DOCSLIB.ORG

A Deafening Silence: Agrippa Postumus and the Will of Augustus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Deafening Silence: Agrippa Postumus and the Will of Augustus A Deafening Silence: Agrippa Postumus and The Will of AugustusI Saw and I Wondered: Roman Tourists at the Colossus of Memnon TIMOTHY JONES was a rival to Tiberius.5 There was a degree of social and legal equality between Tiberius and Postumus as sons of Augustus: however acitus opens his account of Tiberius’ Tiberius was clearly politically superior, since he had what Swan calls ‘seniority, experience reign with the ominous report that the 6 first deed of the new regime was the and indisputable military competence.’ In T addition, Postumus was fifteen years old. The slaughter of Agrippa Postumus (Primum facinus novi principatus fuit Postumi Agrippae caedes).1 46-year-old Tiberius was clearly the senior deputy to Augustus, contrary to ancient claims Modern scholarship provides a substantial 7 body of analysis concerning this episode, but about rivalry between the two. no unitary explanation has been forthcoming as to why Postumus died.2 The purpose of this article is to consider Agrippa Postumus’ 2. Postumus’ Fall from Grace position at the time of Augustus’ death in light of his last will and testament. We will see that Relations between Augustus and Postumus the young man goes entirely unmentioned in were to deteriorate, and we now turn to Augustus’ will. Legal texts may shed some Suetonius and Dio for the details. In assessing light on the fate of Postumus, but, as we will Augustus’ relationship with his family, Suetonius see, they also further complicate the issue. comments on the breakdown of relations Our purpose is to establish the historical facts between Augustus and Agrippa Postumus and around Postumus and his place in the state and Augustus’ response. Suetonius writes then apply selected legal texts to those facts. Tertium nepotem Agrippam simulque privignum Tiberium adoptavit in foro 1. The Adoptions of 4CE lege curiata; ex quibus Agrippam brevi ob ingenium sordidum ac ferox abdicavit seposuitque Surrentum… Agrippam nihilo Prior to looking specifically at Augustus’ tractabiliorem, immo in dies amentiorem, will and the legal texts, it is necessary to in insulam transportavit saepsitque insuper examine the aftermath of the adoptions of custodia militum. Cavit etiam s. c. ut eodem 4CE. Augustus adopted Agrippa Postumus at loci in perpetuum contineretur. 8 the same time as Tiberius. Postumus was the son of Julia and Marcus Agrippa and thus the grandson of Augustus.3 His motivation in the He [Augustus] then adopted his third simultaneous adoption seems to have been to grandson Agrippa at the same time provide what Birch called ‘internal balance’ as he adopted his step-son Tiberius between his own descendants and those of in the forum by a law passed through Livia.4 These adoptions made both Tiberius the curiate assembly; however, he and Agrippa Postumus sons of Augustus. quickly disowned Agrippa due to his Dio goes so far as to suggest that Postumus ferocious and sordid temperament and relegated him to Serentum … 1 Tac. Ann. 1.6. The text is from The Latin Library. 5 Dio 57.4.1. 2 Pappano (1941); Allen (1947); Detweiler (1970); Levick (1972); Jameson (1975); Birch (1981); Simpson (1996). 6 Swan (2004). 3 The adoptions of 4CE are dealt with in detail by the 7 It is worth noting in passing the view of Simpson, that, ancients – see Vell. Pat. 2.103.1-104.2, 112.7, Suet. Aug. 65.1, through the adoption of Postumus, Augustus ‘extinguished’ Suet. Tib. 15.2-16.1, 21.2-3, Tac. Ann. 1.3.3-5. the line of the great Agrippa. See Simpson (1996). 4 Birch (1981). 8 Suet. Aug. 65.1,4. 76 77 Iris | Journal of the Classical Association of Victoria | New Series | Volume 29 | 2016 A Deafening Silence: Agrippa Postumus and The Will of Augustus affection.10 Finally, the impermanent nature of as Agrippa became in no way more abdicatio renders the allegation of a restoration manageable, but rather became more in the period leading up to Augustus’ death unstable by the day, he [Augustus] plausible, and we turn to those events now. sent him to an island and placed him under a guard of soldiers. He [Augustus] also secured, by Senatorial 3. Augustus’ Death and the Alleged Decree, that he [Postumus] should be Restoration of Postumus confined in that place forever. The main source for these events is Tacitus, so Suetonius identifies two distinct phases to we start with his account. Tacitus writes Agrippa’s fall from grace. The first phase was Augustus disowning Postumus due to his Haec atque talia agitantibus gravescere temperament and behaviour and sending him valetudo Augusti, et quidam scelus uxoris to his father’s villa at Serentum. The second suspectabant. quippe rumor incesserat, paucos phase took place when Postumus’ behaviour ante menses Augustum, electis consciis et did not improve and Augustus sent him comite uno Fabio