The Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone Patre
Text, Translation, and Commentary

Examines the emergence of dynastic rule at Rome in the early Principate via analysis of the senatorial decree concerning Piso.

Alison E. Cooley (Edited by)

9781108494458, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 February 2023

250 pages
25 x 17.3 x 2 cm, 0.7 kg

The Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone Patre is a senatorial decree issued in AD 20 following the trial of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the governor of Syria, who was accused of rebellion against Tiberius following the death of his heir Germanicus. It survives on several inscriptions and is among the most important documents from the early Principate. This new edition, with translation and commentary, sets the text within its contemporary context, considering it alongside other texts (including Tacitus' Annales), coins, and monuments, focusing upon the development of Tiberian political discourse. It explores how contemporary observers (including Valerius Maximus and Velleius Paterculus) understood and contributed to the shaping of dynastic rule at Rome after the death of Augustus in AD 14. It analyses how the Principate continued to evolve under his successor Tiberius, and explores the role of different individuals and groups in negotiating these political changes.

Introduction
Text and translation
Notes on variations between copies of the text
Commentary.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]