Chancellor's office in the Roman Empire
Ab epistulis was the chancellor 's office in the Roman Empire with responsibility for the emperor 's correspondence .[ 1] The office sent mandata (instructions) to provincial governors and other officials.[ 2] [ 3]
Ab epistulis wrote in Latin (ab epistulis latinis ) and in Greek (ab epistulis graecis ), and composed the short responses to petitions on behalf of the emperor.[ 4] Holders of the position usually had a particular vocation for literary matters.[ 5] [ 4]
^ Lara Peinado, Federico; Cabrero Piquero, Javier; Cordente Vaquero, Félix; Pino Cano, Juan Antonio (2009). Diccionario de instituciones de la Antigüedad (in Spanish) (1ª ed.). Fuenlabrada (Madrid): Ediciones Cátedra (Grupo Anaya, Sociedad Anónima ). p. 13. ISBN 9788437626123 . Retrieved 19 April 2017 .
^ "Constitutiones principum" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved Aug 30, 2018 .
^ Statius , Silvae 5, 1, 86-87
^ a b Potter, David Stone (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395 . Psychology Press. pp. 77–78. ISBN 0-415-10057-7 . Retrieved Aug 31, 2018 .
^ Birley, Anthony Richard (1987). Marcus Aurelius: A Biography (rev. ed.). London: Routledge. p. 122f. ISBN 0-7607-1186-0 .