SHOWING OUR GRANDEUR ELITE IDENTITY, COLLECTIVE MEMORY, AND PROVINCIALISATION IN LATE-IMPERIAL APHRODISIAS Research Master Thesis Specialisation: Ancient History Supervisor: Dr. L. E. Tᴀᴄᴏᴍᴀ Second Reader: Dr. L. M. G. F. E. Cʟᴀᴇꜱ By: Wᴀɴɢ Banban, BA Submitted on: 2019-07-01 Final Examination on: 2019-08-25 Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the Research Master Thesis, Ancient History Institute for History, Faculty of Humanities Universiteit Leiden TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1. Elites’ Self-Display: Multiple Identities in Inscriptions Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1. Competing for paideia: traditional virtues in the changing period ............................................. 11 1.2. Pan-Hellenic vs. civic identities: the case of Aurelius Achilles ..................................................... 14 1.3. Religious affiliation ................................................................................................................................... 18 1.4. ‘I performed every civic duty in this my fatherland’: the case of Athanasios the Traveller ... 22 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 2. Collective Memory on the Wall: Civic Competition and Memory Selection in Civic Identity Formation Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 2.1. Continuity of freedom ............................................................................................................................. 30 2.2. Friendship with Rome .............................................................................................................................. 35 2.3. Competing with Metropoleis ................................................................................................................. 42 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................... 47 Chapter 3. Coping with the New Empire: Aphrodisias as the Provincial Capital Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 50 3.1. Capital of Caria .......................................................................................................................................... 52 3.2. The end of local aristocracy .................................................................................................................... 58 3.3. Governors: bridges between emperors and the city ........................................................................ 62 Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................................................................ 68 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 70 Appendix: Epigraphical Dossier ........................................................................................................................... 75 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................ 97 List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................................................... 97 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................. 98 Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................... 102 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................ 103 Figure 1. The centre of Aphrodisias, (plan courtesy of NYU Excavations at Aphrodisias)* * Sitz (2019) Figure 1. INTRODUCTION This thesis examines how a city, its elite, and its governors defined and negotiated their position in a shifting Empire, from the so-called ‘crisis of the third century’ to the end of the fourth century, when Theodosius’ reign changed the entire picture of the empire again. The city of Aphrodisias, with its rich epigraphic records in Late Antiquity, offers an excellent opportunity to study the differ- ent ways of self-positioning. By examining the Aphrodisian corpus of inscriptions, containing ca. 150 texts, this thesis intends to explore how several elements, crucial to the civic identity in the Prin- cipate, were used and adapted by different parties in Aphrodisias in the third-and-fourth-century changing political and ideological landscape to position themselves within the city, within the sur- rounding area, and within the Empire. Located in the centre of the Carian desert, southwestern Anatolia, the city of Aphrodisias was a newcomer among the famous Asian constellation of cities. Having been small and rather unim- portant in the Hellenistic period, Aphrodisias grew powerful and influential only after the Roman conquest of the surrounding area. The city, smartly if not luckily, formed an alliance with Rome and especially with Octavian, who later dominated the entire Mediterranean and repaid his supporters with glorious privileges. Benefiting from their constant support to Octavian and his successors, Aph- rodisias enjoyed ‘rights of freedom’ (τὰ τῆς ἐλευθερίας δικαία), from which the city profited much to enhance its privileged status in the political landscape of southwestern Anatolia.1 The crisis in the third century appeared to offer both dangers and opportunities for the Aphro- disians, because the previous mechanism of fostering civic relationships collapsed. Before the crisis, Asian cities formed an established network with a common political culture, a hierarchy of cities, and fierce internal competition. Cities emphasized their Hellenism and their affinity with Rome, exploiting these two elements to profit from imperial authorities and to place themselves above other cities.2 A hierarchy of cities had emerged in which famous Ionian cities were competing fiercely for the top places in the urban network, followed by regional centres and minor cities. Inter- 1 Kokkinia (2008) 57. 2 Alcock (2002) chapter 2; Mitchell (1995) Part 2. 1 INTRODUCTION civic competition, which had never terminated since the Hellenistic period, became more visible thanks to large monumental building projects and frequent imperial interventions.3 The civic sys- tem remained stable for almost two centuries, thanks to the common recognition of their Greekness and the stability of the supreme Roman power. Aphrodisias, however, did not stand on the top of this hierarchy. Although its freedom offered some space for manoeuvre, the city never managed to be promoted into a metropolis of Asia in the Principate. On the one hand, the economic and military crisis destroyed both the stability of the central power and the economic prosperity in Anatolia. On the other hand, the chaos required a reorgani- sation and a redistribution of power: new provinces and dioceses were created, cities were granted new status, and state power became more military in nature and more centralised. It permitted those cities of a lower status to promote themselves, provided they positioned themselves in a right way, while at the same time previously privileged cities were in danger of losing their status. In fact, we see frequently in the third century that cities who made the wrong political decisions suffered loss of privileges or rights.4 Aphrodisias was clearly a winner in this chaotic period: when the new diocese of Caria (and Phrygia) was established from the previously larger province of Asia, the city of Aphrodite became its capital.5 Although the economy failed to recover in the fourth century and even deteriorated after Valens, the local economy of Aphrodisias recovered in the mid-fifth century and afterwards. For those studying the political chaos of the third and the fourth centuries, it is of real importance to understand how Aphrodisias achieved its rise in status and understood the changes. Studying Aphrodisias may not only be an important task but a feasible project as well, thanks to its rich collection of inscriptions. The city and its elite were never reluctant to display their success in the late-antique city landscape with monuments, public buildings, and elite epigrams: hence the large corpus of surviving inscriptions. Since the literary sources about Aphrodisias in the third and 3 Jones (1999) 106–21; Pont (2010) 269–96. 4 Lenski (2016) 151–3. 5 About this, see ala2004 ɪ.1–9. 2 INTRODUCTION the fourth centuries are extremely limited, archaeological findings, especially inscriptions, are cru- cial to our examination of the city’s chaotic period. Compared to other Asian cities, Aphrodisias