The constitutio Antoniniana represents one of the most important legal documents of the Roman imperial period. By means of this edict, the emperor Caracalla enfranchised nearly every free person living within the borders of his empire. Despite its apparent significance, though, the constitutio remains a controversial document among modern scholars. Some consider it to be the logical conclusion to an evolutionary process in Roman citizenship that took over two centuries to achieve. Others, however, believe that it is a meaningless document given retrospective importance, changing little in the daily lives of the empire's population and representing nothing more than a superficial initiative brought forth by an absolute monarch. The primary focus of this thesis concerns the various reasons that Caracalla might have had for passing the constitutio Antoniniana in the opening half of AD 212. By considering elements such as the emperor's fascination with Alexander the Great and religious perspective, as well as issues surrounding the Roman imperial economy and army, I will construct an image of the constitutio that is more multi-faceted than has been presented in the past. The common thread running through these chapters, however, is that Caracalla employed his edict as a tool in a programme of refashioning the Severan dynasty - a programme that he found himself compelled to undertake in the aftermath of the murder of his brother and co-emperor, Geta. I will also argue that modern scholars have been wrong to dismiss the testimony offered by Cassius Dio, in which the senator claimed that a fiscal rationale underlay the legislation. Whilst the detail of Dio's argument is undoubtedly questionable, this thesis will demonstrate that, on a basic level, the senator was correct to identify a fiscal initiative contained within the terms of the constitutio text. The final chapter of the thesis will form a case study of Caracalla's imperial visit to Alexandria in AD 215/6. This is a challenging episode to analyse, since the hostile literary tradition appears content to label the violence which marked the emperor's stay in the city as the result of a merciless massacre ordered by Caracalla in revenge for an assortment of minor slights and insults. This chapter will re-assess the events of the imperial visit and argue that the disturbances were not the result of the emperor's uncontrollable temper, but rather that they resulted from riots among the local population that the local authorities were unable to control. Following this hypothesis, I will examine to what extent the effects and implications of the constitutio Antoniniana had a bearing on the disturbances in Alexandria. I contend that, although it is obviously impossible to draw a direct link between the edict and the unrest, it is possible to see that the social and fiscal implications of the legislation would have exacerbated pre-existing local sensitivities and pressures to breaking point. This work will represent one of the largest studies of Caracalla's constitutio undertaken in the English language to date. The aim of my study is not to function as an apology for the emperor, but it is an attempt to view the constitutio Antoniniana in a more rational way. My thesis thus acknowledges that the context in which the legislation was passed is of critical importance not only to our understanding of the constitutio as a document, but also to our assessment of Caracalla's actions following the murder of his younger brother.

Five ancient shipwrecks have been found in the sea off Croton, in southern Italy, each carrying a marble cargo composed of massive blocks, column shafts, and smaller artifacts. Three of them were located while surveying the seafloor with a multibeam sonar, and the remaining two with the help of divers, in the summers of 2005 and 2006. Two of the marble carriers are located in the bay of Punta Scifo and, therefore, are identified as the Punta Scifo A and Punta Scifo B shipwrecks, the remaining three take their names from the closest promontories: Punta Cicala, Capo Cimiti, and Capo Bianco. The Punta Scifo A shipwreck was chosen as the main focus of this work because it contains a unique assemblage of marble artifacts; including 13 basins, 15 stands decorated with lions’ paws, 16 column shafts, 14 blocks, 6 statue pedestals, and one statuette of Eros and Psyche. Moreover, because the original discovery dates back to 1908, and in 1915 salvors raised 150 tons of marble artifacts, much information was in danger of being lost. Consular inscriptions on the Punta Scifo A’s marble blocks and column shafts date the shipwreck to the early third century A.D. The merchantman was ca. 30 m long and 10 m wide, with a cargo of marble items weighting ca. 200 tons. The merchantman was loaded with its marble cargo in Asia Minor: all the items carried on board came from the quarries of Proconnesus and Docimium. The most likely point of departure was either Epheus or Miletus. While sailing toward the Strait of Messina, it is likely that a Grecale or Levante storm broke, and the helmsman was forced to look for shelter in the protected bay of Punta Scifo. Due to a change in wind direction a southerly Scirocco storm caused the ship to sink. Since the entire coastline south of Croton is totally unprotected to the south, there was no way for the crew to save their ship. Where the Punta Scifo A merchantman was destined remains unknown, although Rome appears to be a likely candidate.

