Traditionally, historians make a distinction between the Principate, the period following Augustus until the Crisis of the Third Century, and the Dominate, the period from Diocletian until the end of the empire in the west.
According to this distinction, during the Principate (from the Latin word princeps, meaning "first citizen") the realities of absolutism were formally concealed behind republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word dominus, meaning "master" or "owner") imperial power was clearly shown, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual.
More recently, historians have established that the situation was far more nuanced: certain historical forms continued until the Byzantine period, more than one thousand years after they were created, and displays of imperial majesty were common from the earliest days of the Empire.
Source:
Please rate this
Poor
Excellent
Votes: 0 |NaN out of 5