O objetivo da presente dissertação é investigar um conjunto de pequenos fragmentos de papiros alexandrinos nomeado Acta Alexandrinorum. Os escritos narram episódios referentes à Alexandria nos dois primeiros séculos de Império Romano. Foram, no entanto, encontrados em diferentes locais do Egito, fato que sugere uma moderada circulação dos escritos na região. A hipótese é que um estruturado e coeso grupo de cidadãos alexandrinos do Ginásio, de ascendência grega e origem nobre, utilizaram-se dos escritos para manifestar suas insatisfações ao poder imperial. Pretendiam, com os relatos, criar um clima de resistência aos romanos e, ao mesmo tempo, exaltar a importância de Alexandria naquele universo, delimitando também uma identidade alexandrina restrita aos seus elementos de maior distinção. E mais: desejavam marcar a indignação quanto aos vizinhos judeus, que estariam ameaçando alguns direitos antes restritos ao grupo. Através dos textos, pode-se analisar como a romanização foi recebida e entendida pelos alexandrinos. Além disso, a documentação lança luz sobre elementos diversos da vida cívica e social da cidade e nos permite avaliar a sua importância no contexto imperial. / The aim of this dissertation is to investigate a group of small Alexandrian fragments of papyrus named Acta Alexandrinorum. The texts narrate episodes concerning Alexandria in the two first centuries of Roman Empire. But they were found in different places of Egypt, fact that suggests a moderate circulation of the writings in the region. The hypothesis is that a structured and limited group of Alexandrian citizens from the gymnasium, of Greek ascendance and noble birth, would use the writings to express their feelings of dissatisfaction to the Imperial power. They intended, with the accounts, to create an atmosphere of resistance to the Romans, and at the same time, to exalt the importance of Alexandria in that universe and also, to delimit an Alexandrian identity that should be restricted to their elements of higher distinction. Besides that, they also longed to emphasize the indignation to their Jewish neighbors, which were 8 threatening some rights that were before limited to their group. Through the texts, we can analyze how Romanization was received and understood by the Alexandrians. Besides that, the documents illustrate several elements of the civic and social life of the city and help to evaluate its importance in the imperial context.

O objetivo da presente dissertação é investigar um conjunto de pequenos fragmentos de papiros alexandrinos nomeado Acta Alexandrinorum. Os escritos narram episódios referentes à Alexandria nos dois primeiros séculos de Império Romano. Foram, no entanto, encontrados em diferentes locais do Egito, fato que sugere uma moderada circulação dos escritos na região. A hipótese é que um estruturado e coeso grupo de cidadãos alexandrinos do Ginásio, de ascendência grega e origem nobre, utilizaram-se dos escritos para manifestar suas insatisfações ao poder imperial. Pretendiam, com os relatos, criar um clima de resistência aos romanos e, ao mesmo tempo, exaltar a importância de Alexandria naquele universo, delimitando também uma identidade alexandrina restrita aos seus elementos de maior distinção. E mais: desejavam marcar a indignação quanto aos vizinhos judeus, que estariam ameaçando alguns direitos antes restritos ao grupo. Através dos textos, pode-se analisar como a romanização foi recebida e entendida pelos alexandrinos. Além disso, a documentação lança luz sobre elementos diversos da vida cívica e social da cidade e nos permite avaliar a sua importância no contexto imperial. / The aim of this dissertation is to investigate a group of small Alexandrian fragments of papyrus named Acta Alexandrinorum. The texts narrate episodes concerning Alexandria in the two first centuries of Roman Empire. But they were found in different places of Egypt, fact that suggests a moderate circulation of the writings in the region. The hypothesis is that a structured and limited group of Alexandrian citizens from the gymnasium, of Greek ascendance and noble birth, would use the writings to express their feelings of dissatisfaction to the Imperial power. They intended, with the accounts, to create an atmosphere of resistance to the Romans, and at the same time, to exalt the importance of Alexandria in that universe and also, to delimit an Alexandrian identity that should be restricted to their elements of higher distinction. Besides that, they also longed to emphasize the indignation to their Jewish neighbors, which were 8 threatening some rights that were before limited to their group. Through the texts, we can analyze how Romanization was received and understood by the Alexandrians. Besides that, the documents illustrate several elements of the civic and social life of the city and help to evaluate its importance in the imperial context.

