period? No one knew. Admittedly, the more recent (and very uneasy) precedents of Sulla and Caesar furnished a dictatorship without any such legal maximum term.¹¹⁷ But those dictatorships had been voted in those terms, without any time-limitation. Now it was precisely the specifica­tion of a limit which differentiated the triumvirate: how crucial was this difference, and who was to say? Perhaps the closest analogy was to those few provincial commands assigned by lex rather than s.c., such as Caesar's command in Gaul. That had carried a fixed term - but the events of 51-50 had shown that the legal implications of its expiry were tangled and unclear. Were further confusion required, it was offered by the triumvirs' provincial commands. They had assigned these to themselves by virtue of their triumviral powers, but had also had them ratified by s.c.; it was not at all clear that their provincial imperium lapsed when their triumviral powers lapsed.¹¹⁸ The analogy with a regular proconsul, assigned a province by s.c., was close.

In short, the legal position was hopelessly confused. Perhaps it did not matter very much: the realities of power were clear enough. But the events of 51-50 had shown that legal issues could be important, at least in propaganda terms; and, anyway, the triumvirs had recently been making a show of their constitutionalism. It would certainly be comfor­table to give their status more clarity. Reassuringly, the triumvirate was now formally renewed for another five years, very probably to expire on the last day of 33,¹¹⁹ and a little later this was ratified by the people of Rome.¹²⁰ But the constitutional tangle was to return.

viii. the year 36 b.c.

While Antony and Octavian had been engaged at Tarentum, their lieutenants had been busy. Agrippa, consul in 37, had considerably strengthened Octavian's fleet; he had also recruited vast numbers of new seamen — 20,000 slaves were freed to allow them to serve.¹²¹ Most impressively of all, he had constructed the portus Iulius in Campania by linking the shallow Lucrine lake by a canal to the much deeper Avernus, then removing the dyke separating the Lucrine lake from the sea. The work was completed by two tunnels connecting the Avernus with

^1,7 Cf. Mommsen 1887 (a 65) ii.i³ 703-), 714-16. Caesar's dictatorship had originally been annual, then formally extended to ten years and then 'for life': MRR n »72, 285 n.i, 294-5, 30;, 317-18. ¹¹⁸ Cf. p. 20 and n.8o; Girardet 1990 (c 97). ¹¹⁹ See Endnote pp. 67-8.

¹³⁰ Thus App. III. 28.80,... Ktu о Siĵ/ios (irtKtKvpwKci. There is no inconsistency here (as is often suggested) with BCiv. v.95.398, where the triumvirs agree the renewal oiStv tr 1 той Srjfiov Вет/ветте;. In BCiv. Appian is simply contrasting the procedure in 37 with that of November 43, when the triumvirs needed a lex to establish them in office (BCiv. iv.7.27). Their powers now authorized them (it could be claimed) to renew their own term: it still suited their current policy to obtain ratification for their acts from the Senate (cf. p. 20 and n. 80) or, as here, the people.

¹²¹ Suet. Aug. 16. i; cf. Brunt 1971 (a 9) 508.

Cumae and the beach.[63] Sextus had recently been concentrating his attacks on the Campanian coast:[64] now the tunnels would allow Agrippa to convey supplies safely, while the double lake would afford a protected expanse of water for training crews.

In the East, meanwhile, Herod at last received effective aid. C. Sosius, Antony's governor of Syria and Cilicia, first subdued the Aradians (a Syrian people who were still disaffected), then arrived in Palestine. The war had been dragging on through 3 8, with Antigonus having much the better of it; Herod himself had been absent for a good part of the summer, pressing Antony at Samosata for more energetic help. In late 3 8 two legions had been sent ahead under Herod's direct command (a most irregular procedure): he promptly won a considerable victory at Isana. The rest of Judaea, except for the capital, quickly fell to him, and in spring 3 7 he resumed the siege of Jerusalem itself. Sosius' new force then arrived, and in July the city fell, very bloodily.[65] Herod became king; Antigonus was captured, and when Antony returned to the East he yielded to Herod's pressure and had him publicly executed at Antioch.

Herod was not specially loved by his countrymen, but his decisive victory still added to the stability of the East. What is more, the Parthian threat seemed to have disappeared. Indeed, there was a new dynastic crisis within Parthia itself. Orodes abdicated in late 3 8 or 3 7, and from his thirty sons he unwisely selected Phraates as successor, who promptly killed his father, all his brothers, and his son. The Parthian nobility soon revolted: the prospects for a Roman invasion had seldom been better.