Hopes and Aspirations

This chapter concentrates on the idea of alternatives by examining the negotiations between Imperator Caesar and his community that took place in 28–27 BCE in the wake of his return to Rome after the battles at Actium and Alexandria. It focuses particularly on the proclamation of a restoration of leges et iura in 28 BCE and the relationship between this claim and a potential subsequent claim that res publica had been restored. The publication by Rich and Williams (1999) of an important aureus drew attention to the prevalence of the expression leges et iura in the literature of these and the preceding years. This chapter sets out the current state of scholarly thinking about these issues. It also explores the ramifications of some alternative readings of the well-known evidence for the experimentation with the phrase res publica that took place during the lifetimes of Augustus and Tiberius.