new basis for their absolutism in the conception
of the emperor as the elect of God, who ruled by divine guidance. Thus the
emperor could speak of the _imperium_ which had been conferred upon him by
the heavenly majesty. The adjectives "sacred" and "divine" were applied
not only to the emperor's person but also to everything that in any way
belonged to him, and the "imperial divinity" was an expression in common
use.

As the sole author of the laws, the emperor was also their final
interpreter; and since he acted under divine guidance those who questioned
his decisions, and those who neglected or transgressed his ordinances,
were both alike guilty of sacrilege. The emperor was held to be freed from
the laws in the sense that he was not responsible for his legislative and
administrative acts, yet he was bound by the laws in that he had to adhere
to the general principles and forms of the established law of the state,
and had to abide by his own edicts, for the imperial authority rested upon
the authority of the laws.

The titles of the emperor bore witness to his autocratic power. From the
principate he had inherited those of Imperator, the significance of which
was revealed in its Greek rendering of Autocrator, and Augustus, which was
as well suited to the new as to the old position of the emperor. More
striking, however, was the use of _dominus_ or _dominus noster_, a title
which, as we have seen, was but rarely used during the principate, but
which was officially prescribed by Diocletian. The term princeps, although
it has long lost its original significance, still continued to be employed
in official documents, at times in conjunction with _dominus_.

*Imperial regalia.* The imperial regalia likewise expressed the emperor's
autocratic power. With Diocletian the military garb of the principate was
discarded for a robe of silk interwoven with gold and Constantine I
introduced the use of the diadem, a narrow band ornamented with jewels,
which formed part of the insignia of the Persian monarchs, and was
symbolic of absolutism in the ancient world.

*The succession.* We have seen how the scheme devised by Diocletian for
regulating the succession to the throne broke down after his retirement.
His successors refused to abdicate their imperial authority and only
surrendered it with life itself. In the appointment of new emperors two
principles found recognition--election and cooeptation. The system of
election was a legac