The imperial “donativum,” or "donative" in English, has its origins in the last will and testament of the first emperor Augustus. Upon his death, most of the Roman population received some form of cash payout to settle everyone’s nerves and calm the political waters. The soldiers and praetorians were no exception. Tiberius would continue this trend by paying his praetorians a hefty sum in exchange for their refusal to defend Sejanus. But it was under the reign of Claudius when the donative became closely associated with the ascension of the new Emperor. As Claudius’ successor had been assassinated, and therefore died with no will, the new Emperor paid his donative to the praetorians to maintain their support at a very precarious time for him. After Claudius, every emperor would pay a donative to the praetorian guard.
