Caracalla

Tios (Zonguldak-Filyos) kentteki arkeolojik kazılar 2007 senesinden beri Karadeniz Ereğli Müzesi adına, sırasıyla Prof. Dr. Sümer Atasoy ve Doç. Dr. Şahin Yıldırım’ın bilimsel danışmanlıklarıyla akropolis, antik liman, tiyatro ve nekropolis alanlarında yürütülmüş ve bölge tarihinin güncellenmesine olanak veren önemli buluşlara sahne olmuştur. Arkeolojik çalışmalara paralel olarak yürütülen epigrafik araştırmalar da kentten günümüze ulaşmış Hellenistik ve Roma dönemlerine ait mezar taşlarını, onurlandırma heykel kaidelerini, adakları, miltaşlarını, ticari ağırlıklarını ve diğer türlerdeki yazıtlı buluntuları gün yüzüne çıkarmıştır.

Bu buluntular arasından beyaz mermerden silindir bir onurlandırma heykel kaidesinin üzerindeki yazıtının ise sadece bu kentin değil aynı zamanda Anadolu’nun Roma tarihi açısından önem arz ettiği anlaşılmıştır. Zira antik literatürde sadece ünlü yazar Nikaialı Cassius Dio’nun (MS yak. 150-235) Roma tarihini kaleme aldığı eserinde (Rhomaika, 79.39.5) adı geçen Roma İmparatorluğu’nun Pontus-Bithynia Eyaleti Valisi Caecilius Aristo, bu unvanıyla ilk defa bu yazıtta belgelenmiş oldu. Yazıtın çevirisi şöyledir:

Tiosluların pek görkemli/gösterişli kenti, legatus Augusti propraetore (imparatorun praetor mertebesindeki elçisi) Caecilius Aristo’nun yönetim döneminde... (şu kişi/kişileri onurlandırdı)

Bilinen tarihe göre, Roma İmparatorluğu’nun iç savaşlarla çalkalandığı bir dönemde Roma İmparatoru Caracalla’yı, kendisinin tertiplediği bir suikastla (MS 08.04.217) öldürtmeyi başaran Macrinus imparator olmayı başarmıştı. Ancak bu kez kendisi Iulia Maesa’nın himayesinde olan torunu Varius Avitus’a yani namı diğer Elagabalus’a karşı Antiokheia’daki savaşı kaybetmiştir. Bir seneden biraz fazla tahtta kalabilmiş devrik imparator Macrinus bunun üzerine gizli bir şekilde Roma’ya gitmeye ve Senato ile halkı ikna ederek iktidarını yeniden elde etmeyi amaçlamıştır. Böylece kılık değiştirerek Kilikia, Kappadokia, Galatia ve Bithynia bölgeleri üzerinden Eribolon’daki (İhsaniye) limana ulaşmış buradan Kalkhedon’a varmıştır. İşte Cassius Dio tam da bu noktada Macrinus’un, Vali Caecilius Aristo’nun korkusundan (Eyalet Başkenti) Nikomedeia’ya girmeye çekindiğini belirtmiştir. Dolayısıyla, Dio’nun MS 08.06.218’den kısa bir süre sonrasını kayda geçen bu cümlesi, bugüne kadar Aristo’nun o dönemde bölge valisi olduğunun dolaylı yoldan belgesiydi. Ancak şimdi Tios’ta ortaya çıkan bu yazıtla, önceki kariyerinin ufak bir kısmı Roma’daki birkaç belgeden tanınan Caecilius Aristo’nun hem adı hem de eyalet valiliği doğrulanmış oldu.

This text gives some very small selection of details included in the forthcoming Caracalla: A Military Biography (as an advertisement) due to be published by Pen & Sword this year and in fact provides also a short overview of some of the unconventional strategies and tactics employed by Caracalla together with some quite new info regarding period equipment and military practices. A much fuller discussion of all things connected to military matters in its widest sense can be found in the book.

