Legates and Imperium : The Status of Cn. Cornelius Scipio in Spain (218–211 bc )

Cn. Cornelius Scipio (cos. 222 bc) probably joined his brother’s consular campaign in Spain as a legate, but because he often led portions of his brother’s army, and because Livy calls him an imperator and says he was prorogued with his brother in 212 bc, it is widely assumed that he received an extraordinary grant of imperium and so became a promagistrate. This paper argues that there is no evidence for such a grant, and that the regulations surrounding the conferral of imperium make it unlikely. Livy’s statements are reconsidered and alternative interpretations suggested that fit the evidence better.