Current scholarship on Roman imperial representation addresses both the ways in which individual ... more Current scholarship on Roman imperial representation addresses both the ways in which individual rulers presented themselves to their subjects and how particular aspects of imperial representation developed over time. This book combines these two approaches. It examines the diachronic development of the representation of Roman imperial power as a whole in one medium over a longer period of time. Through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of coin types issued between A.D. 193 and 284, patterns in the representation of third-century Roman emperors on imperial coinage are made visible. The result is a new perspective on the development of imperial ideology in times of crisis.
Trajan’s status as a model emperor is perhaps most famously expressed
in Eutropius’ catchphrase “... more Trajan’s status as a model emperor is perhaps most famously expressed in Eutropius’ catchphrase “More fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan” (Eutr. Brev. 8.5.3). Modern scholarship has similarly stressed Trajan’s exemplary status, assuming that Trajan’s virtues were already a point of departure by which to measure second- and third-century emperors. This article challenges that notion; it argues that Trajan’s status as a model emperor was a late-antique literary construct. Trajan only entered the repertoire of exemplary emperors during the course of the fourth century to become the model emperor in the very late fourth- and early-fifth century. This development depended on the historical context and ideological demands, as well as on the availability of the then-existing material discussing and depicting the historical Trajan.
Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, ... more Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, portraits and texts, are often combined to create a coherent image of a particular ruler. A good example of how such a process works is the way in which reconstructions by modern scholars of the emperor Nero tend to look for a clearly defined 'Neronian image', by bringing together various types of primary evidence without paying sufficient attention to these sources' medial contexts. This article argues that such a reconstruction does not do justice to the complex and multi-layered image of the last Julio-Claudian. By focusing on one particular aspect of Neronian imagery, the propagation of this emperor's ancestry, we will argue that different types of sources, stemming from varying contexts and addressing different groups, cannot unproblematically be combined. Through an investigation of the ancestral messages spread by imperial and provincial coins, epigraphic evidence and portraiture, it becomes clear that systematic analysis of ancient media, their various contexts and inconsistencies is needed before combining them. Such an analysis reveals patterns within the different sources and shows that, in creating imperial images, rulers were constrained by both medial and local traditions. Modern studies of ancient images should therefore consider this medial and geographical variety in order to do justice to the multi-faceted phenomenon of imperial representation.
This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be pres... more This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be presented as legitimate in a society that had never seen this political constellation before. What were the different modes of presenting Tetrarchic rule and how did they help in making the new system acceptable? The article argues that new power structures needed to be formulated in familiar terms, not only for the rulers to legitimate their position, but also for the ruled to understand such new systems. As a result, imperial messages during the Tetrarchic period were strongly influenced by traditional modes of representation from earlier periods. Traditions which were inherent in specific media and locations were determining factors for the way in which a new political system could be presented. The result was a much less coherent ideological Tetrarchic message than is often assumed. The image of group identity was regularly lost in a more complex and messy mode of formulating power. The new and innovative aspects of a collegiate rule by four emperors was less important than linking the power of those rulers to what was traditionally expected of the portrayal of Roman emperorship.
Growing generals: the military representation of the child-emperors Gratian and Honorius on coins... more Growing generals: the military representation of the child-emperors Gratian and Honorius on coins and in panegyricBetween 367 and 455 the Roman empire witnessed a series of children being elevated to the imperial throne. Meaghan McEvoy (2010; 2013) has convincingly shown that in the successive reigns of these child-emperors the imperial office was transformed from being active and military to being far more passive and ceremonial. Powerful generals were to take over the emperor’s military functions, while the young ruler came to fulfil an increasingly religious and ceremonial role. This article looks into the early phase of this transformation by investigating how the need for military leadership was dealt with in the cases of the child-emperors Gratian (r. 367-383) and Honorius (r. 393-423). A substantial amount of contemporary source material has survived from their reigns in the form of panegyrics and coinage. A systematic analysis of these sources relating to the various stages ...
This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be pres... more This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be presented as legitimate in a society that had never seen this political constellation before. What were the different modes of presenting Tetrarchic rule and how did they help in making the new system acceptable? The article argues that new power structures needed to be formulated in familiar terms, not only for the rulers to legitimate their position, but also for the ruled to understand such new systems. As a result, imperial messages during the Tetrarchic period were strongly influenced by traditional modes of representation from earlier periods. Traditions which were inherent in specific media and locations were determining factors for the way in which a new political system could be presented. The result was a much less coherent ideological Tetrarchic message than is often assumed. The image of group identity was regularly lost in a more complex and messy mode of formulating power. The new and innovative aspects of a collegiate rule by four emperors was less important than linking the power of those rulers to what was traditionally expected of the portrayal of Roman emperorship.
