Vespasian and the Social World of the Roman Court

This article considers the Roman imperial court under the rule of Vespasian. His senatorial career began in the courts of Claudius and Nero; as successor to the Julio-Claudians, he established himself at the center of the imperial court by manipulating its physical space, its degree of formality, and his own accessibility to senators and to the public. In particular, his interactions with the imperial freedman Phoebus before and after his accession provide insight into both this court and imperial courts in general, with particular reference to how status was determined extra-institutionally, and to how highly the imperial elite valued presence at, and absence from, court.