Come la parola del principe diventa legge: l’attività dell’ab epistulis tra Claudio e Nerone

The paper aims at highlighting the role played by the ab epistulis in performing imperial communication. By analysing all the constitutions issued during the reigns of Claudius and Nero in the light of literary sources, one can state that between 41 and 68 AD the procurator ab epistulis worked in the same way as the officium in the second century AD. Thanks to the activity of the ab epistulis, imperial orders were issued and published, thus becoming documents with a legal value.