OBSERVATIONS ON THE ORDER OF THE CONSULS IN CONSULAR DATES BETWEEN AUGUSTUS AND DIOCLETIAN.

The article focuses on the order of consuls’ names in consular dates during the Roman imperial period between Augustus and Diocletian (AD 15–284). It examines variations and irregularities in the naming sequence of ordinary consuls across literary, epigraphic, and manuscript sources, noting that while some pairs have a fixed order—often influenced by factors such as imperial family membership or repeated consulships—others show regional or chronological variations. The study highlights instances of erroneous or exceptional ordering in ancient sources and inscriptions, as well as inconsistencies in modern scholarly consular lists from the 16th century to the mid-20th century, including those by Onuphrius Panvinius and A. Degrassi. It concludes that although the order of consuls sometimes varied or was recorded incorrectly, modern compilations have often overlooked this complexity, focusing instead on identifying suffect consuls, and calls for a revised critical edition of the consular fasti.