Imperial Inquisitions

Delatores (political informants) and accusatores (malicious prosecutors) were a major part of life in imperial Rome. Contemporary sources depict them as cruel and heartless mercenaries, who bore the main responsibility for institutionalising and enforcing the 'tyranny' of the infamous rulers of the early empire, such as Nero, Caligula and Domitian. Stephen Rutledge's study examines the evidence to ask if this is a fair portrayal. Beginning with a detailed examination of the social and political