C.A. Cvetkovic and P. Gemeinhardt (eds.), Episcopal Networks in Late Antiquity. Connection and Communication across Boundaries, 2019
In the first three centuries AD the Roman emperor incontestablyp ossessed supreme religious autho... more In the first three centuries AD the Roman emperor incontestablyp ossessed supreme religious authority within the Empire.¹ One clear institutional reflection of this was the title pontifex maximus,which became linked to emperorship alreadyf rom the Julio-Claudian dynasty onward.² How the emperor'sp osition as head of the religious organization of the Romans tate was playedo ut is visible on coins,f requentlyb earing references to the title pontifex maximus or images of the emperor sacrificing,and also in letters in which subjects consulted the emperor on religious matters.³ Pliny, for instance,when governor of Bithynia-Pontus, wrotealetter to Trajan in which he asked the emperor for advice on moving tombs:
Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, ... more Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, portraits and texts, are often combined to create a coherent image of a particular ruler. A good example of how such a process works is the way in which reconstructions by modern scholars of the emperor Nero tend to look for a clearly defined ‘Neronian image’, by bringing together various types of primary evidence without paying sufficient attention to these sources’ medial contexts. This article argues that such a reconstruction does not do justice to the complex and multi-layered image of the last Julio-Claudian. By focusing on one particular aspect of Neronian imagery, the propagation of this emperor’s ancestry, we will argue that different types of sources, stemming from varying contexts and addressing different groups, cannot unproblematically be combined. Through an investigation of the ancestral messages spread by imperial and provincial coins, epigraphical evidence and portraiture, it becomes clear that systematic analysis of ancient media,their various contexts and inconsistencies is needed before combining them. Such an analysis reveals patterns within the different sources and shows that, in creating imperial images, rulers were constrained by both medial and local traditions. Modern studies of ancient images should therefore take these medial and geographical variety into account in order to do justice to the the multi-faceted phenomenon of imperial representation.
De 'Constantijnse wende' numismatisch onderzocht 1 ERIKA MANDERS Op 28 oktober 2012 was het preci... more De 'Constantijnse wende' numismatisch onderzocht 1 ERIKA MANDERS Op 28 oktober 2012 was het precies 1700 jaar geleden dat er even buiten Rome, bij de Milvische brug, een grote militaire veldslag plaatsvond. In de vroege ochtend van die dag in het jaar 312 na Christus trok Constantijn (306-337), die over Spanje, Britannië en Gallië regeerde, met zijn legers op tegen de troepen van Maxentius (306-312), de usurpator die het Italische schiereiland en Afrika in zijn bezit had. Constantijn wilde een einde maken aan de provocaties van Maxentius aan het adres van de gevestigde autoriteiten. Bovendien kon hij, door Maxentius te verslaan en Rome te veroveren, de alleenheerschappij verkrijgen over het gehele westelijk deel van het Romeinse rijk. 2 Hoewel Constantijns manschappen ver in de minderheid waren, boekten zij een glorieuze overwinning op die van Maxentius; de soldaten van de tegenkeizer werden hetzij afgeslacht hetzij door het water van de Tiber verzwolgen toen zij de Milvische brug over probeerden te vluchten. Deze brug, die door Maxentius van een vaste brug in een provisorische scheepsbrug was veranderd, kon het gewicht van de soldaten en hun paarden niet dragen, met als gevolg dat hijzelf en een groot deel van zijn soldaten in de Tiber vielen en verdronken. 3 Constantijn was nu officieel de enige heerser over het West-Romeinse Rijk en hij trok zegevierend Rome binnen. De slag bij de Pons Milvius lijkt op het eerste gezicht niet exceptioneel. In het Romeinse keizerrijk vonden wel vaker militaire expedities plaats tegen personen die de keizerlijke macht hadden opgeëist en dus een bedreiging vormden voor de zittende keizer of, na de deling van de macht in 285, keizers. In de derde eeuw was het zelfs uitzonderlijk wanneer er tijdens een heerschappij géén usurpaties van de keizerlijk macht (en dus inherente militaire activiteiten) plaatsvonden. 4 Desalniettemin wordt de strijd tussen Constantijn en Maxentius tot op heden als één van de beroemdste veldslagen uit de Romeinse geschiedenis gezien. Het was immers de eerste keer dat een keizer zijn overwinning toeschreef aan de god van de christenen.
