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Now, as has been discussed at length by AH.com's more well-informed posters, a proper codification of the laws of succession to the imperial office is always going to be pretty unlikely, due to the nature of Roman Emperorship and the Roman polity itself.

But, here's a quick thought. How about a PoD where one of Augustus' grandsons survives another thirty years or so. It's this grandson, not Tiberius, who by Augustus' last years is sharing in all of his powers, and it's this grandson, wildly popular with the army who becomes Princeps after Augustus dies. The Romans were a people with high respect for blood and tradition, and a succession like this sets the first building block towards the idea that only a direct descendent of Augustus (himself a divine figure, after all) is eligible to follow him. Let's say Augustus' successor is lucky enough to himself be succeeded by a single adult son at some point in the late 30sAD, hammering the position home further.

Thoughts? This doesn't eliminate the problems, of course, but the pool of potential Emperors is certainly drastically curtailed.
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