Being Roman in the Sasanian Empire

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-402
Author(s):  
Simcha Gross
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Sasanian Empire ◽  
The Past ◽  
Targeted Violence

Over the past several decades, scholars have challenged longstanding assumptions about Christian narratives of persecution. In light of these revisionist trends, a number of scholars have reconsidered the “Great Persecution” of Christians under the fourth-century Sasanian king Shapur II. Where scholars previously argued that the cause of Sasanian imperial violence against Christians was a perceived connection between them and the increasingly Christian Roman Empire, these new accounts reject this explanation and downplay the scope of violence against Christians. This article reexamines Sasanian violence against Christians in the fourth century, navigating between the proverbial Scylla and Charybdis of positivist and revisionist approaches. It argues that the accusations against Christians must be situated within the broader Roman-Sasanian conflict. In this context, fifth-column accusations were a pervasive anxiety, animated—and deployed—by empires and inhabitants alike. Yet, rather than inexorably leading to indiscriminate violence against all Christians, fifth-column accusations operated in a variety of ways, resulting in targeted violence but also, it is argued, in imperial patronage. Seen in this light, concerns for Christian disloyalty were responsible for the drastic vacillations in Christian experience under Sasanian rule during the fourth and early fifth centuries, unparalleled for other non-Iranian Sasanian communities, such as Jews. It was the particular circumstances of Christians, caught between the Sasanian and Roman Empires, that account for their experience under Sasanian rule.

The Sasanian Empire and the East: A Summary of the Evidence and its Implications for Rome

2017 ◽  
pp. 151-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warwick Ball
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
The West ◽  
Sasanian Empire ◽  
The Past ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
Material Evidence

Sasanian studies in the past have focused mainly on its western regions, with its well-known remains from Azerbaijan through to Mesopotamia and Fars, and its relationship with the Roman Empire to the west. However, more recent discoveries in the east have emphasised the equal importance of these more neglected regions: the investigations of the Gorgan Wall, new fire temple complexes at Bandiyan and Sarakhs, the Bactrian documents, the Ghulbiyan painting and the rock relief of Shapur at Rag-e Bibi to name just some. This chapter will offer an overview of the Sasanian material evidence, mainly in Afghanistan, as well as the traces of Sasanian influences in art and archaeology further east. We will then attempt to identify the Sasanian presence in the archaeological record in Afghanistan and tie this to some of the documentary and literary evidence. In the light of this evidence it is then possible to reassess the Sasanian Empire, its focus and its attitudes to the west.

Phoenicia in the Roman Empire

2019 ◽  
pp. 110-124
Author(s):  
Julien Aliquot
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
New Order ◽  
History Of ◽  
Local Traditions

This chapter traces the history of Phoenicia from the advent of Rome in Syria at the beginning of the first century bce to the foundation of the Christian empire of Byzantium in the fourth century ce. It focuses on the establishment of Roman rule and its impact on society, culture, and religion. Special attention is paid to the establishment of Roman rule and its impact on society, culture, and religion. The focus is on provincial institutions and cities, which provided a basis for the new order. However, side trails are also taken to assess the flowering of Hellenism and the revival of local traditions in the light of the Romanization of Phoenicia and its hinterland.

The Idea of Moral Duties to History

Philosophy ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Saul Smilansky
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Surprising Result ◽  
The Past ◽  
Special Obligations ◽  
Good People ◽  
The Future ◽  
Moral Duties

History is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire I argue that there are duties that can be called ‘Moral duties due to history’ or, in short, ‘Duties to History’ (DTH). My claim is not the familiar thought that we need to learn from history on how to live better in the present and going forward, but that history itself creates moral duties. In addition to those obligations we currently recognise in response to the present and the future, there also exist special obligations in response to the past. If convincing, this means that our lives ought to be guided, in part, not only by our obligations to the living but by our DTH. This is a surprising result, with significant and sometimes perplexing implications. My focus is on the obligations of individuals in the light of history rather than on collective duties. I argue that there are duties that can be called ‘Moral duties due to history’ or, in short, ‘Duties to History’ (DTH). My claim is not the familiar thought that we need to learn from history on how to live better in the present and going forward, but that history itself creates moral duties. In addition to those obligations we currently recognise in response to the present and the future, there also exist special obligations in response to the past; such as obligations to good people in the past, but going beyond them. If convincing, this means that our lives ought to be guided, in part, not only by our obligations to the living but by our DTH. This is a surprising result, with significant and sometimes perplexing implications. My focus is on the obligations of individuals in the light of history rather than on collective duties.

Contacts between the Late Roman Empire and North-Central Europe

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 31-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksander Bursche
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
European Continent ◽  
North Central ◽  
The Past ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
English Speaking World ◽  
The Baltic

The concept of Central Europe is understood here to cover the geographical centre of the European continent (i.e. the territory between the Elbe, Bug and Neman rivers, that is, eastern Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Slovakia and Lithuania), formerly treated in much of the English-speaking world as ‘Eastern Europe’. In the past six years, however, this area has been moving closer to the West. This paper shall concentrate on the region north of the Carpathian mountains, particularly the Vistula river-basin and Scandinavia (without Norway), in other words the territory round the Baltic Sea.

