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This dissertation investigates one subset of the many "signs and symbols" representative of traditional Roman religion at Ostia -- its temples and sanctuaries. It uses this body of evidence to foreground a discussion of social and cultural transformation from the 3rd through 6th c. C.E. This period witnessed the decline of traditional religious practices and the rise of a more prominent Judaism and Christianity. Earlier treatments of this topic, however, have often approached the material by assembling a catalogue of buildings, documenting limited incidences of new construction or repair evidenced throughout the Late Roman town. This project, by contrast, instead of beginning with material dated to the "twilight years" of Roman Ostia, starts with the first records of excavation at Ostia Antica. It is these archaeological reports, some comprehensive, others more impressionistic, which document the eclectic nature of objects, sculpture, and architecture that were frequently found preserved throughout the town. These reports represent a new starting point for reconstructing the appearance of the Late Antique city. Drawing upon this material, each of my four chapters takes one element of the traditional landscape (the Capitolium, the so-called Temple of Hercules, the Sanctuary of Magna Mater, or the cult of Vulcan) and then interweaves one or more facets of Christianity or Judaism in order to reveal, dialectically, the dynamism of urban change. Socially and economically, Ostia itself witnessed significant changes during this time. This dissertation provides new answers to when, why, and how those changes took place. It reveals how ambitious architectural projects of the Late Roman Empire continued to achieve stature by visually engaging with both the presence and prestige of earlier monuments. Uncovering new evidence with which to challenge the concept of a late 4th c. "pagan revival," my research, in particular, suggests that accommodation of the past, not urban conflict, was a dominant social model. Finally, I suggest that a broad view of traditional and Christian festivals, from the 4th c. through 6th, shows how new cults, like those of Aurea or Monica, mother of Augustine, simultaneously preserved and transformed the city's traditions into the Early Middle Ages. / text

This PhD research has furnished the occasion to update the outdated works about Late Roman coinage focusing especially on a topic not so commonly examined like the Late Roman silver coinage. More precisely, it is analysed and discussed some of its more intriguing aspects. First of all how silver, as metal, was considered and perceived in Late Roman society and, therefore, why during fifth century AD silver bullion was used to produce fine silver objects rather than coins. Two different Late Roman customs concerning silver coinage are then reviewed: hoarding, with a list of most recent findings, and clipping. Finally a chapter is dedicated to the metrology and fineness of Late Roman silver coins together with an accurate analysis of the 7 different denominations. This extensive and deep discussion about Late Roman silver coinage's main problematics is completed by the most recent and updated catalogue of all the Late Roman silver denominations known so far. Such a review has given not only the possibility of updating or modifying some of the previous theories but also the opportunity to suggest some new ideas. --------------------------------------- Podrobně jsou zkoumány některé konkrétní zásadsní otázky, především jakým způsobem bylo v pozdně římské společnosti vnímáno stříbro jako kov a proč tedy...

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:25:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GustavoHSSS_DISSERT.pdf: 1419465 bytes, checksum: 8c673af6f681d84dd2fb46f03c113540 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-10 / In the year 376 of the Common Era, a tribe of Germanic warriors known as Tervingi , of Gothic extraction, crossed the Hister (Danube) river due south, entering the Roman Empire. They fled the Huns, a nomadic group that came plundering their way from the East. It did not take long for a conflict between the Roman imperial authorities and the refugees to begin. Peace was reached in 382 and, henceforth, the Tervingi would be officially foederati (allies) of the Romans, gaining the right to remain an autonomous tribe inside the borders of the Empire. For the next thirteen years the Tervingi warriors fought beside the Roman imperial armies in every major conflict. Nevertheless, after the death of the emperor Theodosius I in 395, their relations deteriorated severely. In theory, the Tervingi remained Roman allies; in practice, they begun to extort monies and other assets from the emperors Honorius and Arcadius. The sack of Rome by the Tervingi king Alaric in 410 was both the culmination and the point of inflection of this state of affairs. During the 410s the Tervingi warriors would fought again beside the Roman Imperial armies and be rewarded with a piece of land in the southwestern portion of the Gallic diocese. Dubbed Visigoths , they would remain trusted Roman allies throughout the next decades, consolidating their own kingdom in the process. This dissertation deals not only with the institution of the Visigothic kingdom in the southwestern portion of the Galliae but also with the social and economic conditions that hindered the Roman ability to defend their territory by themselves, hence opening opportunities for foederati like the Tervingi to carve out a piece of it for themselves. / No ano de 376 da era comum, uma tribo de guerreiros germ?nicos conhecidos como tervingi (terv?ngios), de origem g?tica, cruzou o rio Hister (Dan?bio) rumo ao sul, adentrando o Imp?rio Romano. Eles fugiam dos hunos, um grupo n?made que vinha do leste saqueando tudo em seu caminho. N?o passou muito tempo at? que tivesse in?cio conflito entre as autoridades imperiais romanas e os refugiados. A paz foi alcan?ada em 382 e, dali em diante, os terv?ngios seriam, oficialmente, foederati (aliados) dos romanos, ganhando o direito de continuar sendo uma tribo aut?noma dentro das fronteiras do Imp?rio. Durante os treze anos seguintes os guerreiros terv?ngios lutaram ao lado dos ex?rcitos imperiais romanos em cada um dos conflitos importantes. Ainda assim, ap?s a morte do imperador Teod?sio I em 395, as rela??es entre eles se deterioraram severamente. Em teoria, os terv?ngios permaneciam aliados dos romanos; na pr?tica, haviam come?ado a extorquir dinheiro e outros recursos dos imperadores Hon?rio e Arc?dio. O saque de Roma pelo rei terv?ngio Alarico em 410 foi tanto a culmina??o quanto o ponto de inflex?o nesse estado de coisas. Durante a d?cada de 410, os guerreiros terv?ngios lutariam novamente ao lado dos ex?rcitos imperiais romanos e seriam recompensados com uma por??o de terra na ?rea sudoeste da diocese gaulesa. Apelidados de visigodos , eles permaneceriam aliados dos romanos ao longo das d?cadas seguintes, consolidando seu pr?prio reino no processo. Esta disserta??o trata n?o apenas do estabelecimento do reino visig?tico na por??o sudoeste das Galliae mas tamb?m das condi??es sociais e econ?micas que restringiram a capacidade romana de defender por conta pr?pria seu territ?rio, dando oportunidade para que foederati como os terv?ngios arrancassem um peda?o dele para si.