Caracalla. A Military Biography is now available as a hardcover, Kindle and e-book an from the website of its publisher Pen & Sword Publishing and from most of the major booksellers.  It is not only the first published biography in English of this remarkable individual, but also the first that reassess the evidence from the point of view of military history.

The emperor Caracalla emerges from our sources as an archetypal ‘bad’ emperor. Our primary sources for the period construct an image of a volatile despot: militaristic, anti-senatorial, financially profligate and prone to fantasy. However entertaining this image is, though, it remains an obstacle to any objective assessment of Caracalla’s reign. Indeed, many have allowed the emperor’s actions to be viewed as those of an unhinged tyrant, rather than a ruler attuned to the Realpolitik of his contemporary context.

Despite an increasing number of publications advocating a more balanced view of his reign, continued acceptance of Caracallan inadequacy can be observed in connection with his introduction of the constitutio Antoniniana: ‘a decision that has never been plausibly explained on practical grounds, but Caracalla was a shocking megalomaniac and the sheer grandiosity of the gesture may be explanation enough’.  This paper offers a more considered assessment of Caracalla and his edict. Rather than an exercise in vanity, the Antonine Constitution should be viewed as a legislative response to a crisis in which the emperor’s position was vulnerable, his legitimacy debatable.

That emperors would seek mass popularity to bolster their position is undeniable. This paper argues, however, that we must look beyond the bread and circuses mentality: Caracalla’s constitutio represents, in one respect, an attempt by the emperor to forge a lasting and personal connection between himself and his populace via a de facto patron-client relationship. The final section of this paper will consider the implications of this initiative for subsequent emperors. Against this backdrop, the figure of Julian stands out as an emperor who followed a Caracallan precedent, in his case using religious reform, rather than constitutional, to consolidate his reign at the point when it might have seemed in most doubt.

Writing in the first half of the third century CE, Cassius Dio, a Roman senator of Bithynian origin, composed an eighty-book history of Rome, from the founding of the city until about 229 CE.  The final portion of this work, specifically books 73(72)-80(80), provides an account of the reign of Commodus up to the accession and early part of the reign of Alexander Severus.  Dio was an eyewitness to this a period, and he explains that this section will be full of his own observations of events and will even record information that might not otherwise be worthy of inclusion, except for the fact that he himself was witness to it.  Dio, as a Roman senator, also plays a secondary role in this section of his history, as the author frequently discusses positions that he held, his interactions with emperors, and his presence in the senate.

Strikingly, the work ends not with some event of importance to Roman history or with the end of a particular reign, but rather with Cassius Dio's own retirement from public life.  The uniqueness of this endpoint is enhanced by the closing words of the work, which were not Dio's own, but rather a quotation from the eleventh book of Homer's Iliad.  In this passage, which Dio says was sent to him in a dream, Hector is removed from the battlefield and saved from the destruction of war by Zeus.  This quotation brings both a personal and menacing sense to the end of the history.  Dio appears to implicitly compare himself to Hector, and if the lines from Homer mentioned only some monumental struggle, we might assume that Dio was simply relieved to have completed such a grand work under the protection of the gods.  The slaughter, blood, and din of battle, however, give us the impression that Dio is thankful to distance himself from the subject matter, specifically the final eight books of his history.  The reader of books 73(72)-80(80) would hardly be surprised by this quotation.  Dio calls this period one of iron and rust, describing it as generally devoid of any positive aspects and characterized by turmoil and instability. 

The personal nature of both the end of the work and the contemporary portion as a whole begs further analysis.  Commentators on Dio's contemporary history have observed that this section reads like a memoir and have suggested that Dio serves as a sort of alternative to the debased world in which he lives.  Others, however, have noted a more pessimistic aspect of the function of Dio's character in his text.  Dio's political survival through this period, especially with his final reference to Hector's departure from the battlefield, on the surface suggests that he be viewed as a valorous hero under the protection of the gods.  Dio's history, on the other hand, is a highly critical narrative of his own era and can therefore be read as a reflection on his participation in the political life of this period, as well as a corrective to it.  The memoir-like nature of the text suggests that Dio carved out for himself a dual identity, as both senator and then annalist, participant and then critic.  Through this identity, Dio attempts to claim authority as a historian.