Gender, Memory, and Identity in the Roman World

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Roman History ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Imperial Rome ◽  
The Past ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Material Sources ◽  
Close Relationship

This volume approaches three key concepts in Roman history — gender, memory and identity — and demonstrates the significance of their interaction in all social levels and during all periods of Imperial Rome. When societies, as well as individuals, form their identities, remembrance and references to the past play a significant role. The aim of Gender, Memory, and Identity in the Roman World is to cast light on the constructing and the maintaining of both public and private identities in the Roman Empire through memory, and to highlight, in particular, the role of gender in that process. While approaching this subject, the contributors to this volume scrutinise both the literature and material sources, pointing out how widespread the close relationship between gender, memory and identity was. A major aim of Gender, Memory, and Identity in the Roman World as a whole is to point out the significance of the interaction between these three concepts in both the upper and lower levels of Roman society, and how it remained an important question through the period from Augustus right into Late Antiquity.

Social Mobility in the Later Roman Empire: The evidence of Ausonius

1961 ◽  
Vol 11 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 239-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Excellent Opportunity

The description Ausonius has given us of his family and of the teachers and professors of Bordeaux in the mid-fourth century is exceptional among our sources because of its detail and completeness. There is no reason to suppose that the picture he gives is untypical of life in the provinces and it makes a welcome change from the histories of aristocratic politics at Rome or Constantinople. It provides an excellent opportunity for a pilot study in which we may see how the conflicting elements of social status were in practice reconciled and applied. In the traditional, and still prevalent view, the society of the Later Roman Empire was ‘crushed … in the iron clamp of castes separated from one another by barriers which could not be passed’. The evidence of Ausonius suggests that this judgement should be qualified. The society of the fourth century may have been stable. It was not static.

Greek Strategies of Adaptation to the Roman World: The Case of the Contests

Mnemosyne ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Aneziri
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Imperial Cult ◽  
New Era ◽  
The Past ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Imperial Power

This article examines strategies that made it possible for Greek contests and the professionals who were engaged in them to retain their identity in the Roman Empire while they adapted to the circumstances of the new era. In their efforts to preserve and to enhance existing prestige and privilege, the organizers and others who were involved in the contests attempted both to exploit the past and to establish links to the new Roman power. The consequent linking of the Imperial cult with festivals, artists, athletes, and their associations provided tools that assisted the promotion of Imperial power and ideology.

scholarly journals Sequência estratigráfica e materiais cerâmicos do sítio da Póvoa do Mileu (Guarda, Portugal) = Stratigraphic sequence and ceramic materials of the settlement of Póvoa do Mileu (Guarda, Portugal)

2020 ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Vitor Manuel Fernandes Pereira ◽  
Tiago Pinheiro Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Ceramic Materials ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Local Production ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historic City ◽  
Railroad Station

<p>Accidentalmente descubierto en 1951, durante la construcción de la carretera de enlace entre la ciudad histórica y la estación de ferrocarril, el yacimiento arqueológico de Mileu se convirtió rápidamente en uno de los yacimientos arqueológicos más emblemáticos de la Beira Interior. En este artículo, tenemos la intención de presentar<br />los resultados de la investigación que hemos desarrollado en el sitio en los últimos 15 años, destacando el análisis del material cerámico como elemento de datación de las diferentes fases de ocupación de Mileu. Su análisis confirma una secuencia ocupacional desde la primera mitad del siglo I A.D hasta los siglos XII / XIII. Los materiales romanos analizados son principalmente de importación, permitiendo no solo una datación de contextos, sino también comprender su origen, el contexto de su uso o cuestiones relacionadas con las rutas comerciales dentro del Imperio Romano y el cruce del territorio de la Beira Interior. En cuanto a los materiales medievales, de producción local, muestran la continuación de la ocupación del yacimiento en épocas pos-romana</p><p>Accidentally discovered in 1951, during the construction of the link road between the historic city and the railroad station, the archaeological site of Mileu quickly became one of the most emblematic archaeological sites of Beira Interior. In this article we plan to present the results of research that we have developed on the site over the past<br />15 years, highlighting the analysis of the ceramic material while dating element of the different occupation phases of Mileu. Their analysis confirms an occupational sequence from the first half of the century A.D. to the XII / XIII centuries. The analyzed Roman materials are primarily imported, allowing not only a dating of contexts, but also how to understand their origin, the context of its use, or issues related to the trade routes within the Roman Empire and crossing the territory of Beira Interior. As for the medieval materials, local production, show the continuation of the occupation site in post-Roman times</p>

The Monk as Christian Saint and Exemplar in St John Chrysostom’s Writings

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 19-28
Author(s):  
Pak-Wah Lai
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Significant Influence ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Common Features ◽  
John Chrysostom ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

By the time Augustine read the Life of Antony in 386, the biography had already become an international best seller in the Roman Empire. Translated twice into Latin and read in places as far off as Milan and Syrian Antioch, the Egyptian Life also proved to be a significant influence upon hagiographical writing in the late fourth century, the most notable example being the Lives of St Jerome. Consequently, scholars have often taken it to represent the dominant paradigm for sainthood in fourth-century Christianity and the centuries that followed. But is this assumption tenable? The Life of Antony would in all likelihood be read only by the educated elite or by ascetic circles in the Church, and was hardly accessible to the ordinary Christian. More importantly, hagiographical discourse in the fourth century was not restricted to biographies, but pervaded all sorts of Christian literature. This is certainly the case with the writings of St John Chrysostom (c. 349—407), who often presents the Christian monk as a saintly figure in his monastic treatises and his voluminous homilies. Indeed, what emerges from his writings is a paradigmatic saint who is significantly different from that portrayed in the biographies, and yet equally influential among his lay and ascetic audiences. To be sure, Chrysostom’s monastic portraits share some common features with that provided by Athanasius’s Life. Nevertheless, there are also stark differences between the two, and these are the focus of this paper.

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