The basic object of study of this dissertation is those texts conventionally known as 'the writings of the Roman land surveyors'. It deals in particular with the nature of the works of a body of authors (Frontinus and his later commentator, 'first' and 'second' Hyginus, Siculus Flaccus and Urbicus) which have come down to us, within the aforesaid collection of writings characterized by a diversified technical framework, through a peculiar manuscript tradition. Their treatises are of a special importance because they do not simply illustrate various principles and aspects of the technique of land measurement connected with areas of territory which have been parcelled and allocated. These authors, in fact, also describe those different kinds of markers which typify the boundary system used to enclose private/public areas or parcels of land. Such descriptions are connected by them with a discussion about different types of disputes which may arise either about the boundary line/strip or an area of land. The aim of the research is double. On the one hand, it seeks to ascertain more precisely the interrelation between the writings (or part of the writings) of the above mentioned authors: what was the extent and character of the influence each treatise may have exerted on the other by means of the technical terminology and systematization of the subject (along with any development of the land surveying technique) they followed. The first part of this study is, therefore, devoted to a close analysis of the way their works have been transmitted and all the most relevant passages which may lead not only to a better understanding of the nature of such works, but also to a more reliable chronology. On the other hand, this investigation is aimed to ascertain what was the actual province of the Agnmensores in the procedure for settling private and public law cases concerning land disputes in Imperial Rome. By commenting on all the most relevant epigraphical and documentary records dealing with this subject, along with those collections of laws concerning the 'action for regulating boundaries', it is possible to maintain not only that, according to the Roman law in force, the Agrimensores never held any office of arbitrators or judges to settle such disputes, but also that the jurists' and the Agnmensores' way of indicating the object of disputes about 'boundary' and 'site' was different, since their technical needs were different.

This dissertation examines human mobility and population interactions at the Imperial Roman (ca. 1st–3rd c. CE) sites of Isola Sacra (SCR) at Portus, Velia in the Cilento of Italy, and Rue Jacques Brel Necropolis (JBR) in Saintes, France. Isotopes of oxygen (18Oc) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) are used to assess instances of human mobility from the enamel of second molars (M2), providing a gauge of movement after age ~7–8 years. Nonmetric traits are employed in conjunction with isotopic perspectives to examine the nature of biological affinities and phenetic divergence between these three sites. Isotopic results of this study indicate that a significant number of individuals, including females and children, were mobile towards the sites at which they were ultimately interred, with the highest estimates of mobility provided by 18Oc seeing rates between 25%–38% across the three sites. 87Sr/86Sr results provided lower estimates of mobility ranging from zero cases at Velia to 30% at JBR, while combined 18Oc and 87Sr/86Sr analyses provided the lowest estimates of mobility ranging from zero cases at Velia to 20% at JBR. Such results suggest that a combined isotope approach may not necessarily increase the degree of mobility discrimination, bringing into question issues of regional homogeneity and overlap in 18Oc and 87Sr/86Sr values for the regions examined. A further examination of 18Oc variation in M1 vs. M2 vs. M3 for a sub-sample of 20 individuals indicates that childhood mobility was taking place at Portus. Nonmetric trait analysis provides insight to the nature of biological population similarity and divergence. Across the three sites SCR is the most similar to JBR and Velia, while Velia and JBR are the most dissimilar. The nature of these similarities suggests that overall the biological background of the people interred at JBR, SCR, and Velia is similar, but with unique regional phenetic differences indicating distinct biological populations at all three sites. Using these multiple lines of evidence this dissertation emphasizes a significant degree of mobility and population heterogeneity across the Roman landscape. It is evident from the research findings presented here that with the expanding Roman empire mobility and population interaction remained staples of Roman life. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

It is a long-established view that Roman coins were used as a means to convey messages. The obverse (“heads”) of Roman imperial coins always bore the image of the emperor, but the reverse (“tails”) was not standardized as modern coinage is today. Coin reverses commonly had the image of a deity, usually an abstract concept such as “Health”, “Courage”, but they might also advertise the completion of a major new construction project (the Colosseum, a new aqueduct), or desired behaviour, such as “fertility” (ie, have more children) or “loyalty of the army”. Coins were used by many Romans, but especially to pay the army, and for that reason coin reverses are a useful way to trace propaganda during civil and foreign conflicts. The 3rd century AD was a challenging period for the Romans, with almost continuous warfare and over 50 emperors and pretenders between 235 and 285. The frequent appearance of the god Sol (the Sun) on coin reverses in this period is a marked departure from the standard range of religious motifs and attests a major shift away from Jupiter. This thesis will investigate coins as an index of change by exploring where and how frequently the image of Sol was used on coins in the half-century prior to the establishment of a lavish temple to Sol in Rome around AD 273-275.