Journal of Interdisciplinary History Summer 2014, Vol. 45, No. 1: 25–37.
Analysis of the coinage during Nero's reign as Roman emperor reveals a much less uniform image of... more Analysis of the coinage during Nero's reign as Roman emperor reveals a much less uniform image of Nero than is usually depicted in historical literature. The case of Nero exemplifies the importance of an interdisciplinary methodological framework. A “pick and mix” numismatic methodology devised in support of a Neronian ideology gleaned via literary evidence may lead to a superficially convincing image of the emperor, but it will not do justice to the complexities surrounding his reign.
Epigraphic evidence from different regions within the Roman Empire in the third century testifies... more Epigraphic evidence from different regions within the Roman Empire in the third century testifies to an increasing awareness of the Empire as a whole, which was perceived to have been under threat. Simultaneously, other inscriptions show the continuing importance of the emperor as a figurehead within this Empire. The rapid changeover of individual emperors and the consequently diminished power of individual emperors seem to have had little impact on the central positions that emperors occupied in the eyes of their subject. In fact, the increased absence of emperors from Rome for much of the period – and more importantly their presence at the local level – seems to have boosted the number of requests from the provinces to the emperor. At the same time, an analysis of third-century imperial coinage may also indicate a changing portrayal of the relationship between the emperor and the city of Rome. This article tries to place a discussion about the (perceived) identity of emperor and empire in the third century in terms of the relation between empire, emperor, and the city which gave its name to the realm.
Vor kurzem ist ein neuer Römischer Kaiser entdeckt worden. Sein Name ist Domitian der Zweite, und... more Vor kurzem ist ein neuer Römischer Kaiser entdeckt worden. Sein Name ist Domitian der Zweite, und er regierte um 271 nach Christus. Sein Kaisertum ist bestätigt durch eine erst 2004 veröffentlichte bronzen Münze, die schon ein Jahr zuvor bei Chipping Nortonein Dorf in der nähe von Oxforddurch einen Metalldetektor Fanatiker namens Brian Malin gefunden wurde. Auf diese Münze sieht man Domitian, ein aus Texten, vor allen die Historia Augusta, bereits bekannter Offizier, als Kaiser porträtiert. Es gab schon eine andere Münze auf welcher dieser Domitian als Kaiser sichtbar war, aber diese bronzen Münze war 1900 ohne gute Ausgrabungsdaten aufgetaucht, was die Authentizität in Frage stellte. Der Fund der neuen Münze macht Domitians Thronbesteigung dagegen beinah sicher. 1 Die Münze hat viel öffentliche Beachtung bekommen, aber die jetzige Beachtung steht in keinem Verhältnis zu der damaligen Bedeutung des Kaisers. Dieser ‚neue' Kaiser hat nämlich nicht lang regieren können. Denn nur zwei übrig gebliebene bronzen Münze implizieren eine extrem kurze Regierungszeit. Zum vergleich: Vom Usurpator Laelianus, der für zwei oder drei Monate in 269 der Gegenständer des Gallisches Kaisers Postumus war, sind mehr als zweihundert Münzen übergeblieben. 2 Domitians Machtsanspruch hielt also scheinbar nur wenige Tage an. Auch von dem Kaiser Proculus, der in 280 gegen den Kaiser Probus rebellierte, ist ziemlich rezent eine Münze gefunden. Dieser Usurpator hat wahrscheinlich ebenfalls nur Wochen regiert. 3 Dass sogar Usurpatoren mit einer so schwachen Kontrolle wie Domitian II oder Proculus dennoch sofort angefangen haben Münzen zu prägen, verdeutlicht um so mehr die Wichtigkeit der Repräsentation im allgemeineund die Rolle der Münzen dabei im besonderen. 4 Im Fall Domitians ist auch die Legenda CONCORDIA MILITUM auffällich. Hätte Domitian tatsächlich die Soldaten hinter sich gehabt, dann hätte seiner Kaiserstatus vielleicht länger dauern können. Vielleicht versuchte er durch die Darstellung militärischer Unterstützung auch wirkliche Unterstützung zu bekommen. Ohne Resultat. Er wurde schnell * Wir danken den Anwesenden des Kolloquiums für ihre Reaktionen, insbesondere Luuk de Blois, Karsten Dahmen und Christian Witschel. Das Thema dieses Artikels wird ausführlicher behandelt in Frau Manders' Doktorat.