This thesis examines the economy of Roman Cyprus during the Antonine and Severan periods. Though historians have worked on earlier periods of Cypriot economic history, this period has been largely neglected except for a few passing references. This thesis attempts to rectify this deficiency. The tools which have been most relevant to the study are archaeological evidence, and literary and epigraphical references, though when necessary, inferences have been drawn from what is known about other provinces, and tentative conclusions reached by applying these insights, where appropriate, to the special conditions in the island. Perhaps the most important result of the study is that Roman Cyprus had a healthy, flourishing economy which made a significant contribution to the prosperity of the Roman Empire.

Orientador: Margarida Maria de Carvalho / Resumo: A dinastia dos Severos foi a primeira de origem africana e semítica no Império Romano. Tal dinastia teve início no final do século II d.C. com a conquista do Principado por Septímio Severo, o qual foi sucedido por Caracala, Macrino, Heliogábalo e Severo Alexandre, respectivamente. Dentre os governantes da Dinastia Severa, destacamos o jovem Heliogábalo, proveniente da Síria. Trata-se de um imperador romano que foi muito criticado por autores como Dião Cássio, um senador romano, e Herodiano, que era associado à aristocracia imperial, de modo que a partir das críticas feitas por esses dois autores podemos perceber uma grande resistência às inovações introduzidas por Heliogábalo no campo políticoadministrativo, sobretudo devido à influência do mos maiorum sobre os modelos de análise de Dião Cássio e Herodiano. Uma dessas inovações realizadas pelo imperador foi a concessão de cargos administrativos a artistas da parte oriental do Império. Assim, com base na leitura da documentação, pensamos que para Heliogábalo não era um problema nomear artistas em cargos administrativos, já que ele mesmo se considerava um artista e ocupava o cargo de imperador. Heliogábalo apenas reproduziu, como imperador romano, as práticas culturais que executava na cidade de Emesa, na Síria, onde ocupava o posto de sacerdote antes de se tornar o Princeps. Objetivamos, portanto, compreender a confluência cultural entre a parte oriental e ocidental do Império Romano e como, por meio dela, se abre uma brecha p... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The Severan Dynasty was the first of an African and Eastern origin in the Roman Empire. This dinasty has its origin in the endind of the century 2 A.D with the conquest of the principate by Septimius Severus, who was sucessed by Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Severus Alexander, respectively. Between the rulers of the Severan dynasty we highlight the young Elagabalus, who came from Syria. It is a Roman Emperor who was very criticized by autors like Cassius Dio, a Roman senator, and Herodian, who was associated with the imperial aristocracy, in a way that with the critics made by this two autors we can realize a great resistance to the innovations introduced by Elagabalus in the administrative-political field, above all by the influence of mos maiorum in the analysis models of Cassius Dio and Herodian. One of those innovations realized by the emperor was the concession of administrative posts to artists of the eastern part of the empire. Thus, whith base on the lecture of documentation, we think that for Elagabalus it was not a problem to name artists in administrative posts, because he considered himself an artist who occupied the post of emperor. Elagabalus only has reproduced, as a Roman Emperor, the cultural pratices that he has executed in the city of Emesa, in Syria, where he occupied the post of priest before and became the Princeps. We have, therefore, like objective, understand the cultural confluence between the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire and h... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Les cultes isiaques se répandent autour du bassin méditerranéen entre le IVe s. av. et la fin du IVe s. apr. J.