Cette thèse se propose d’étudier dans le cadre d’une mise en série les différents procès incorporés à la collection de papyrus communément appelée Acta Alexandrinorum, sorte de corpus inclassable regroupant plusieurs documents de nature administrative, judiciaire ou diplomatique ayant trait aux relations entretenues entre l’Empire Romain et la cité d’Alexandrie aux deux premiers siècles de notre ère. Au nombre de cinq, ces procès, retrouvés uniquement à l’état fragmentaire et rédigés en grec, souvent après un travail de réécriture trahissant le parti pris des auteurs alexandrins, apportent un éclairage inédit sur les tensions entre les deux entités politiques et posent quantité de problèmes juridiques, tant sur le plan du droit privé que du droit public. L’arrière-plan égyptien place en outre ces procès à la croisée de trois traditions juridiques pouvant s’influencer et s’imbriquer mutuellement. Ces documents illustrent par ailleurs les débats qui marquaient alors la pensée politique et philosophique véhiculée par la Seconde Sophistique puisqu’ils proposaient le plus souvent un affrontement direct, dans le cadre du procès, entre les intellectuels grecs attachés aux valeurs traditionnelles de l’hellénisme et le pouvoir romain incarné par l’empereur lui-même. Il paraît donc particulièrement intéressant d’analyser au prisme du droit et des sources juridiques ces procès, très politiques, qui n’ont jusqu’alors bénéficié d’aucune étude d’ensemble dans l’historiographie française, ni même par ailleurs d’une traduction complète, et qui ne connurent à l’étranger qu’une approche essentiellement philologique. / This thesis aims at studying the various trials incorporated in the papyrus collection commonly known as Acta Alexandrinorum, an unclassifiable corpus regrouping several administrative, judicial or diplomatic documents concerning the relationships between the Roman Empire and the city of Alexandria during the first two centuries AD. These trials, recorded in Greek, were found unfortunately in a very poor state of conservation, and are characterized by a process of rewriting which reveals the partiality of the Alexandrian authors. They bring a new insight to the tensions between the two political entities and cause legal problems both in terms of private and public law. Moreover, the Egyptian context places these trials at the center of three legal traditions which could influence and interact together. These documents enlighten also the debates around the political and philosophical thought conveyed by the Second Sophistic through a direct confrontation between the Greek intellectuals attached to the traditional values of Hellenism and the Roman power incarnated by the emperor himself. Therefore it seems particularly interesting to analyze these very political trials under the perspective of law, since these sources, which were mainly studied only by philologists abroad, have never been the subject of a complete study in France until now and even never completely translated.

Claude fut empereur romain entre 41 et 54 apr. J.-C., succédant à son neveu Caligula. Alors que les sources littéraires antiques témoignent de la faiblesse d’esprit d’un empereur dirigé par ses affranchis et par ses femmes, les documents épigraphiques et papyrologiques mettent en lumière un empereur soucieux de rendre la justice et dont les décisions tournées vers un pragmatisme lui ont valu le surnom d’empereur des citoyens. Cependant, si le personnage hors du commun a fait couler beaucoup d’encre, les spécialistes ne se sont attardés que très rarement à la province d’Égypte sous son règne, alors que celle-ci est pourtant aux prises avec un important conflit judéo-alexandrin qu’a mis au jour la fameuse Lettre de Claude aux Alexandrins. En lisant celle-ci, nous en apprenons non seulement sur le conflit en question, mais encore sur la citoyenneté alexandrine, le culte impérial et le témoignage direct d’une politique personnelle engagée de l’empereur Claude envers l’Égypte. Ce présent mémoire est divisé en quatre chapitres. Le premier examinera les traits du multiculturalisme égyptien sous la présence romaine. Le deuxième chapitre expliquera la crise qui opposa les Grecs aux Juifs d’Alexandrie et qui fut l’élément déclencheur d’une politique personnelle de Claude. Le troisième chapitre se penchera sur d’autres témoignages du reste de l’Empire pour mieux déterminer le caractère passif ou actif de Claude et évaluer si la Lettre est bel et bien de son initiative personnelle. Enfin, le quatrième chapitre abordera le sujet du culte impérial en Égypte pour s’intéresser au souci de légitimation et d’acceptation de l’empereur par ses sujets égyptiens. / Claudius was a Roman Emperor between 41 and 54 AD who succeeded his nephew Caligula. While ancient literary sources testify the weakness in the spirit of an emperor led by his freedmen and wives, epigraphic and papyrological documents highlight an emperor eager to render justice whose pragmatic-oriented decisions earned him the nickname of Emperor of citizens. However, if this unusual character has spilled much ink, specialists will rarely linger in the province of Egypt under his reign, while the latter is experiencing significant Judaeo Alexandrian conflicts that the famous Letter to the Alexandrians has brought to light. By reading it, we learn not only about the conflict in question, but also about Alexandrian citizenship, the imperial cult as well as a direct testimony of a personal political commitment to Egypt. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter will examine multiculturalism traits in Egypt under Roman rule. The second chapter will scrutinize the crisis opposing the Greeks and the Jews of Alexandria, which was the trigger for a personal political commitment of Claudius. The third chapter will analyse whether the Letter is indeed the initiative of Claudius by searching amongst other evidences from the rest of the Empire to better assess its passive or active character. Finally, the fourth chapter will address the topic of the imperial cult in Egypt in the quest for legitimacy and acceptance of the emperor by his Egyptian subjects.