Alexander Severus was 13 years old when he obtained the most powerful job in the Roman world; in ... more Alexander Severus was 13 years old when he obtained the most powerful job in the Roman world; in 222 he became emperor, which especially in the third century was not an unmitigated pleasure. He succeeded Heliogabalus (218-222), his cousin who, according to the literary sources, was hated by all. That year, Heliogabalus had been murdered by his troops and eventually cast into the Tiber. For him, damnatio memoriae was inevitable. Alexander had to cope with several aspects of Heliogabalus' inheritance. His cousin's religious reforms in particular were the cause of much trouble. While casting Jupiter aside, the priest emperor (SACERDOS DEI SOLIS ELAGA-BALI) had made the Syrian sun god Elagabal head of the Roman pantheon 1 . This religious alteration had upset the rather fragile balance of power between emperor and senate as well as between the autocrat and his troops. In response, after gaining control of the Roman Empire, Alexander cum suis strengthened their relationship with the senators by giving them a prominent role in government (e.g. Cassius Dio, Tullius Menophilus, Pudens Crispinus) 2 . It is noteworthy that, although the resumed rise of the senatorial class is of considerable importance to modern scholars, military men and logistic specialists (e.g. Maximinus Thrax and Timesitheus) held equally important positions during Alexander's reign 3 . The relation between Alexander and the army, however, was strained from the outset. In the end, this problematic relation was to be fatal; in 235 Alexander was murdered by his own troops. * My gratitude goes to Olivier Hekster and Luuk de Blois for commenting on an earlier draft of this article. Thanks are also due to Martijn Icks (who is preparing a dissertation on Heliogabalus) for valuable discussions about Heliogabalus, to Mark Bainbridge for correcting my English, and to NWO for the funding of my project: 'Patterns and developments in the representation of Roman imperial power, AD 180-284'. It goes without saying that all remaining mistakes are my own.
Call for a numismatic course with a 5ects load at the Royal Netherlands Institute Rome in collab... more Call for a numismatic course with a 5ects load at the Royal Netherlands Institute Rome in collaboration with OIKOS, DAI Rome, the Radboud University Nijmegen and the John Felice Rome Center of Loyola University Chicago (September 2019). The course is open for MA-, RMA students and PhD candidates in (Ancient) History, Art History, Classics and Archaeology from the KNIR partner universities (UvA, VU, UL, UU, RU and RUG) as well as from German universities. The course is part of the OIKOS education program for PhD students. No specific knowledge of Greek or Latin language is required.
Current scholarship on Roman imperial representation addresses both the ways in which individual ... more Current scholarship on Roman imperial representation addresses both the ways in which individual rulers presented themselves to their subjects and how particular aspects of imperial representation developed over time. This book combines these two approaches. It examines the diachronic development of the representation of Roman imperial power as a whole in one medium over a longer period of time. Through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of coin types issued between A.D. 193 and 284, patterns in the representation of third-century Roman emperors on imperial coinage are made visible. The result is a new perspective on the development of imperial ideology in times of crisis.
Trajan’s status as a model emperor is perhaps most famously expressed
in Eutropius’ catchphrase “... more Trajan’s status as a model emperor is perhaps most famously expressed in Eutropius’ catchphrase “More fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan” (Eutr. Brev. 8.5.3). Modern scholarship has similarly stressed Trajan’s exemplary status, assuming that Trajan’s virtues were already a point of departure by which to measure second- and third-century emperors. This article challenges that notion; it argues that Trajan’s status as a model emperor was a late-antique literary construct. Trajan only entered the repertoire of exemplary emperors during the course of the fourth century to become the model emperor in the very late fourth- and early-fifth century. This development depended on the historical context and ideological demands, as well as on the availability of the then-existing material discussing and depicting the historical Trajan.
Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, ... more Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, portraits and texts, are often combined to create a coherent image of a particular ruler. A good example of how such a process works is the way in which reconstructions by modern scholars of the emperor Nero tend to look for a clearly defined 'Neronian image', by bringing together various types of primary evidence without paying sufficient attention to these sources' medial contexts. This article argues that such a reconstruction does not do justice to the complex and multi-layered image of the last Julio-Claudian. By focusing on one particular aspect of Neronian imagery, the propagation of this emperor's ancestry, we will argue that different types of sources, stemming from varying contexts and addressing different groups, cannot unproblematically be combined. Through an investigation of the ancestral messages spread by imperial and provincial coins, epigraphic evidence and portraiture, it becomes clear that systematic analysis of ancient media, their various contexts and inconsistencies is needed before combining them. Such an analysis reveals patterns within the different sources and shows that, in creating imperial images, rulers were constrained by both medial and local traditions. Modern studies of ancient images should therefore consider this medial and geographical variety in order to do justice to the multi-faceted phenomenon of imperial representation.
This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be pres... more This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be presented as legitimate in a society that had never seen this political constellation before. What were the different modes of presenting Tetrarchic rule and how did they help in making the new system acceptable? The article argues that new power structures needed to be formulated in familiar terms, not only for the rulers to legitimate their position, but also for the ruled to understand such new systems. As a result, imperial messages during the Tetrarchic period were strongly influenced by traditional modes of representation from earlier periods. Traditions which were inherent in specific media and locations were determining factors for the way in which a new political system could be presented. The result was a much less coherent ideological Tetrarchic message than is often assumed. The image of group identity was regularly lost in a more complex and messy mode of formulating power. The new and innovative aspects of a collegiate rule by four emperors was less important than linking the power of those rulers to what was traditionally expected of the portrayal of Roman emperorship.
Growing generals: the military representation of the child-emperors Gratian and Honorius on coins... more Growing generals: the military representation of the child-emperors Gratian and Honorius on coins and in panegyricBetween 367 and 455 the Roman empire witnessed a series of children being elevated to the imperial throne. Meaghan McEvoy (2010; 2013) has convincingly shown that in the successive reigns of these child-emperors the imperial office was transformed from being active and military to being far more passive and ceremonial. Powerful generals were to take over the emperor’s military functions, while the young ruler came to fulfil an increasingly religious and ceremonial role. This article looks into the early phase of this transformation by investigating how the need for military leadership was dealt with in the cases of the child-emperors Gratian (r. 367-383) and Honorius (r. 393-423). A substantial amount of contemporary source material has survived from their reigns in the form of panegyrics and coinage. A systematic analysis of these sources relating to the various stages ...
This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be pres... more This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be presented as legitimate in a society that had never seen this political constellation before. What were the different modes of presenting Tetrarchic rule and how did they help in making the new system acceptable? The article argues that new power structures needed to be formulated in familiar terms, not only for the rulers to legitimate their position, but also for the ruled to understand such new systems. As a result, imperial messages during the Tetrarchic period were strongly influenced by traditional modes of representation from earlier periods. Traditions which were inherent in specific media and locations were determining factors for the way in which a new political system could be presented. The result was a much less coherent ideological Tetrarchic message than is often assumed. The image of group identity was regularly lost in a more complex and messy mode of formulating power. The new and innovative aspects of a collegiate rule by four emperors was less important than linking the power of those rulers to what was traditionally expected of the portrayal of Roman emperorship.
C.A. Cvetkovic and P. Gemeinhardt (eds.), Episcopal Networks in Late Antiquity. Connection and Communication across Boundaries, 2019
In the first three centuries AD the Roman emperor incontestablyp ossessed supreme religious autho... more In the first three centuries AD the Roman emperor incontestablyp ossessed supreme religious authority within the Empire.¹ One clear institutional reflection of this was the title pontifex maximus,which became linked to emperorship alreadyf rom the Julio-Claudian dynasty onward.² How the emperor'sp osition as head of the religious organization of the Romans tate was playedo ut is visible on coins,f requentlyb earing references to the title pontifex maximus or images of the emperor sacrificing,and also in letters in which subjects consulted the emperor on religious matters.³ Pliny, for instance,when governor of Bithynia-Pontus, wrotealetter to Trajan in which he asked the emperor for advice on moving tombs:
Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, ... more Within the discipline of ancient history, diverse types of sources, such as coins, inscriptions, portraits and texts, are often combined to create a coherent image of a particular ruler. A good example of how such a process works is the way in which reconstructions by modern scholars of the emperor Nero tend to look for a clearly defined ‘Neronian image’, by bringing together various types of primary evidence without paying sufficient attention to these sources’ medial contexts. This article argues that such a reconstruction does not do justice to the complex and multi-layered image of the last Julio-Claudian. By focusing on one particular aspect of Neronian imagery, the propagation of this emperor’s ancestry, we will argue that different types of sources, stemming from varying contexts and addressing different groups, cannot unproblematically be combined. Through an investigation of the ancestral messages spread by imperial and provincial coins, epigraphical evidence and portraiture, it becomes clear that systematic analysis of ancient media,their various contexts and inconsistencies is needed before combining them. Such an analysis reveals patterns within the different sources and shows that, in creating imperial images, rulers were constrained by both medial and local traditions. Modern studies of ancient images should therefore take these medial and geographical variety into account in order to do justice to the the multi-faceted phenomenon of imperial representation.