-C., arrivant à Rome au Ier siècle av. notre ère et y disparaissant conjointement aux cultes païens traditionnels avec ou peu après le coup porté par Théodose. Leur diffusion romaine s’étale donc sur une grande partie de l’histoire de l’Empire d’Occident, et ils vont ainsi se retrouver face à l’homme désormais considéré comme primus inter pares, grâce à l’accumulation de ses pouvoirs. L’empereur est pontifex maximus, c’est-à-dire maitre des cultes publics et du droit religieux, et il est ainsi l’agent du pouvoir qui a le potentiel religieux et législatif pour avoir un discours varié sur les autres traditions religieuses. Il semble donc inévitable que la sphère cultuelle isiaque rencontre et interagisse avec la sphère religieuse traditionnelle romaine, et que certains empereurs interfèrent, par renforcement ou au contraire par opposition, avec les cultes isiaques arrivés peu de temps avant l’avènement du pouvoir impérial. Cette thèse se propose non seulement d’étudier la dialectique entre institué romain (la force d’inertie) et instituant isiaque (la force de changements) dans la direction d’une potentielle altérité incluse (soit le dialogue évolutif du Nous par rapport à l’Autre), mais notamment par les liens publics romains et évolutifs entre l’empereur et les divinités isiaques. Nous effectuons cette recherche grâce à quatre types de sources antiques : la littérature pour le point de vue de l’élite littéraire gréco-romaine ; les inscriptions isiaques pour une définition surtout populaire de l’identité évolutive de l’instituant isiaque ; les monnaies et les oeuvres monumentales pour le point de vue public (et parfois plus personnel) impérial. Nous concentrons notre étude à partir de la dynastie sévérienne, qui laisse supposer que les cultes romano-orientaux profitent de la nouvelle configuration impériale avec des empereurs originaires d’Afrique et d’Orient, dans un phénomène d’« impérialisation » isiaque intensifié par un engagement tant impérial que populaire. En outre, nous nuancerons les conséquences sur la diffusion isiaque des troubles qui surviennent dans la deuxième moitié du IIIe siècle. Enfin, le IVe siècle, avec la christianisation de l’Empire et donc un christianisme devenant institué, ouvre sur une analyse des débats entre les défenseurs actifs du paganisme et les auteurs chrétiens, et de là, vers des interrogations sur l’intervention de la sphère isiaque dans ce face-à-face. / Isiac worship spread around the mediterranean basin between IVth c. BC and late IVth century AD, arriving to Rome at Ist century BC and disappearing there at the same time as traditional pagan worship, with or soon after Theodosius’policy. So, their Italian distribution spreads during a large part of the history of Western Empire, and thus, they’re going to meet the man henceforth considered as primus inter pares, thanks to the accumulation of his powers. The emperor is pontifex maximus that is master of the public worship and the religious right, thus he is the powerful agent who possesses the religious and legislative potential to have a varied discourse on other religious traditions. It seems inevitable that the sphere of isiac worship meets and interacts with Roman traditional religious sphere, and that some emperors interfere, by reinforcement or opposition, with the isiac cults arrived not enough time before the advent of the imperial power. This thesis studies non only the dialectic between Roman institué (inertial force) and isiac instituant (force of changes) in the direction of a potential included otherness (that to say the evolving dialogue of Us in relation to the Other), but especially by Roman publics links (and processing) between the isiac worship and the emperors. We do this research with four types of antique sources : literature for the views of the Greco-Roman literary elite ; the isiac inscriptions for (popular) definition of the identity of the isiac instituant ; the coins and the monumental works for the public (and sometimes more personal) imperial point of view. We focus our study from the Severan dynasty, what can let suppose that these romano-oriental worship take advantage of this new imperial configuration with emperors from Africa and the East, in a phenomenon of isiac " imperialization " intensified by both imperial and popular involvement. Moreover, we soften the consequences on isiac spread of disorders that arise in the second half of the IIIth century. Finally, the IVth century, with the christianization of the Empire and so christianity becoming institué, brings to an analysis of the debates between the active defenders of the paganism and the christian writers, and from there, on questions over the intervention of the isiac group in this face to face.