Through the incorporation of primary source material and prior scholarship this study looks at the Serapeums, Isiac temples and coinage of Hellenistic Alexandria and Imperial Rome. This study seeks to provide, through close analysis and comparison, a more precise picture of the Isaic ideology of the Greco-Roman governing powers of Egypt. I focus on the capital cities of Alexandria and Rome to analyze the message of Isis to their respective inhabitants. Coinage and popular iconography (such as Isis Pelagia) are incorporated into the overall understanding of Isiac uses as coinage serves as a form of ancient propaganda. The amalgamation of this information provides a clearer picture of Isis as a representation of Egyptian favor and divine validation of kingship over Egypt. Overall, the study found that the ideological manifestations of Isis set forward by the Ptolemies used Isis as a tool of cultural fusion and of positive influence on commerce. After the Ptolemies, the Imperial relationship with Isiac ideological function is made by discussing the actions made by Augutus, Domitan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Caracalla. As Isis becomes embraced by the Roman empire we see that the Ptolemaic forms of connection to Isis influenced the methods which Roman emperors then paid homage to her. The study finds that through her connection to Egypt, Isiac devotees, Egyptian commerce, and the divine kingship of Egypt during both the Hellenistic and Imperial periods; Isis became an invaluable ideological tool for the governing powers.

At its greatest extent, the Roman empire represented one of the largest continuous areas of land to have been ruled by a single central administration in the classical period. While the extent of the empire may be determined from both the extensive body of literary evidence from the Roman world, and also from the physi- cal remains of great public works stretching from Britain to Arabia, the processes by which the Romans were able to apprehend larger spaces remain infrequently studied in modern scholarship. It is often assumed that Roman spatial awareness came from cartographic representations and that the imperial Roman administration must have possessed detailed scale maps of both individual regions and of the empire as a whole. In the first part of the present study, it is demonstrated that Roman spatial understanding may not have relied very extensively on cartography, and that any maps produced in the Roman world were designed to serve very different purposes from those that we might associate with maps today. Instead, it is argued that the extensive construction projects that defined the character of the imperial world would have pro- vided a means by which the larger physical spaces of the empire could be understood. However, as transformations began to occur within the built environment between the late-third and late-sixth centuries, spatial processes would have necessarily started to change. In the second part of the present study, it is suggested that attitudes toward the built environment would have led to changes in the physical arrangement of rural and urban spaces in late antiquity; furthermore the eventual dissolution of the constructed landscape that defined the Roman empire would have resulted in new approaches to the apprehension of larger spaces, approaches in which cartographic expression may have played a more central role.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A presente tese aborda o tema do amor divino de forma muito pontual, tendo como ênfase o amor que se doa; seria, mais especificamente, o amor que vai até as últimas consequencias presente na entrega de Cristo. Seu objetivo é explicar este tema extremamente abstrato e, ao mesmo tempo, profundamente perceptível através dos olhos da fé. Para tanto, este trabalho foi distribuído em três partes (capítulos) essenciais para desenvolver uma tese em forma de exegese de novo testamento. Pretende-se, primeiramente, explicar como amor de Deus se fez presente em (1) momentos de dificuldade para os cristãos romanos do primeiro século (história), em segundo lugar, como a (2) pregação do apóstolo Paulo, ao falar de agápe, foi importante e fez sentido ao tratar de temas citados em sua epístola com os mesmos (exegese) e, por último, como desenvolveu-se a ideia de que Deus (3) se entrega por amor através dos modelos salvíficos (sistemática) para manter vivo o amor naqueles que colocaram fé, desde os primórdios, nesta palavra apostólica, bem como, na proposta de relacionar-se com Deus. Com base em três textos selecionados da carta aos Romanos, deseja-se clarear quem foram, como viveram e o que superaram os primeiros cristãos em termos de perseguição nesta época tão difícil, característica do aguerrido Império Romano. Por mais desafiadoras que foram estas dificuldades, ainda assim, Paulo deixa uma palavra de ânimo e sabedoria: ―não há nada maior que o amor de Deus por vocês e, ancorados neste amor, não existe tribulação, angústia, perigo ou dor que poderá derrotá-los. Vocês são mais que vencedores!‖ (Rm 8.31-39) É graças a este amor derramado no coração dos seres humanos que a pessoa cristã está capacitada e preenchida para amar sem limites, acepção, bloqueios, preconceito ou aversão (Rm 5.6-11). E quão importante foi este amor gerador de unidade para os cristãos que se reconheciam falhos, incapazes de cumprir a lei ou mesmo de justificarem-se diante de Deus (Rm 3.21-26). Por eles e pela manutenção da sua fé, os modelos de expiação, reconciliação e justificação foram desenvolvidos; na certeza de que Deus alcança e salva os seus, independente de qualquer pretensão humana. A certeza de que Deus esteve sempre ao seu lado sustentou a todos em amor e contribuiu para gerar o perdão incondicional em seus corações; esta é a mensagem bem como a conclusão da pesquisa sobre amor divino feita nesta tese. / The present dissertation deals with the subject of divine love in a very specific way, having as emphasis the love that gives of itself; more specifically, the love which goes to the ultimate consequences present in Christ's self-giving. Its objective is to explain this extremely abstract theme which is, at the same time, deeply perceptible through the eyes of faith. To do this, the paper was distributed in three essential parts to develop a dissertation in the form of an exegesis of the New Testament. First, it intends to explain how God's love was present in the moments of difficulty of the Roman Christians of the first century (history); in second place, how the preaching of the apostle Paul, in talking about agape, was important and made sense in dealing with the subjects quoted in several of his epistles (exegesis) and, last, how the idea that God gives himself up for love through salvific models (systematics) was developed in order to maintain the love alive in those who put their faith, since the origins, in his apostolic word, as well as, in the proposal of having a relationship with God. Based on three selected texts of the letter to the Romans, we wish to demonstrate who the first Christians were, how they lived and what they overcame in terms of persecution in those difficult times, characteristic of the warmongering Roman Empire. However challenging these difficulties were, even so, Paul left a word of encouragement and wisdom: ―there is nothing greater than God's love for you and, anchored in this love, there exists no tribulation, anguish, danger or pain that will be able to defeat you. You are more than winners!‖ (Rom. 8:31-39) It is thanks to the love that was poured into the human beings heart that the Christian person is enabled and filled to love without limits, preferences, barriers, prejudice or aversion (Rom. 5:6-11). And how important was this love, creator of unity for the Christians who recognized themselves as faulty, incompetent of carrying out the law or even of justifying themselves before God (Rom. 3:21-26). For them, and for the maintenance of their faith, the models of expiation, reconciliation and justification were developed; in the certainty that God reaches and saves his/her own, independently of any human claim. The certainty that God was always at their side supported all of them in love and contributed to produce unconditional pardon in their hearts; this is the final message, as well as the conclusion of the research done in this dissertation.