Maximo, Planasiam vectum under military guard to the island of Planasia. ad visendum Agrippam; multas illic utrimque Agrippa’s behaviour not improving is likely to lacrimas et signa caritatis spemque ex eo fore refer, in part, to the fact that he had berated ut iuvenis penatibus avi redderetur: quod Augustus for not granting him what he thought Maximum uxori Marciae aperuisse, illam were his entitlements from his natural father Liviae. gnarum id Caesari; neque multo post Marcus Agrippa.9 extincto Maximo, dubium an quaesita morte, auditos in funere eius Marciae gemitus semet 11 The situation, then, was that by 7CE, incusantis, quod causa exitii marito fuisset. Postumus was seemingly persona non grata in Rome. However, Jameson notes an interesting As these topics were being discussed, complexity in Agrippa’s status in these years. the health of Augustus became If he had been subject to Augustus’ formal worse, and some began to suspect the renunciation (abdicatio), this was likely to criminality of his wife. For a rumour have been intended as a corrective measure had circulated that Augustus, a few on his behaviour, which, she writes, may months before, confiding in a select have included the possibility of a restoration. few and accompanied by one Fabius Abdicatio, then, need not necessarily be seen Maximus, sailed to the island of as permanent. This lack of clarity around Planasia to visit his grandson Agrippa Postumus’ position, even after his banishment Postumus. In that place many tears to Planasia, is reflected in Jameson’s suggestion and signs of affection were exchanged that, if Augustus had wanted to invalidate on both sides, such that there was Postumus’ claim on his estate, he had other hope that the youth might be restored options open to him. The implication of this to the house of his grandfather. This statement is that banishment was not sufficient. Maximus revealed to his wife, Marcia, These remedies were not without their and she to Livia. That was known to problems. For instance, if Augustus had simply Caesar. Maximus died soon after, and disinherited him in his will, Postumus could doubt exists about the nature of his have claimed that the will had not been made death. Marcia was heard at his funeral with proper consideration of familial ties of sobbing and blaming herself for the destruction of her husband. 10 Jameson (1975). 9 Dio 55.32.2. 11 Tac. Ann. 1.5. 78 A Deafening Silence: Agrippa Postumus and The Will of Augustus The idea that Augustus would restore Postumus possibly fear, on the part of Tiberius or Livia. to the Imperial House parallels the death scene We will see that suspicion around Tiberius of Claudius.12 As the incident is presented, the and his mother for the death of Postumus is clear heir, in that case Nero, was allegedly common among many of the sources. to be supplanted by a natural descendant of the incumbent Princeps but was secured in We now turn to Dio’s account of Augustus’ the role by the actions of a woman. The form death, with the focus once again on Agrippa of the story around the death of Augustus is Postumus’ role in the narrative. Dio writes similar, with Tiberius as the empowered heir and Postumus as the natural descendant. This Augustus, being unwell, died, and his leitmotif should cause us to be suspicious: wife, Livia, incurred some suspicion Tacitus has taken a standard historiographical concerning his death because he had device and applied it to different situations.13 secretly sailed to Agrippa Postumus The likelihood of these schema applying to on the island where he was exiled and both situations exactly is extremely low. That seemed to be about to be reconciled said, even if we doubt the alleged reason for with him. For she was fearing, as some the visit, that Augustus may have considered say, that he [Augustus] might restore restoring, the idea that he should want to see him [Postumus] to the monarchy. She his grandson one final time before his death is approached the fig trees from which not outside the realm of possibility. We note Augustus had been accustomed to here that, in Tacitus’ narrative, Augustus’ gather figs by his own hand, smeared visit to Postumus is reported as a rumour, a some with poison, ate the others favoured device of Tacitus’. We will see that and offered the poisoned ones to other sources, principally Dio, are not as subtle. Augustus.15 That said, interpreting Tacitus’ representation of this rumoured assignation on Planasia It was because of the visit and alleged plans may simply be a matter of accommodating to restore Postumus to the monarchy (the appearances and perceptions. In politics, the anachronistic term is appropriate given Dio’s appearances, what we may call the optics of chronological placement) that Augustus was the situation, are often more important than reportedly murdered.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • ROMAN EMPERORS in POPULAR JARGON: SEARCHING for CONTEMPORARY NICKNAMES (1)1 by CHRISTER BRUUN