Leptis Magna a joué un rôle essentiel dans l'histoire de l'Afrique du Nord. Ce rôle se base sur des données économiques de la ville et de la bonne gestion de ses élites, qui sont ouvertes à la politique de romanisation en adoptant les coutumes et les modèles de l'architecture romaine. Parmi les élites les plus célèbres, celle de la famille des Spetimii : Septime Sévère qui accéda au trône en 193 après J-.C, sous son règne Leptis Magna atteint son apogée et devient la Rome Africaine, en y édifiant les bâtiments sévériens qui font l’objet de cette étude. Le choix de ce sujet se justifie essentiellement par l’importance de l'urbanisme lepcitain et ses caractéristiques à l’époque sévérienne. Qui ont généré des travaux foisonnants en plusieurs langues. Un bilan est désormais nécessaire qui aura pour objectif de mettre en évidence l’importance et l’originalité de cette phase sévérienne: aussi bien pour la ville elle-même que pour l’idéologie impériale, qui s’est manifestée ici de manière éclatante. Nous essayerons ici de connaitre pour quelles raisons Septime Sévère accorda toute son attention à construire ces édifices somptueux pendant une courte période. Parce qu'elle était sa ville natale ? Où bien, présentait-elle un bénéfice avantageux pour Rome ? L'intérêt de ces monuments grandioses datés de l’époque romaine nécessite une recherche historico-scientifique au niveau du tissu urbain : connaitre leur fonctionnement et leur rôle dans la société romaine; étudier leurs composants esthétiques en essayant de trouver les points communs entre eux; également mesurer l’amplitude de la production artistique et sa relation avec le développement politique et économique de la ville. / Leptis Magna has played a vital role in the history of North Africa.This role is based on the economic data of the city and the good management of its elites who are opened the policy of Romanization by adopting the Roman customs and patterns of Roman architecture. Among elites, most famous are those of the family Septimii which allowed his child, Septimius Severus, came to the throne in 193 AD. Under the reign of this emperor, Leptis Magna reached its peak of prosperity and became the Rome of Africa by setting up a massive constructions program: “The Severan Buildings” are the subject of this study. The choice of this subject is essentially justified by the importance of planning lepcitain characteristics at the Severan period, which generated abundant work in multiple languages. Now an assessment is necessary to highlight the importance and originality of this Severan phase: both for the city itself as well as for imperial ideology, which is conveyed brilliantly. We will try here to know why Septimius Severus gave his full attention to build these magnificent buildings in a short period. Perhaps because it was his hometown? Or was the town an advantageous asset for Rome? The beauty of these great monuments dating from the Roman era requires a historical and scientific research in the urban fabric: To know their operation and their role in Roman society; to study their aesthetic components and to find the common points between them, also to measure the amplitude of the artistic production and its relationships with the political and economic development of the city.

Das römische Ägypten am Ende des zweiten und zu Beginn des dritten nachchristlichen Jahrhunderts ist eine sehr abwechslungsreiche Zeit. Doch in wieweit lassen sich historische Begebenheiten auch auf den Prägungen des Nillandes nachweisen? Die alexandrinischen Münzen sind eine Besonderheit der kaiserlichen Domäne Ägypten, schon weil sie aufgrund ihrer Materialzusammensetzung einen geringeren Wert haben und ausschließlich für den Umlauf in dieser bestimmt sind. In einem Typenkatalog sind zunächst mehr als siebentausend alexandrinische Münzen aus öffentlichen wie auch privaten Sammlungen, aber auch aus dem Münzhandel erfasst worden, um angemessene Informationen zu den severischen Prägungen zu erhalten. Dieser ermöglicht nun einen ersten Gesamtüberblick über die Münzprägung der severischen Zeit, die ebenso abwechslungsreich ist wie die Epoche selbst. Der Hauptfokus liegt dabei auf den ikonographischen Aspekten der Münzrückseiten, wobei geldgeschichtliche Entwicklungen eine ebenso große Rolle spielen, um einen Gesamteindruck vom Bildprogramm jedes einzelnen römischen Kaisers der severischen Dynastie zu bekommen. Einen Ausblick auf die anschließende Zeit der Soldatenkaiser gibt ein Appendix, der die alexandrinischen Prägungen des Maximinus Thrax kurz umreißt. / The history of Egypt during the severan period is a time rich in variety. This epoch is examined on the local coins of the mint of Alexandria which are unique because they were assigned just for the circulation at the Nile. To get an overview about the severan coinage in Egypt more than 7000 alexandrian coins were recorded in different collections and ordered in a typology which should be the basis of the iconographical examimations to get a picture from the iconographic programm of each severan emperor. Following this is an appendix of the coinage of Maximinus Thrax to get a prospect to the following time.