Precetti per gestire l’ imperium. Nota a Onasandro, Strategikos, proemio 1

In the preface to his Strategikos, Onasander identifies the potential readership of his work, besides the addressee Quintus Veranius (cos. 49 CE): the senators and ταῖς τε ὑπάτοις καὶ στρατηγικαῖς ἐξουσίαις κοσμουμένοις (pref. 1). These words are usually understood as a generic reference “to those who are rewarded by the authority of consul and general”. Actually, some philological and historical clues reveal that Onasander is more concerned with the Roman administrative lexicon than we would expect. Indeed, Onasander’s addressees were probably senators, and specifically consuls and magistrates cum imperio.