People, Place, and Power in Tacitus' Germany
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People, Place, and Power in Tacitus’ Germany Leen Van Broeck Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics Royal Holloway, University of London 1 Declaration of Authorship I, Leen Van Broeck, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Date: Wednesday 20 December 2017 2 Abstract This thesis analyses Tacitus' account of Germany and the Germans through a re- reading of all passages in the Tacitean corpus set in Germany. The focus is on the nature of power exerted in spaces and by spaces. The aim is to uncover the spatial themes within Tacitus’ work and offer new perspectives on his treatment of space and power. Throughout, I see landscape as a powerful influence on those who inhabit it. That landscape can be managed and altered, but is resistant to imperial power. Chapter one discusses the limits of violent Roman repression in overcoming the landscapes and people of Germany during the Batavian revolt. Chapter two demonstrates that the revolt’s ultimate demise can be located in Rome’s undermining of the unity of purpose and identity of the alliance created by Civilis. Chapter three traces lexical and thematic similarities in the discourses of Roman mutineers on the Rhine in AD14 and the German rebels of AD69-70, suggesting Tacitus – through repetition – sees imperial power as inevitably producing certain forms of resistance that are replicated in a variety of instances and circumstances, whatever the identities involved. Chapter four evaluates Germanicus’ campaigns in Germany as assertions of power and identity through extreme violence. I also show the difficulties of maintaining Roman identity in the German landscape of ruin, decay and terror through discussion of Caecina’s and Agrippina’s interventions to preserve Roman spatial integrity. Chapter five demonstrates the recurrence of landscape and power’s prominence throughout the later books of the Annals, through a consideration of Florus and Sacrovir’s revolt, the fluctuating fates of the Cheruscan king Italicus, and the migrations of the Frisii and the Ampsivarii. Chapter six argues that the Germania uses history and the landscape to show how Germany is ultimately inaccessible to Rome and hence unconquerable. 3 Acknowledgments As always in these cases, thanks are owed to a larger number of people and entities than can be individually named without adding unduly to the length of this thesis. Inescapable, however, are the following: The Arts and Humanities Research Council, for funding this research by means of a 3-year award, distributed via the TECHNE Doctoral Training Partnership. TECHNE provided further essential support through regular career- and research-based events which directly and indirectly impacted positively on the thesis, not least through enabling me to present chapter one of this thesis at the ‘Landscapes of Dread’ panel at the 9th Celtic Conference in Classics in Dublin in 2016. Further thanks are duly rendered here to the enthusiastic and knowledgeable panel participants whose feedback greatly improved this chapter. The committees of the British Federation of Women Graduates scholarship competition and of the Grote Prize at the University of London, for their tangibly expressed faith in the research presented in this thesis. The research community within the Classics Department at Royal Holloway, for being varied, vibrant, and not afraid of being political. More specifically the many discussions with Richard Alston, who also generously shared a draft version of his Agricola paper long before publication; Jonathan Powell’s invaluable input in the earlier stages of the project, and the always-open doors of my advisors Zena Kamash and Liz Gloyn. HARC, the Royal Holloway Humanities and Arts Research Centre (now Institute), for organising the poster seminar in first year which led me to the work of Jane Bennett on non-human agency. Russell Burke and Debbie Phillips, Classics subject specialists at the Royal Holloway Libraries, who facilitated a number of book acquisitions and loans essential to completing the work. 4 Peregrine Horden, for straying wildly outside his subject area for the sake of being a sounding board. Claire and Naomi for listening to various drafts of various talks, ensuring they were meaningful even to non-classicists. Rachel for companionable Mondays in the Bodleian Library which made starting the week so much easier, and she and Fraser both for offering me their home as a place to write in the final stages. Edward and Claire, for similarly generous hosting during these final stages, and for being such eloquent and staunch advocates of humanity through the humanities. 5 Table of Contents Declaration of Authorship ............................................................................................. 2 Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... 4 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 6 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 8 1 Managing (in) Batavia ........................................................................................... 24 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 24 Environment shapes man: I ................................................................................................ 25 Environment shapes man: II .............................................................................................. 29 Environment shapes power and resistance .................................................................. 34 Power and resistance shape the environment ............................................................ 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 52 2 Fragmentation in Batavia .................................................................................... 54 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 54 Fragmentation ........................................................................................................................ 56 The Ubii and the Tencteri (revisited) ......................................................................................... 58 Petillius Cerialis to the Treveri ..................................................................................................... 65 Dissension among the Gallo-Germanic leadership ............................................................... 71 Petillius Cerialis to the remaining rebels .................................................................................. 74 The Batavi’s final judgment ............................................................................................................ 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 82 3 The Mutinies ............................................................................................................ 85 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 85 Causation .................................................................................................................................. 86 The King is dead, long live the King! ........................................................................................... 87 Iustitium .................................................................................................................................................. 91 Gaps ........................................................................................................................................................... 96 Discourse (I): Libertas and bodies ................................................................................... 99 Servitium ................................................................................................................................................ 99 Libertas ................................................................................................................................................. 103 Carnival ................................................................................................................................................ 113 Discourse (II): Libertas and language .......................................................................... 116 Imperial language ............................................................................................................................ 120 Centre and periphery ..................................................................................................................... 122 Libertas and language .................................................................................................................... 124 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................