Il presente contributo intende scandagliare il profilo politico e culturale dell’imperatrice capostipite della dinastia dei Severi, Giulia Domna (170-217 d.C.), mettendo in luce come il suo ruolo istituzionale sia stato rappresentato sia dalla coeva produzione letteraria che dai principali canali di comunicazione politica, costituiti dalle testimonianze epigrafiche ed archeologiche. Per ricostruire le peculiarità della sua “maternità istituzionale” e l’egemonico ruolo pubblico rivestito dall’Augusta, vengono prese in esame la sua titolatura imperiale, le linee politiche sostenute dall’imperatrice e le fonti antiche più attendibili (in particolare, Cassio Dione, Erodiano e Filostrato), menzionando anche alcune testimonianze materiali di valore encomiastico. In tal modo, si dimostrerà come Giulia Domna, in virtù della sua funzione di Augusta e mater, possa ritenersi la detentrice di un potere politico mai rivestito prima dalle precedenti imperatrici romane.

This paper examines two divergent traditions in Roman historiography about the sexual relationships of the emperor Caracalla. The first is that he had an affair with his mother, Julia Domna; the second is that he became impotent and indulged his desires with men. This article locates these two traditions in contemporary rumour and gossip about Caracalla, a young emperor who remained unmarried and childless throughout his sole reign. It ascribes their subsequent development and embellishment in historical and biographical accounts of Caracalla's reign to popular conceptions of tyrannical young emperors , and in the case of Cassius Dio, to his aim of subverting Caracalla's own public image.

La Guerra de Troya permanece en nuestro imaginario colectivo desde que Homero la inmortalizara, pero no fue el único, multitud de autores posteriores se inspiraron en las hazañas de los héroes griegos y troyanos, de manera que se acabaron convirtiendo en símbolos imperecederos. Durante siglos, las élites utilizaron el paisaje troyano, plagado de referencias heroicas, para sus intereses, convirtiendo las tumbas de los héroes caídos en verdaderos santuarios de propaganda. Este breve trabajo incidirá en este comportamiento analizando las tumbas de cuatro de los grandes héroes del ciclo troyano: Aquiles, Patroclo, Áyax y Héctor.

ÖZET: Herodianos’un “Marcus Aurelius Devri’nden Sonra İmparatorluk Tarihi” adlı yapıtı, Roma İmparatoru Marcus Aurelius’un ölümünden (MS 180) III. Gordianus’un tahta geçtiği (MS 238) zaman aralığındaki gelişmeleri kapsamakta olup sadece olayların kronolojik bir anlatısı olmasının ötesinde, bir tarihsel ve siyasal düşünceyi de içermektedir. Bu yapıtın eleştirel bir değerlendirmesi, büyük bir tarihsel krizin yaşandığı ve bize görece daha az antik metnin ulaşabildiği MS 3. yy’ın siyasal düşüncesinin de bir kesitini sunmaktadır.
Herodianos’un düşüncesi, tarihsel krizin iki dinamiğinin “meşrûtî monarşi” ve “tiranlık” arasındaki karşıtlıkta yatmaktadır; zira, Herodianos’un “tiranlık” olarak adlandırdığı yönetim tarzı, MS 3. yy bağlamında Rostovtzeff’in tanımladığı şekliyle “askerî monarşi” anlayışına tekabül etmektedir. Herodianos’ta tarihsel olgular, bu karşıtlık temelinde açıklanmaktadır. Herodianos’un düşüncesinde, bir kurum olarak Senatus’un merkezî bir yeri bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Herodianos’un yapıtında Senatus’un tarihsel rolü ele alındığı gibi, bu kurumun Herodianos’un siyasal düşüncesindeki merkezî konumu, metnin içindeki söylevlerin de analiziyle birlikte, Antikçağ siyasal düşüncesi bağlamında ele alınmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Herodianos, Tarihyazımı, Principatus, Askerî Monarşi, Senatus.

