Explanation: Unpopular Emperors were often deposed by military coups, despite the reign of the Empire being (theoretically) predicated on the legitimizing institutions of the Republic granting power to the Emperor in the name of the people. Nothing beats naked force, though - and a helping of bribery to the soldiery, of course!
Wasn’t there at one point a literal sale to the highest bidder to take the throne … the salesmen being the elite soldiers who had just removed the previous leader.
Yep - Didius Julianus. Bribed the Praetorian Guard with the equivalent of 20 years’ pay per soldier. Reigned for only a few months before he himself was overthrown.
I believe they did receive the full donative, but Didius Julianus immediately devalued the currency once he was Emperor, so one imagines that if he did have the bribe in liquid assets before he took power, his finances were hurting pretty bad to have to pay it out.
I love how many of these political intrigues and controversies from the Roman era could have as easily occurred in 300CE, 1000CE, 1500CE, 1900, 1950, 2000 or last year
Explanation: Unpopular Emperors were often deposed by military coups, despite the reign of the Empire being (theoretically) predicated on the legitimizing institutions of the Republic granting power to the Emperor in the name of the people. Nothing beats naked force, though - and a helping of bribery to the soldiery, of course!
Wasn’t there at one point a literal sale to the highest bidder to take the throne … the salesmen being the elite soldiers who had just removed the previous leader.
Yep - Didius Julianus. Bribed the Praetorian Guard with the equivalent of 20 years’ pay per soldier. Reigned for only a few months before he himself was overthrown.
Do you know if the guard receive all of that promised donative before DJ was overthrown? I cannot imagine they had all that cash on hand.
I believe they did receive the full donative, but Didius Julianus immediately devalued the currency once he was Emperor, so one imagines that if he did have the bribe in liquid assets before he took power, his finances were hurting pretty bad to have to pay it out.
I love how many of these political intrigues and controversies from the Roman era could have as easily occurred in 300CE, 1000CE, 1500CE, 1900, 1950, 2000 or last year
Politics is truly timelessly shitty