    ROMAN EMPERORS IN POPULAR JARGON: SEARCHING FOR CONTEMPORARY NICKNAMES (1)1 By CHRISTER BRUUN Popular culture and opposite views of the emperor How was the reigning Emperor regarded by his subjects, above all by the common people? As is well known, genuine popular sentiments and feelings in antiquity are not easy to uncover. This is why I shall start with a quote from a recent work by Tessa Watt on English 16th-century 'popular culture': "There are undoubtedly certain sources which can bring us closer to ordinary people as cultural 'creators' rather than as creative 'consumers'. Historians are paying increasing attention to records of slanderous rhymes, skimmingtons and other ritualized protests of festivities which show people using established symbols in a resourceful way.,,2 The ancient historian cannot use the same kind of sources, for instance large numbers of cheap prints, as the early modern historian can. 3 But we should try to identify related forms of 'popular culture'. The question of the Roman Emperor's popularity might appear to be a moot one in some people's view. Someone could argue that in a highly 1 TIlls study contains a reworking of only part of my presentation at the workshop in Rome. For reasons of space, only Part (I) of the material can be presented and discussed here, while Part (IT) (' Imperial Nicknames in the Histaria Augusta') and Part (III) (,Late-antique Imperial Nicknames') will be published separately. These two chapters contain issues different from those discussed here, which makes it feasible to create the di vision. The nicknames in the Histaria Augusta are largely literary inventions (but that work does contain fragments from Marius Maximus' imperial biographies, see now AR.
    [Show full text]
  • Exiling Bishops: the Policy of Constantius II
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Classical Studies Faculty Publications Classical Studies 2014 Exiling Bishops: The olicP y of Constantius II Walter Stevenson University of Richmond, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/classicalstudies-faculty- publications Part of the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Stevenson, Walt. "Exiling Bishops: The oP licy of Canstantius II." Dumbarton Oaks Papers 68 (2014): 7-27. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Classical Studies at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Exiling Bishops: The Policy of Constantius II Walt Stevenson onstantius II was forced by circumstances to all instances in which Constantius II exiled bishops Cmake innovations in the policy that his father and focus on a sympathetic reading of his strategy.2 Constantine had followed in exiling bishops. While Though the sources for this period are muddled and ancient tradition has made the father into a sagacious require extensive sorting, a panoramic view of exile saint and the son into a fanatical demon, recent schol- incidents reveals a pattern in which Constantius moved arship has tended to stress continuity between the two past his father’s precedents to mold a new, intelligent regimes.1 This article will attempt to gather
    [Show full text]
  • The Gallic Empire (260-274): Rome Breaks Apart
    The Gallic Empire (260-274): Rome Breaks Apart Six Silver Coins Collection An empire fractures Roman chariots All coins in each set are protected in an archival capsule and beautifully displayed in a mahogany-like box. The box set is accompanied with a story card, certificate of authenticity, and a black gift box. By the middle of the third century, the Roman Empire began to show signs of collapse. A parade of emperors took the throne, mostly from the ranks of the military. Years of civil war and open revolt led to an erosion of territory. In the year 260, in a battle on the Eastern front, the emperor Valerian was taken prisoner by the hated Persians. He died in captivity, and his corpse was stuffed and hung on the wall of the palace of the Persian king. Valerian’s capture threw the already-fractured empire into complete disarray. His son and co-emperor, Gallienus, was unable to quell the unrest. Charismatic generals sought to consolidate their own power, but none was as powerful, or as ambitious, as Postumus. Born in an outpost of the Empire, of common stock, Postumus rose swiftly through the ranks, eventually commanding Roman forces “among the Celts”—a territory that included modern-day France, Belgium, Holland, and England. In the aftermath of Valerian’s abduction in 260, his soldiers proclaimed Postumus emperor. Thus was born the so-called Gallic Empire. After nine years of relative peace and prosperity, Postumus was murdered by his own troops, and the Gallic Empire, which had depended on the force of his personality, began to crumble.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in Livy and Tacitus