ABSTRACT: Herodian’s work that is titled as “History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus” covers the period from Marcus Aurelius’ death (180 AD) to the Gordian III’s accession to the throne (238 AD), and beyond being a chronological narrative of the events, this work also includes a certain historical and political thought. A critical enquiry of this work may present a component of the political thought of 3rd century AD, which was an age of historical crisis. In Herodian’s thought, the dynamics of the historical crisis lies on the contrast between senatorial monarchy and tyranny. The historical facts are explained on the basis of this contrast. Likewise, the regime that was defined as tyranny by Herodian, in the context of the 3rd century AD, corresponds to Mommsen’s and Rostovtzeff ’s conception of “the military monarchy”. Senatus has also a central position as an institution in this narrative. In this study, Senatus’ historical role within the work of Herodian, as well as its central position, will be discussed by an analysis of the speeches that are contained in this work, on the context of ancient political thought.

Keywords: Herodian, Historiography, Principate, Military Monarchy, Senate.

ABSZTRAKT: Heródián "A birodalom története Marcus halálától" című műve a Marcus Aurelius halálától (i.sz. 180) III. Gordianus trónra lépése (i.sz. 238) közötti időszakot öleli fel, és az események kronológiai elbeszélésén túlmenően ez a mű bizonyos történelmi és politikai gondolatokat is tartalmaz. A mű kritikai vizsgálata a Kr. u. 3. század politikai gondolkodásának egy összetevőjét mutathatja be, amely a történelmi válság kora volt. Heródián gondolkodásában a történelmi válság dinamikája a szenátori monarchia és a zsarnokság közötti ellentétben rejlik. A történelmi tényeket ennek az ellentétnek az alapján magyarázza. Hasonlóképpen, a Heródián által zsarnokságként meghatározott rendszer a Kr. u. 3. század kontextusában megfelel Mommsen és Rostovtzeff "katonai monarchia" felfogásának. A senatus mint intézmény szintén központi helyet foglal el ebben a narratívában. Ebben a tanulmányban a Senatusnak a Heródiás művében betöltött történeti szerepét, valamint központi pozícióját a műben szereplő beszédek elemzésével tárgyaljuk az ókori politikai gondolkodás kontextusában.

Kulcsszavak: Heródián, történetírás, principátus, katonai monarchia, szenátus.

АБСТРАКТ: Труд Геродиана "История империи со смерти Марка" охватывает период от смерти Марка Аврелия (180 г. н.э.) до восшествия на престол Гордиана III (238 г. н.э.) и, помимо хронологического изложения событий, содержит определенную историко-политическую мысль. Критическое исследование этого произведения может представить компонент политической мысли III века н. э., который был эпохой исторического кризиса. По мысли Иродиана, динамика исторического кризиса заключается в противопоставлении сенаторской монархии и тирании. На основе этого противопоставления объясняются исторические факты. Подобным образом, режим, который Геродиан определял как тиранию, в контексте III века н. э. соответствует концепции "военной монархии" Моммзена и Ростовцева. Сенат также занимает центральное место как институт в этом повествовании. В данном исследовании историческая роль сената в произведении Геродиана, а также его центральное положение будут рассмотрены на основе анализа речей, которые содержатся в этом произведении, в контексте античной политической мысли.

Ключевые слова: Геродиан, историография, принципат, военная монархия, сенат.

The sixth consecutive volume of the catalogue of the collection of ancient coins in the Ossoliński National Institute appeared after a twelve-year long break and thirty years after the publication of the first volume. It gathers the Roman Imperial coins from years 193-235 represented in the collection. There are 302 coins catalogued, including official, unofficial and imitative coins, as well as modern coins in the Severan type. Metallurgical analyses of seven coins are reported and interpreted in the annexes by three different Authors. Two of these coin are East Germanic imitations of aurei. One of them is the runic imitation of aureus of Severus Alexander presented in the seperate paper accessible in Academia.edu. The history of the collection (dating back to 1828) and the individual coins is reconstructed thanks to the research started with the archival queries to my PhD thesis in 2008 and continued until now. There are high quality illustrations on the Tables: photos of coins are in colour and on coated paper.

