ABSTRACT
Most Roman emperors went to great lengths to disguise the obviousness of their reliance on naked military force for their retention of power. Among the political élite in Rome, this sometimes entailed portraying themselves as equal in status to other senatorial aristocrats, superior only by virtue of the prestige freely bestowed upon them by the people in recognition of the excellence of their qualities. But at other times in their relations with senators, and quite generally in their relations with their other subjects, especially in the provinces, it entailed the portrayal of themselves as more than mortal. 1
