Zugl.: Fribourg, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2007

Diss. / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Inaug.-diss.--Freiburg i. B.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1945. / Bibliography: p. 111-113.

Dissertation--Fakultät für Philologie--Bochum--Ruhr-Universität, 2000. / Bibliogr. p. 211-225. Index.

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.

This dissertation analyzes the interplay between imperial messaging or self-representation and legal activity in the Roman Empire under the Severan dynasty. I discuss the unusual historical circumstances of Septimius Severus’ rise to power and the legitimacy crises faced by him and his successors, as well as those same emperors’ control of an increasingly complex legal bureaucracy and legislative apparatus. I describe how each of the four Severan rulers—Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Elagabalus, and Severus Alexander—employed different approaches to imperial legislation and adjudication in accordance with their idiosyncratic self-presentation and messaging styles, as well as how other actors within Roman legal culture responded to Severan political dynamics in their own work. In particular, this dissertation is concerned with a particularly—and increasingly—urgent problem in Roman elite political culture; the tension between theories of imperial power that centered upon rulers’ charismatic gifts or personal fitness to rule, and a more institutional, bureaucratized vision that placed the emperor at the center of broader networks of administrative control. While these two ideas of the Principate had always coexisted, the Severan period posed new challenges as innovations in imperial succession (such as more open military selection of emperors) called earlier legitimation strategies into question. I posit that Roman law, with its stated tendency towards regularized, impersonal processes, was a language in which the Severan state could more easily portray itself as a bureaucratic institution that might merit deference without a given leader being personally fit to rule. This dissertation begins by discussing the representational strategy of Septimius Severus, who deployed traditional imperial messaging tropes in strikingly legalistic forms. I then explore how this model of law as a venue for or language of state communication might explain otherwise idiosyncratic features of the constitutio Antoniniana, an edict promulgated by Septimius Severus’ son Caracalla that granted citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire. I next discuss two unusual features of the corpus of rescripts issued by Severus Alexander, the last Severan emperor: specifically, the relabeling of rescripts issued by Elagabalus, Alexander’s cousin and predecessor, as products of Alexander’s reign; and the idiosyncratic frequency with which rescripts issued under Alexander’s authority cite prior imperial (and particularly Severan) precedent. Finally, I discuss how jurists responded to Severan (and particularly late Severan) political and legal culture: late Severan jurists are particularly inclined to justify their legal decisionmaking in terms of the desirable consequences of a given decision’s universal promulgation, and similarly likely to justify their opinions by citing to an impersonal ‘imperial authority’ rather than to named figures. I argue that these changes reflect both state and scholarly attempts to wrestle with increasingly unstable imperial selection processes, and to articulate a vision of Roman governance that might function in the new world of the third century C.E.

<p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The concept of outsiders has been argued to be one of the main themes in childhood fairy tales in general and in J.K. Rowling's <em>Harry Potter</em> novels in particular. Severus Snape is one of the most evident outsider characters in the novels, described as an unpleasant, ugly man presented as a double agent with uncertain allegiances. When the truth is revealed, in the very last pages of the series, he is discovered to have been an undercover spy for the good side all along. This essay examines Snape as an outsider, and analyzes his effect on the novel, especially his relation to the three characters with whom he interacts most: Dumbledore, Voldemort and Harry. All three of these characters are main characters and are also outsiders themselves in different ways. Examining the relations between good and evil and showing that these concepts are closely tied to choices and reactions towards being an outsider, the essay argues that the analysis of Snape as an outsider helps distinguish between aspects of good and evil in the novel. By focusing on Snape and the concept of the outsider, different dimensions of the novels become visible. Snape is here an instrumental character on his own, and may well be seen as the main character. Although the series in some aspects has been described as a fairy tale, the complex character of Severus Snape gives the novels a further depth appealing not only to children, but to adults as well.</p>

During his reign from 193-211, Septimius Severus was responsible for a significant building programme in the city of Rome. This involved both new buildings and the restoration of existing structures. Previous scholarship, however, has tended to consider specific buildings of the period in isolation instead of analysing Severus' building programme as a whole. The purpose of the present study is to redress this by examining the overall programme in the historical context of Severus' reign through archaeological investigations, studies of art and architectural history, epigraphy, numismatics, and the literary record. A framework for the motivation behind Severus' building programme may be established by relating the types of buildings constructed anew or restored to what is known of his reign through other sources. Severus wished to portray himself as the rightful heir of the Antonines who had been chosen by divine providence to establish a renewed period of peace and prosperity. Through his building activity he exploited important institutions to underline this position and to legitimize his rule. By his concern for the physical fabric of the capital he at the same time reinforced the message that he had restored the prestige of the Empire. The importance attached to this restoration is attested by the numerous inscriptions placed throughout the city on the restored buildings and other structures proudly announcing the attentions of the new emperor. Much of the Severan enhancement and restoration seems to have been geared toward the celebration of the Secular Games in the capital, an event that heralded a new age of renewal and restoration. Severus' intention of establishing a new dynasty was also implicit in the creation of an architectural presence within the heritage of the imperial city. The use of a building programme within the capital to reinforce the policies of the emperor originated with the first emperor, Augustus. While not on the same scale as the Augustan redevelopment of the city, Severus' building activity followed this imperial tradition with a deliberate and concerted building programme that reflected his propagandistic aims.

The concept of outsiders has been argued to be one of the main themes in childhood fairy tales in general and in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels in particular. Severus Snape is one of the most evident outsider characters in the novels, described as an unpleasant, ugly man presented as a double agent with uncertain allegiances. When the truth is revealed, in the very last pages of the series, he is discovered to have been an undercover spy for the good side all along. This essay examines Snape as an outsider, and analyzes his effect on the novel, especially his relation to the three characters with whom he interacts most: Dumbledore, Voldemort and Harry. All three of these characters are main characters and are also outsiders themselves in different ways. Examining the relations between good and evil and showing that these concepts are closely tied to choices and reactions towards being an outsider, the essay argues that the analysis of Snape as an outsider helps distinguish between aspects of good and evil in the novel. By focusing on Snape and the concept of the outsider, different dimensions of the novels become visible. Snape is here an instrumental character on his own, and may well be seen as the main character. Although the series in some aspects has been described as a fairy tale, the complex character of Severus Snape gives the novels a further depth appealing not only to children, but to adults as well.