We are hard pressed to understand the events of Caracalla’s Parthian war, including the role Armenia played in the conflict, because of gross inadequacies in our sources. A careful analysis suggests that Caracalla intended to annex Armenia but never saw the project through. His intentions can be gauged by his treatment of Edessa, for whose annexation the evidence is more solid. Caracalla was trying to secure his rear, from Osrhoene to Armenia, in preparation for a full-scale Parthian war. Because the goal of stabilizing Armenia proved elusive, given local hostilities, Caracalla had to scale back his plans.

Il tempio di Antas è stato in passato oggetto di tanti luoghi comuni. Fu probabilmente fondato dai Cartaginesi intorno al IV secolo a.C., in un'area vergine e forse solo vagamente legata a culti pre-nuragici; distrutto forse durante la rivolta dei mercenari, fu ricostruito nella seconda metà del II secolo a.C. da maestranze italiche che volevano reinterpretare in chiave Romana il tempio punico. Il culto, rivitalizzato da Augusto e Caracalla, continuò a vivere in età bizantina e rappresento in tutta la sua storia in sacrum nexum fra la popolazione locale e quelli che di volta in volta erano i padroni della Sardegna

Marcus Aurelius Prosenes, liberto e cristiano alla corte imperiale del prof. Hans Ulrich Instinsky, ordinario all'Università di Mainz Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz, 1964, n.3 Traduzione a cura del prof. Paolo Re messa a libera disposizione su Academia.edu

This thesis examines the portrayal of youthful Roman emperors in imperial histories and biographies, specifically in the works of Suetonius, Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Herodian, and the Historia Augusta. As such, it limits the scope of research to the first three centuries AD. The emperors that fall into this category are Caligula (25 at accession), Nero (16 at accession), Commodus (co-Augustus at age 16; 19 as Augustus), Caracalla (co-Augustus at age 11; joint-rule with Geta at age 23), Geta (co-Augustus at age 20; joint-rule with Caracalla at age 22), Elagabalus (14 at accession), Alexander Severus (13 at accession) and Gordian III (13 at accession).

For the purpose of this thesis, the phase of youth will be defined as the period between 13/14 years of age and 28 years, in line with the stages of the human life-course suggested by Macrobius.  Laes and Strubbe suggest this age boundary as one that was accepted and popular among the ancient Romans.  They further acknowledge that although people in antiquity did not possess age awareness comparable to modern society, they were not indifferent towards the factor of age. Rather, they discerned a phase between childhood and adulthood to which they did not assign fixed and universal numerological boundaries. Nonetheless, this critical stage of human life was one characterised by restlessness, conflict and change.

This thesis studies the imperial histories and biographies of these young emperors alongside the traditional rhetoric associated with ‘good’ and ‘bad’ emperors. In saying this, it will demonstrate that the age of the youthful emperors played a role in excusing or condemning their carefree behaviour. As was typical of histories and biographies, the nature and character of the emperor was believed to significantly affect the quality of their rule. The emperors discussed within this thesis are generally regarded as bad emperors. Thus, they were often portrayed as lacking self-control, and possessing a licentious and cruel nature. However, it is their youth that made these emperors stand above other bad emperors as the worst of the worst. Reaching the highest office at an age where they typically would not have been allowed to enter political life, these young emperors were perceived as never outgrowing their youthful vices.

Focusing on three thematic areas of youth (guiding youths, youths and leisure, and narratives of cruelty), this thesis will argue that these authors used the topos of ‘youth’ in order to condemn certain negative aspects of the young emperors’ reigns. While cultural expectations of youth gave them a margin of allowance to behave in a youthful manner, typically early on in their reign, the Roman elite authors interpreted the vices that arose from this behaviour as characterising their rule of the Empire. Accordingly, their youth was used as part of the rhetoric of praising and condemning emperors in order to illustrate the inability of a youth to rule in line with expectations of imperial power.

