Augustus and the Senate

In 19 b c, Augustus had the senate officially acknowledged that when they granted him at large proconsular authority, they had by no means meant to exclude italy from the list of territories over which augustus held imperium. This gave him the legal cover he needed to command the pretorian guardsmen he had stationed around the city. I will have much more to say about the pretor ance as we move forward, as they will soon establish themselves as the gravitational centre of imperial politics. But for now, let me just note that, where once it had been illegal to command troops on the home peninsula, it was now the prerogative of the emperor to do so with