Le sujet interroge les procédés de structuration et de configuration d’une cour impériale, qu’ils soient spontanés ou à l’initiative de l’empereur. Comme le rappelle le sociologue allemand Norbert Elias, dont les travaux encadrent largement cette étude, la cour ne doit pas son existence à la volonté d’un seul individu. Le cadre chronologique de cette étude est celui d’un long IVe siècle, prétexte à l’observation d’une évolution de la structure aulique et de l’image de la dignité impériale sur le long terme. L’Occident offre un objet d’étude privilégié, par sa diversité et ses pratiques du pouvoir héritières d’une ancienne centralité axée sur la ville de Rome. Notre hypothèse de recherche vise à pondérer le « paradigme du prince décideur » et à faire de l’empereur du IVe siècle un acteur de la cour et non plus seulement le point nodal d’une structure aulique qui tend à s’autonomiser. Il s’agit de mieux appréhender l’évolution de la pratique d’un pouvoir souvent perçu comme autocratique, le façonnement d’une cour destinée à servir le prestige d’une dignité impériale restaurée et l’autonomisation d’une administration extrêmement lourde. La permanence de certains réseaux d’influence à la cour semble entraîner un paradoxe entre le renforcement de l’autorité impériale et la faiblesse de l’influence décisionnelle des empereurs dans certains domaines de la vie politique. Cette contradiction ménage de nouveaux espaces du pouvoir jusque dans les territoires de l’empire, sous la forme de projections spatiales de la réalité aulique à travers la mobilité des hauts fonctionnaires. De là, la cour apparaît d’abord comme une abstraction soumise au politique avant que d’être une réalité topographique. L’ « absolutisme » en tant que « trait dominant du régime » mérite une nouvelle approche historiographique à l’aune de ces nouvelles pratiques du pouvoir à l’œuvre dès la Tétrarchie. / The present subject examines the processes of structuration and configuration of an imperial court. Those processes could be spontaneous or on the emperor’s initiative. As the German sociologist Norbert Elias reminds us, the court doesn’t owe its existence to the will of one person. This study takes place in a long 4th century and highlights the evolution of the court structure and the representation of the imperial dignity over the long term. The Western empire is a priviledged field of study due to the diversity of its political practices of power inherited from the old centrality of power settled in Rome. Our research hypothesis is about moderating the paradigm of the ‘decision-maker prince’. In that sense, the emperor of the Late Roman Empire would become an actor of the court again and not only the nodal point of this structure which is trying to become autonomous. We would like to better comprehend the evolution of a power usually regarded as autocratic, the making process of a court intended to serve the prestige of a restored imperial dignity and the autonomisation of an heavy administration. There is a paradox between the permanency of some political networks at court, the reinforcement of the imperial authority and the decision-making weakness of the emperors in some aspects of the political life. This contradiction creates new spaces of power in empire's territories because of the mobility of the senior officials. In that, the court appears more as a political abstraction than just a topographic reality. The ‘absolutism’ of that time deserves a new historiographical approach to understand those new political practices noticeable since the Tetrarchy.