    Xavier University Exhibit Honors Bachelor of Arts Undergraduate 2021-5 Women in Livy and Tacitus STEPHEN ALEXANDER PREVOZNIK Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH Follow this and additional works at: https://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, and the Other Classics Commons Recommended Citation PREVOZNIK, STEPHEN ALEXANDER, "Women in Livy and Tacitus" (2021). Honors Bachelor of Arts. 46. https://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab/46 This Capstone/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate at Exhibit. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Bachelor of Arts by an authorized administrator of Exhibit. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Women in Livy and Tacitus By Stephen Prevoznik Prevoznik 1 Introduction Livy and Tacitus are both influential and important Roman authors. They have written two of the most influential histories of Rome. Livy covers from the founding of Rome until the Reign of Augustus. Tacitus focuses on the early empire, writing from the end of Augustus’ reign through Nero. This sets up a nice symmetry, as Tacitus picks up where Livy stops. Much has been written about the men they include, but the women also play an important role. This essay plans to outline how the women in each work are used by the authors to attain their goals. In doing so, each author’s aim is exposed. Livy: Women as Exempla Livy’s most famous work, Ab Urbe Condita, is meant to be read as a guide.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political and Military Aspects of Accession of Constantine the Great
    Graeco-Latina Brunensia 24 / 2019 / 2 https://doi.org/10.5817/GLB2019-2-2 The Political and Military Aspects of Accession of Constantine the Great Stanislav Doležal (University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice) Abstract The article argues that Constantine the Great, until he was recognized by Galerius, the senior ČLÁNKY / ARTICLES Emperor of the Tetrarchy, was an usurper with no right to the imperial power, nothwithstand- ing his claim that his father, the Emperor Constantius I, conferred upon him the imperial title before he died. Tetrarchic principles, envisaged by Diocletian, were specifically put in place to supersede and override blood kinship. Constantine’s accession to power started as a military coup in which a military unit composed of barbarian soldiers seems to have played an impor- tant role. Keywords Constantine the Great; Roman emperor; usurpation; tetrarchy 19 Stanislav Doležal The Political and Military Aspects of Accession of Constantine the Great On 25 July 306 at York, the Roman Emperor Constantius I died peacefully in his bed. On the same day, a new Emperor was made – his eldest son Constantine who had been present at his father’s deathbed. What exactly happened on that day? Britain, a remote province (actually several provinces)1 on the edge of the Roman Empire, had a tendency to defect from the central government. It produced several usurpers in the past.2 Was Constantine one of them? What gave him the right to be an Emperor in the first place? It can be argued that the political system that was still valid in 306, today known as the Tetrarchy, made any such seizure of power illegal.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cambridge Companion to Age of Constantine.Pdf
    The Cambridge Companion to THE AGE OF CONSTANTINE S The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine offers students a com- prehensive one-volume introduction to this pivotal emperor and his times. Richly illustrated and designed as a readable survey accessible to all audiences, it also achieves a level of scholarly sophistication and a freshness of interpretation that will be welcomed by the experts. The volume is divided into five sections that examine political history, reli- gion, social and economic history, art, and foreign relations during the reign of Constantine, a ruler who gains in importance because he steered the Roman Empire on a course parallel with his own personal develop- ment. Each chapter examines the intimate interplay between emperor and empire and between a powerful personality and his world. Collec- tively, the chapters show how both were mutually affected in ways that shaped the world of late antiquity and even affect our own world today. Noel Lenski is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A specialist in the history of late antiquity, he is the author of numerous articles on military, political, cultural, and social history and the monograph Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century ad. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 The Cambridge Companion to THE AGE OF CONSTANTINE S Edited by Noel Lenski University of Colorado Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo Cambridge University Press 40 West 20th Street, New York, ny 10011-4211, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521818384 c Cambridge University Press 2006 This publication is in copyright.