De 'Constantijnse wende' numismatisch onderzocht 1 ERIKA MANDERS Op 28 oktober 2012 was het preci... more De 'Constantijnse wende' numismatisch onderzocht 1 ERIKA MANDERS Op 28 oktober 2012 was het precies 1700 jaar geleden dat er even buiten Rome, bij de Milvische brug, een grote militaire veldslag plaatsvond. In de vroege ochtend van die dag in het jaar 312 na Christus trok Constantijn (306-337), die over Spanje, Britannië en Gallië regeerde, met zijn legers op tegen de troepen van Maxentius (306-312), de usurpator die het Italische schiereiland en Afrika in zijn bezit had. Constantijn wilde een einde maken aan de provocaties van Maxentius aan het adres van de gevestigde autoriteiten. Bovendien kon hij, door Maxentius te verslaan en Rome te veroveren, de alleenheerschappij verkrijgen over het gehele westelijk deel van het Romeinse rijk. 2 Hoewel Constantijns manschappen ver in de minderheid waren, boekten zij een glorieuze overwinning op die van Maxentius; de soldaten van de tegenkeizer werden hetzij afgeslacht hetzij door het water van de Tiber verzwolgen toen zij de Milvische brug over probeerden te vluchten. Deze brug, die door Maxentius van een vaste brug in een provisorische scheepsbrug was veranderd, kon het gewicht van de soldaten en hun paarden niet dragen, met als gevolg dat hijzelf en een groot deel van zijn soldaten in de Tiber vielen en verdronken. 3 Constantijn was nu officieel de enige heerser over het West-Romeinse Rijk en hij trok zegevierend Rome binnen. De slag bij de Pons Milvius lijkt op het eerste gezicht niet exceptioneel. In het Romeinse keizerrijk vonden wel vaker militaire expedities plaats tegen personen die de keizerlijke macht hadden opgeëist en dus een bedreiging vormden voor de zittende keizer of, na de deling van de macht in 285, keizers. In de derde eeuw was het zelfs uitzonderlijk wanneer er tijdens een heerschappij géén usurpaties van de keizerlijk macht (en dus inherente militaire activiteiten) plaatsvonden. 4 Desalniettemin wordt de strijd tussen Constantijn en Maxentius tot op heden als één van de beroemdste veldslagen uit de Romeinse geschiedenis gezien. Het was immers de eerste keer dat een keizer zijn overwinning toeschreef aan de god van de christenen.
Journal of Interdisciplinary History Summer 2014, Vol. 45, No. 1: 25–37.
Analysis of the coinage during Nero's reign as Roman emperor reveals a much less uniform image of... more Analysis of the coinage during Nero's reign as Roman emperor reveals a much less uniform image of Nero than is usually depicted in historical literature. The case of Nero exemplifies the importance of an interdisciplinary methodological framework. A “pick and mix” numismatic methodology devised in support of a Neronian ideology gleaned via literary evidence may lead to a superficially convincing image of the emperor, but it will not do justice to the complexities surrounding his reign.
Epigraphic evidence from different regions within the Roman Empire in the third century testifies... more Epigraphic evidence from different regions within the Roman Empire in the third century testifies to an increasing awareness of the Empire as a whole, which was perceived to have been under threat. Simultaneously, other inscriptions show the continuing importance of the emperor as a figurehead within this Empire. The rapid changeover of individual emperors and the consequently diminished power of individual emperors seem to have had little impact on the central positions that emperors occupied in the eyes of their subject. In fact, the increased absence of emperors from Rome for much of the period – and more importantly their presence at the local level – seems to have boosted the number of requests from the provinces to the emperor. At the same time, an analysis of third-century imperial coinage may also indicate a changing portrayal of the relationship between the emperor and the city of Rome. This article tries to place a discussion about the (perceived) identity of emperor and empire in the third century in terms of the relation between empire, emperor, and the city which gave its name to the realm.