Le projet urbanistique et architectural lié à la construction du forum de Trajan à Rome (106 et 113 ap. J.-C) s’inscrit dans la tradition de ceux qui l’ont précédé. Pourtant ses dimensions et les travaux colossaux nécessaires à son établissement en font un projet particulièrement exceptionnel qui a entraîné la transformation totale de l’ensemble de la zone située entre les collines du Capitole et du Quirinal. Cette étude porte sur les modalités de ce réaménagement et ses conséquences non seulement sur la zone du forum, mais également sur l’ensemble du tissu urbain de la ville. Il s’agit d’analyser ce grand programme architectural en soulignant, comment, au-delà de la réalisation de la place publique, a été conçu, autour du complexe impérial, tout un ensemble urbanistique cohérent et surtout entièrement structuré par un nouveau système de circulation complexe. Le contexte urbain avant et après la réalisation du forum sont successivement étudiés et une attention particulière est accordée aux solutions architecturales adoptées afin d’intégrer les nouvelles constructions dans le tissu urbain préexistant. L’objectif est de reconstruire chronologiquement toute l’organisation urbanistique de la zone et de déterminer dans quelle mesure la construction du forum de Trajan a conditionnée le développement de l’Urbs dans son ensemble. / The urban and architectural project related to the construction of the Trajan Forum in Rome (106-113 AD) joins the tradition of its predecessors. However, its dimensions and the colossal work needed for its creation make it a one-of-a-kind project, which caused the transformation of the whole area between the Campidoglio and Quirinale hills. This study focuses on the methods of this transformation and on its impact on the proper Forum area, and on the rest of the city’s urban texture. It is an analysis of this big architectural project, beyond the public square, with particular attention to the collection of architectural solutions and to the complicated system of paths created around the imperial complex. The urban context was analysed in parallel, before and after the completion of the Forum, in order to understand better the architectural solutions adopted, and to integrate the new buildings in the pre-existing urban context. The objective is to chronologically reconstruct the whole urban setup of the area, and to determine to which extent the construction of the Trajan Forum conditioned the development of this part of the empire-period Urbs.

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