" The practice of evoking the memory of Alexander the Great became a powerful tool of kingship almost immediately after the monarch’s death in 323 BC.  From the diadochoi onwards, rulers sought to associate themselves with Alexander or even to assume his identity.

The potency of Alexander’s legacy was no less significant during the Roman imperial period, with emperors from Nero to Julian seeking to forge parallels between themselves and the king. Caracalla is renowned as one of the most obsessive exponents of this image. Cassius Dio, Herodian and the author of the Historia Augusta accuse the emperor of a variety of increasingly peculiar attempts to depict himself as a new Alexander, from dressing like his idol to claiming that his body had become a conduit for the king’s soul, so that Alexander might live once again through him.

Of the many accusations directed at Caracalla regarding his obsession with Alexander, his levying of a phalangite formation inspired by the king’s army remains one of the most intriguing. Whilst it is tempting to dismiss the account of this regiment as hyperbole or fiction on the part of our authors, little thought has been given to the potentially tactical impetus behind its creation.

This paper will discuss details of Caracalla’s ‘Alexander-mania’ before examining the phalanx within the broader context of the emperor’s sole reign and preparations for the Parthian war. It will argue that the ‘Macedonian Phalanx’ might, in fact, be symptomatic of an evolution in the Roman military that had been underway since before the Antonine period. Rather than an exercise in vanity, we might instead view this initiative as an attempt by Caracalla to gain a tactical advantage over his eastern enemies prior to his eventual invasion.
"

Obverse coin portraiture presents unique insights into the public image of a Roman emperor. This paper will use a close analysis of portraiture struck upon the imperial coinage of Caracalla to explore the degree to which the emperor’s public image emphasised his associations with the imperial army. While ancient literary sources state Caracalla cultivated the public appearance of a military man, quantitative studies of his imperial coinage claim that he did not produce a higher volume of ‘military’ reverse types than earlier emperors, and therefore did not use coins to promote military associations. An examination of imperial obverse portraiture offers an opportunity to reconcile ancient literary and numismatic evidence. Obverse representations of Caracalla reveal a number of militarising features; strong evidence that the association between the emperor and the military described by ancient historians was indeed intentionally publicised on his coins during the period of his sole reign.

The article presents the first published study of a Late Period granodiorite striding male statue inscribed with the hieroglyphic titulary of a Roman emperor, which is housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art (acc. no. 58.14). It argues that the sculpture was produced either for a royal or a private person in the IV-III century BC and that it was reused during the reign of Caracalla (AD 211-217), whose names were carved on four cartouches on the left side of the back pillar’s extension, possibly on the occasion of the emperor’s second visit to Egypt.

Coin moulds of the 3rd century in the collections of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz

The 43 coin moulds from the collection of the RGZM were used to cast denarii of the period from Antoninus Pius to Caracalla (141-217). They belong to a larger assemblage of coin moulds which came to light before 1950 at an unknown site. The composition of other forgers’ mould finds from the western provinces shows that the main casting phase of the Antonine and the Severan dynasties occurred between 240
and 270. The moulds from the RGZM, too, which do not reflect a fair picture of the original inventory, could date to this period.
The counterfeiters took advantage of the end of the regular minting of denarii after 240 and concentrated more on casting these coins with a copper-tin alloy with silver appearance. As denarii became rarer around
260-270, the forgers more and more took the antoninianus coined in large numbers in the official mints as a model. During the great inflation period of the 270ies coin forgery seems to have decreased in favour
of the production of imitations. The abundant coinage of imitations of antoniniani was meant to cover the increased need of coins.

