principate

1. (Ancient Rome) The early period of the Roman Empire, during which some characteristics of the government of the Roman Republic were retained; the reign of any particular emperor during said period.Examples: "The history of the courts and of judicial procedure during the principate is closely parallel to that of the government as a whole."; "The transition from republic to Principate brought a new and potent factor into the legal picture of the Roman state, the princeps or emperor."; "1996, Clare Krojzl (translator), Sebastian Hensel, III: From Diocletian to Alaric [1886, lecture notes], Theodor Mommsen (editor), A History of Rome Under the Emperors, C.H.Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Republished 2005, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), eBook, page 317, The dominate of Diocletian and Constantine differs more sharply from the principate than the latter does from the Republic."Ancient-Romecountableuncountable