Vor kurzem ist ein neuer Römischer Kaiser entdeckt worden. Sein Name ist Domitian der Zweite, und... more Vor kurzem ist ein neuer Römischer Kaiser entdeckt worden. Sein Name ist Domitian der Zweite, und er regierte um 271 nach Christus. Sein Kaisertum ist bestätigt durch eine erst 2004 veröffentlichte bronzen Münze, die schon ein Jahr zuvor bei Chipping Nortonein Dorf in der nähe von Oxforddurch einen Metalldetektor Fanatiker namens Brian Malin gefunden wurde. Auf diese Münze sieht man Domitian, ein aus Texten, vor allen die Historia Augusta, bereits bekannter Offizier, als Kaiser porträtiert. Es gab schon eine andere Münze auf welcher dieser Domitian als Kaiser sichtbar war, aber diese bronzen Münze war 1900 ohne gute Ausgrabungsdaten aufgetaucht, was die Authentizität in Frage stellte. Der Fund der neuen Münze macht Domitians Thronbesteigung dagegen beinah sicher. 1 Die Münze hat viel öffentliche Beachtung bekommen, aber die jetzige Beachtung steht in keinem Verhältnis zu der damaligen Bedeutung des Kaisers. Dieser ‚neue' Kaiser hat nämlich nicht lang regieren können. Denn nur zwei übrig gebliebene bronzen Münze implizieren eine extrem kurze Regierungszeit. Zum vergleich: Vom Usurpator Laelianus, der für zwei oder drei Monate in 269 der Gegenständer des Gallisches Kaisers Postumus war, sind mehr als zweihundert Münzen übergeblieben. 2 Domitians Machtsanspruch hielt also scheinbar nur wenige Tage an. Auch von dem Kaiser Proculus, der in 280 gegen den Kaiser Probus rebellierte, ist ziemlich rezent eine Münze gefunden. Dieser Usurpator hat wahrscheinlich ebenfalls nur Wochen regiert. 3 Dass sogar Usurpatoren mit einer so schwachen Kontrolle wie Domitian II oder Proculus dennoch sofort angefangen haben Münzen zu prägen, verdeutlicht um so mehr die Wichtigkeit der Repräsentation im allgemeineund die Rolle der Münzen dabei im besonderen. 4 Im Fall Domitians ist auch die Legenda CONCORDIA MILITUM auffällich. Hätte Domitian tatsächlich die Soldaten hinter sich gehabt, dann hätte seiner Kaiserstatus vielleicht länger dauern können. Vielleicht versuchte er durch die Darstellung militärischer Unterstützung auch wirkliche Unterstützung zu bekommen. Ohne Resultat. Er wurde schnell * Wir danken den Anwesenden des Kolloquiums für ihre Reaktionen, insbesondere Luuk de Blois, Karsten Dahmen und Christian Witschel. Das Thema dieses Artikels wird ausführlicher behandelt in Frau Manders' Doktorat.
Alexander Severus was 13 years old when he obtained the most powerful job in the Roman world; in ... more Alexander Severus was 13 years old when he obtained the most powerful job in the Roman world; in 222 he became emperor, which especially in the third century was not an unmitigated pleasure. He succeeded Heliogabalus (218-222), his cousin who, according to the literary sources, was hated by all. That year, Heliogabalus had been murdered by his troops and eventually cast into the Tiber. For him, damnatio memoriae was inevitable. Alexander had to cope with several aspects of Heliogabalus' inheritance. His cousin's religious reforms in particular were the cause of much trouble. While casting Jupiter aside, the priest emperor (SACERDOS DEI SOLIS ELAGA-BALI) had made the Syrian sun god Elagabal head of the Roman pantheon 1 . This religious alteration had upset the rather fragile balance of power between emperor and senate as well as between the autocrat and his troops. In response, after gaining control of the Roman Empire, Alexander cum suis strengthened their relationship with the senators by giving them a prominent role in government (e.g. Cassius Dio, Tullius Menophilus, Pudens Crispinus) 2 . It is noteworthy that, although the resumed rise of the senatorial class is of considerable importance to modern scholars, military men and logistic specialists (e.g. Maximinus Thrax and Timesitheus) held equally important positions during Alexander's reign 3 . The relation between Alexander and the army, however, was strained from the outset. In the end, this problematic relation was to be fatal; in 235 Alexander was murdered by his own troops. * My gratitude goes to Olivier Hekster and Luuk de Blois for commenting on an earlier draft of this article. Thanks are also due to Martijn Icks (who is preparing a dissertation on Heliogabalus) for valuable discussions about Heliogabalus, to Mark Bainbridge for correcting my English, and to NWO for the funding of my project: 'Patterns and developments in the representation of Roman imperial power, AD 180-284'. It goes without saying that all remaining mistakes are my own.