    [Show full text]
  • Collector's Checklist for Roman Imperial Coinage
    Liberty Coin Service Collector’s Checklist for Roman Imperial Coinage (49 BC - AD 518) The Twelve Caesars - The Julio-Claudians and the Flavians (49 BC - AD 96) Purchase Emperor Denomination Grade Date Price Julius Caesar (49-44 BC) Augustus (31 BC-AD 14) Tiberius (AD 14 - AD 37) Caligula (AD 37 - AD 41) Claudius (AD 41 - AD 54) Tiberius Nero (AD 54 - AD 68) Galba (AD 68 - AD 69) Otho (AD 69) Nero Vitellius (AD 69) Vespasian (AD 69 - AD 79) Otho Titus (AD 79 - AD 81) Domitian (AD 81 - AD 96) The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty (AD 96 - AD 192) Nerva (AD 96-AD 98) Trajan (AD 98-AD 117) Hadrian (AD 117 - AD 138) Antoninus Pius (AD 138 - AD 161) Marcus Aurelius (AD 161 - AD 180) Hadrian Lucius Verus (AD 161 - AD 169) Commodus (AD 177 - AD 192) Marcus Aurelius Years of Transition (AD 193 - AD 195) Pertinax (AD 193) Didius Julianus (AD 193) Pescennius Niger (AD 193) Clodius Albinus (AD 193- AD 195) The Severans (AD 193 - AD 235) Clodius Albinus Septimus Severus (AD 193 - AD 211) Caracalla (AD 198 - AD 217) Purchase Emperor Denomination Grade Date Price Geta (AD 209 - AD 212) Macrinus (AD 217 - AD 218) Diadumedian as Caesar (AD 217 - AD 218) Elagabalus (AD 218 - AD 222) Severus Alexander (AD 222 - AD 235) Severus The Military Emperors (AD 235 - AD 284) Alexander Maximinus (AD 235 - AD 238) Maximus Caesar (AD 235 - AD 238) Balbinus (AD 238) Maximinus Pupienus (AD 238) Gordian I (AD 238) Gordian II (AD 238) Gordian III (AD 238 - AD 244) Philip I (AD 244 - AD 249) Philip II (AD 247 - AD 249) Gordian III Trajan Decius (AD 249 - AD 251) Herennius Etruscus
    [Show full text]
  • A Tale of Two Periods
    A tale of two periods Change and continuity in the Roman Empire between 249 and 324 Pictured left: a section of the Naqš-i Rustam, the victory monument of Shapur I of Persia, showing the captured Roman emperor Valerian kneeling before the victorious Sassanid monarch (source: www.bbc.co.uk). Pictured right: a group of statues found on St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, depicting the members of the first tetrarchy – Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius and Galerius – holding each other and with their hands on their swords, ready to act if necessary (source: www.wikipedia.org). The former image depicts the biggest shame suffered by the empire during the third-century ‘crisis’, while the latter is the most prominent surviving symbol of tetrar- chic ideology. S. L. Vennik Kluut 14 1991 VB Velserbroek S0930156 RMA-thesis Ancient History Supervisor: Dr. F. G. Naerebout Faculty of Humanities University of Leiden Date: 30-05-2014 2 Table of contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Sources ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Historiography ............................................................................................................................... 10 1. Narrative ............................................................................................................................................ 14 From
    [Show full text]
  • The Epitome De Caesaribus and the Thirty Tyrants
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ELTE Digital Institutional Repository (EDIT) THE EPITOME DE CAESARIBUS AND THE THIRTY TYRANTS MÁRK SÓLYOM The Epitome de Caesaribus is a short, summarizing Latin historical work known as a breviarium or epitomé. This brief summary was written in the late 4th or early 5th century and summarizes the history of the Roman Empire from the time of Augustus to the time of Theodosius the Great in 48 chapters. Between chapters 32 and 35, the Epitome tells the story of the Empire under Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus, and Aurelian. This was the most anarchic time of the soldier-emperor era; the imperatores had to face not only the German and Sassanid attacks, but also the economic crisis, the plague and the counter-emperors, as well. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae calls these counter-emperors the “thirty tyrants” and lists 32 usurpers, although there are some fictive imperatores in that list too. The Epitome knows only 9 tyrants, mostly the Gallic and Western usurpers. The goal of my paper is to analyse the Epitome’s chapters about Gallienus’, Claudius Gothicus’ and Aurelian’s counter-emperors with the help of the ancient sources and modern works. The Epitome de Caesaribus is a short, summarizing Latin historical work known as a breviarium or epitomé (ἐπιτομή). During the late Roman Empire, long historical works (for example the books of Livy, Tacitus, Suetonius, Cassius Dio etc.) fell out of favour, as the imperial court preferred to read shorter summaries. Consequently, the genre of abbreviated history became well-recognised.1 The word epitomé comes from the Greek word epitemnein (ἐπιτέμνειν), which means “to cut short”.2 The most famous late antique abbreviated histories are Aurelius Victor’s Liber de Caesaribus (written in the 360s),3 Eutropius’ Breviarium ab Urbe condita4 and Festus’ Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani.5 Both Eutropius’ and Festus’ works were created during the reign of Emperor Valens between 364 and 378.
