Reconsidering the imperium infinitum of Marcus Antonius Creticus

Abstract

One of the most vivid examples of emergency Roman powers during the period of the Late Republic is the authority to combat pirates, among which — Marcus Antonius Creticus’s ‘unlimited imperium’ received in 74 B. C. Imperium infinitum prompted a historiographic debate which does not merely concern the nature and capacity of the former, but the very fact of the existence of such an imperium. An opinion was voiced that this phantom originated in Cicero’s rhetorical embellishment and the excessive enthrallment of T. Mommsen with the reconstruction of Roman state law. Numerous researchers still agree on the existence of the imperium infinitum, but interpret it in different ways. Most frequently they follow in T. Mommsen’s tracks in infusing this concept with a spatial/geographical sense — command of several, rather than one province, without clear borders. In order to elucidate the novelty introduced by Antonius’s command to the practice of emergency appointments, the article thoroughly examines the circumstances of its emergence based on the said sources, along with Antonius’s actions in Sicily, Liguria and Spain, as well as in the Eastern Mediterranean. The conclusion is as follows: it is unlikely that the official term ‘imperium infinitum’ existed at that time. However, Marcus Antonius’s command does, in fact, demonstrate that the ‘unlimited imperium’ is not merely Cicero’s rhetorical find, but actually a new type of executive authority that emerged in the late 70s B. C. The appearance of the word ‘infinitum’ in the unofficial definitions of Antonius’s imperium is explained by its omnitude and vast expanse, which most certainly impressed its contemporaries.