Call for a numismatic course with a 5ects load at the Royal Netherlands Institute Rome in collab... more Call for a numismatic course with a 5ects load at the Royal Netherlands Institute Rome in collaboration with OIKOS, DAI Rome, the Radboud University Nijmegen and the John Felice Rome Center of Loyola University Chicago (September 2019). The course is open for MA-, RMA students and PhD candidates in (Ancient) History, Art History, Classics and Archaeology from the KNIR partner universities (UvA, VU, UL, UU, RU and RUG) as well as from German universities. The course is part of the OIKOS education program for PhD students. No specific knowledge of Greek or Latin language is required.
This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be pres... more This article seeks to address the question how the Tetrarchic system of four rulers could be presented as legitimate in a society that had never seen this political constellation before. What were the different modes of presenting Tetrarchic rule and how did they help in making the new system acceptable? The article argues that new power structures needed to be formulated in familiar terms, not only for the rulers to legitimate their position, but also for the ruled to understand such new systems. As a result, imperial messages during the Tetrarchic period were strongly influenced by traditional modes of representation from earlier periods. Traditions which were inherent in specific media and locations were determining factors for the way in which a new political system could be presented. The result was a much less coherent ideological Tetrarchic message than is often assumed. The image of group identity was regularly lost in a more complex and messy mode of formulating power. The new and innovative aspects of a collegiate rule by four emperors was less important than linking the power of those rulers to what was traditionally expected of the portrayal of Roman emperorship.
Trajan's status as a model emperor is perhaps most famously expressed in Eutropius' catchphrase "... more Trajan's status as a model emperor is perhaps most famously expressed in Eutropius' catchphrase "More fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan" (Eutr. Brev. 8.5.3). Modern scholarship has similarly stressed Trajan's exemplary status, assuming that Trajan's virtues were already a point of departure by which to measure second-and third-century emperors. This article challenges that notion; it argues that Trajan's status as a model emperor was a late-antique literary construct. Trajan only entered the repertoire of exemplary emperors during the course of the fourth century to become the model emperor in the very latefourth-and early-fifth century. This development depended on the historical context and ideological demands, as well as on the availability of the then-existing material discussing and depicting the historical Trajan.
This volume focuses on the interface between tradition and the shifting configuration of power st... more This volume focuses on the interface between tradition and the shifting configuration of power structures in the Roman Empire. By examining various time periods and locales, its contributions show the Empire as a world filed with a wide variety of cultural, political, social, and religious traditions. These traditions were constantly played upon in the processes of negotiation and (re)definition that made the empire into a superstructure whose coherence was embedded in its diversity.
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in Eutropius’ catchphrase “More fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan” (Eutr. Brev. 8.5.3). Modern scholarship has similarly stressed Trajan’s exemplary status, assuming that Trajan’s virtues were already a point of departure by which to measure second- and third-century emperors. This article challenges that notion; it argues that Trajan’s status as a model emperor was a late-antique literary construct. Trajan only entered the repertoire of exemplary emperors during the course of the fourth century to become the model emperor in the very late fourth- and early-fifth century. This development depended on the historical context and ideological demands, as well as on the availability of the then-existing material discussing and depicting the historical Trajan.
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in Eutropius’ catchphrase “More fortunate than Augustus, better than Trajan” (Eutr. Brev. 8.5.3). Modern scholarship has similarly stressed Trajan’s exemplary status, assuming that Trajan’s virtues were already a point of departure by which to measure second- and third-century emperors. This article challenges that notion; it argues that Trajan’s status as a model emperor was a late-antique literary construct. Trajan only entered the repertoire of exemplary emperors during the course of the fourth century to become the model emperor in the very late fourth- and early-fifth century. This development depended on the historical context and ideological demands, as well as on the availability of the then-existing material discussing and depicting the historical Trajan.