Ce livre étudie l’élaboration d’un archétype, celui du prince,
d’Auguste à Constantin. Progressivement a été imaginé une
sorte de « costume » qu’il fallait revêtir afin de paraître légitime
et de mériter de figurer parmi les « bons princes ». Cet archétype
correspondait à des contraintes et à des attentes auxquelles
il fallait se conformer et qui étaient censées contrebalancer la
toute-puissance, juridiquement fondée, du prince. On peut
évoquer à propos du prince une persona, c’est-à-dire un personnage
de théâtre, un rôle qu’il se doit d’adopter et de jouer devant
un public qui en est le juge. D’une certaine manière, le prince était
amené à intérioriser des normes dont il n’était pas nécessairement
l’auteur, et son comportement était soumis à la validation
des populations de l’empire. L’élaboration de ces normes doit
beaucoup au contexte largement expérimental (en dépit d’une
rhétorique en grande partie ancrée dans le passé) qui a présidé
aux débuts du Principat et à la lente évolution d’un régime de
nature monarchique vers un régime pleinement monarchique où
la personne du prince s’est très progressivement effacée, sans
l’avoir jamais été complètement, derrière la fonction.

Throughout the Roman Empire, bathing was a highlight of the day and a major social event.  Ubiquitous literary and epigraphical evidence conveys the significance of bathing facilities to people’s daily routines and relationships.  In fact, baths were so valued that their patronage became a powerful public relations tool and greatly enhanced one’s popular and political clout.  It is hardly surprising, then, that as a spectacular gift to the people, the emperors commissioned eight magnificent baths (the so-called imperial thermae) in the city of Rome between 25 BCE – 315 CE.  These celebrated baths are all the more important for being among the most ambitious and sophisticated examples of large-scale architectural patronage in Classical antiquity. 

Decoration and Display in Rome’s Imperial Thermae: Messages of Power and their Popular Reception at the Baths of Caracalla is a detailed analysis of the extensive decoration of the best preserved of these bathing complexes, the Baths of Caracalla (inaugurated 216 CE).  This decoration was a carefully strategized ensemble, meant to impart a particular message to a diverse Roman audience: elite and sub-altern; male and female; free and enslaved.  I examine the subtext of this sumptuous display, addressing the visual experience of the baths and elucidating the decoration’s critical role in advancing imperial agendas.  The case studies addressed herein, ranging from architectural to freestanding sculpture and mosaic, demonstrate that endowing monumental baths was a concern of dynastic legitimacy and imperial largess.  Decorative programs articulated these themes by consistently drawing analogies between the subjects of the decoration and the emperor who had paid for it.  Indeed, decorative choices were by no means incidental, but rather purposeful decisions made by Caracalla to honor the emperor and to consolidate his power and reputation.

Throughout, Decoration and Display aims to provide a novel interpretative framework with which to consider issues of patronage, infrastructure, and the resultant experience of daily life in ancient Rome.  Although focused on baths, this framework is intended to inspire further research into experiential aspects of Roman architecture and urbanism.

The Roman emperor Caracalla (198-217 CE) is renowned as a militaristic emperor and an admirer of Alexander the Great. In his criticism of Caracalla, Cassius Dio claims that the emperor levied a new phalangite formation modelled on the army of Alexander. The veracity of this anachronistic unit has been accepted by some, owing to the existence of funerary evidence at Apamea appearing to record 'lanciarii' and a 'phalangarius'. I will demonstrate in this article, however, that the historical reality is more likely grounded in the evolution in Roman military technology of the second century CE.

This article is due for release in G&R in autumn 2021. Before that time, please email A.Imrie@ed.ac.uk for more information