    [Show full text]
  • Companion Brochure
    ENTER the Virtual Worlds of Roman Women Where WOMEN are Seen and Heard! http://www2.cnr.edu/home/sas/araia/companion.html Designed to engage Latin readers at all levels in the study of Roman women through essays, varied annotated primary texts, and a wealth of images of artifacts dating from the Republic to the late Empire, this user-friendly free resource, a pedagogical extension of the print anthology The Worlds of Roman Women, has been highly rated on the Society for Classical Studies blog @ https://classicalstudies.org/node/22518. Instructional Resources: click INSTRUCTION on the homepage to find pedagogical and study materials: an introductory guide, an annotated bibliography of print and hyperlinked Internet publications, course syllabi, lessons, classroom activities, and selected online resources to support reading and research. Texts and Images: click WORLDS on the homepage to access the gateway to texts, essays and images. Each World opens with a themed essay overviewing women's experiences within that World and links to Latin passages and illustrations of ancient artifacts that evidence it. Each selection is introduced by its own image and essay that set the context for the reading. Each text offers hyperlinked glosses in small pop-up windows containing short lexical, rhetorical, poetic and syntactic commentary. Beneath the Worlds tabs is a hyperlinked TextMap, a list of all Latin passages on the site, ordered by World and labeled for skill level (Easy, Intermediate, Challenging); side panels are linked to documents with the names of Latin authors and Roman women, alphabetically ordered, to be found in the print anthology and on the Companion website.
    [Show full text]
  • The Extension of Imperial Authority Under Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 285-305Ce
    University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2012 The Extension Of Imperial Authority Under Diocletian And The Tetrarchy, 285-305ce Joshua Petitt University of Central Florida Part of the History Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Petitt, Joshua, "The Extension Of Imperial Authority Under Diocletian And The Tetrarchy, 285-305ce" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2412. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2412 THE EXTENSION OF IMPERIAL AUTHORITY UNDER DIOCLETIAN AND THE TETRARCHY, 285-305CE. by JOSHUA EDWARD PETITT B.A. History, University of Central Florida 2009 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2012 © 2012 Joshua Petitt ii ABSTRACT Despite a vast amount of research on Late Antiquity, little attention has been paid to certain figures that prove to be influential during this time. The focus of historians on Constantine I, the first Roman Emperor to allegedly convert to Christianity, has often come at the cost of ignoring Constantine's predecessor, Diocletian, sometimes known as the "Second Father of the Roman Empire". The success of Constantine's empire has often been attributed to the work and reforms of Diocletian, but there have been very few studies of the man beyond simple biography.
    [Show full text]
  • THE FRACTURE of IMPERIAL ROME the Rise and Fall of the Gallic Empire 260-274 CE a Set of Eight Bronze Coins
    THE FRACTURE OF IMPERIAL ROME The Rise and Fall of the Gallic Empire 260-274 CE A Set of Eight Bronze Coins Coin type and grade may vary Order code: 8GALLICEMPBOX somewhat from image Beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, the Roman Empire enjoyed two full centuries of peace and prosperity. The Pax Romana was unprecedented in both duration and territory—at its height, Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean region: most of Europe, including Britannia; all of North Africa from Gibraltar to Egypt; and a vast swath of the Middle East stretching into Mesopotamia and the Caucasus. Governing that many diverse populations so effectively, and for so long, is a feat unrivaled in the annals of history. To do so, the Romans established the most efficient system of administration the world had ever known. Career bureaucrats—prefects, politicians, tax collectors—maintained the system regardless of who was seated on the throne. During the Pax Romana, Rome also boasted a series of strong, stable emperors. Although there were periods of unrest, these tended to be short. After the death of Nero, three family dynasties provided the Empire with a consistent succession of emperors. By the third century CE, the empire began to show signs of collapse. A parade of emperors took the throne, mostly from the ranks of the military. Years of civil war and open revolt led to an erosion of territory. In the year 260, in a battle on the Eastern front, the Emperor Valerian was taken prisoner by the hated Persians. He died in captivity, and his corpse was stuffed and hung on the wall of the palace of the Persian king.
    [Show full text]