Decennalia cesarza Septymiusza Sewera i ślub Karakalli – bogactwo w słuŜbie ideologii dynastycznej. Cesarz Septymiusz Sewer został proklamowany imperatorem 9 kwietnia 193 r., w obo-zie wojskowym w Carnuntum w Panonii 1. W latach 193 – 197 w kilku kampaniach wojen-nych pokonał innych pretendentów do cesarskiej purpury, po czym stoczył trudną, ale zakoń-czoną sukcesem kampanię na Wschodzie przeciw Partom. Po kilkudziesięciu latach panowa-nia Antoninów udało mu się ustanowić nową dynastię rządzących, dynastię Sewerów. Po powrocie z kampanii partyjskiej w kwietniu 202 r. Sewer rozkazał urządzić święta z okazji dziesiątej rocznicy swego panowania (decennalia). Chciał bowiem podkreślić odnie-sione zwycięstwo nad wrogami wewnętrznymi i zewnętrznymi 2. Chciał równieŜ przedstawić społeczeństwu rzymskiemu swoje polityczne sukcesy. Uroczystości decennaliów swoją tradycją sięgały do czasów Oktawiana Augusta, który w 27 r. p.n.e. otrzymał od senatu i ludu rzymskiego imperium na dziesięć lat, po tym czasie urządził uroczyste święto z okazji odnowienia swoich prerogatyw i aby uczcić swoje dies imperii 3. Do tej tradycji świadomie nawiązywał Septymiusz Sewer, który chciał się wykre-ować na nowego Augusta. Obchody rocznicy dziesiątego roku panowania Sewera miały się rozpocząć 9 kwietnia 202 r., a zatem w rzeczywistości dziewięć lat po jego proklamacji cesar-skiej 4. Cesarz wybrał taki termin, gdyŜ mógł tym samym idealnie podkreślić swoje zwycię-stwa na Wschodzie i swój powrót do Rzymu (profectio). Decennalia miały być takŜe powią-zane z triumfem cesarza, jednak ze względu na stan zdrowia (chora noga uniemoŜliwiała mu trwający kilka godzin wjazd na wozie triumfalnym) cesarz miał z niego zrezygnować 5. De-cennalia miały zatem zrekompensować i zastąpić stracony triumf. Ponadto poprzedzały inne waŜne religijne wydarzenie igrzyska wiekowe ludi saeculares z 204 r. 6 .

Zonguldak’ın Filyos Beldesi’nde bulunan Tios antik kenti sahip olduğu zengin arkeolojik mirasıyla Türkiye’nin Karadeniz kıyılarındaki günümüze kadar en iyi korunabilmiş antik yerleşimi olma özelliğine sahiptir. Bu kentteki arkeolojik kazılar 2007 senesinden beri Karadeniz Ereğli Müzesi adına, sırasıyla Prof. Dr. Sümer Atasoy ve Doç. Dr. Şahin Yıldırım’ın bilimsel danışmanlıklarıyla akropolis, antik liman, tiyatro ve nekropolis alanlarında yürütülmüş ve bölge tarihinin güncellenmesine olanak veren önemli buluşlara sahne olmuştur. Arkeolojik çalışmalara paralel olarak yürütülen epigrafik araştırmalar da kentten günümüze ulaşmış Hellenistik ve Roma dönemlerine ait mezar taşlarını, onurlandırma heykel kaidelerini, adakları, miltaşlarını, ticari ağırlıklarını ve diğer türlerdeki yazıtlı buluntuları gün yüzüne çıkarmıştır.

Bu buluntular arasından beyaz mermerden silindir bir onurlandırma heykel kaidesinin üzerindeki yazıtının ise sadece bu kentin değil aynı zamanda Anadolu’nun Roma tarihi açısından önem arz ettiği anlaşılmıştır. Zira antik literatürde sadece ünlü yazar Nikaialı Cassius Dio’nun (MS yak. 150-235) Roma tarihini kaleme aldığı eserinde (Rhomaika, 79.39.5) adı geçen Roma İmparatorluğu’nun Pontus-Bithynia Eyaleti Valisi Caecilius Aristo, bu unvanıyla ilk defa bu yazıtta belgelenmiş oldu. Yazıtın çevirisi şöyledir:
Tiosluların pek görkemli/gösterişli kenti, legatus Augusti propraetore (imparatorun praetor mertebesindeki elçisi) Caecilius Aristo’nun yönetim döneminde …. (şu kişi/kişileri onurlandırdı).