La lingua delle petizioni nell’Egitto romano

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Mascellari
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Textual Structure ◽  
Late Roman

This book investigates the linguistic and formal aspects of more than a thousand requests for justice and protection preserved in Egyptian papyri of the Roman Principate, mainly written in Greek. For many centuries in Egypt, from the Ptolemaic period to the late Roman Empire, petitions addressed to the judicial authorities shared the same textual structure and made use of recurring lexical formulas. Such uniformity was the result of the adherence by scribes and legal advisers to repertoires that had wide circulation. This study evaluates the correspondence between the formulas of the petitions and legislation, normative conventions, and spoken and literary language, and how these factors interacted with each other over the centuries.

The solidus hoard of Casa delle Vestali in context

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 107-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svante Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Roman Emperor ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Gold Coins ◽  
Late Roman

In this paper, I discuss the context of a Late Roman solidus hoard found in the Casa delle Vestali on the Forum Romanum in Rome. The hoard consists of 397 solidi, Late Roman gold coins. Most of the hoard consists of uncirculated solidi struck in the name of the Western Roman emperor Procopius Anthemius (AD 467–472). By means of situating the hoard within the context of the reign of Anthemius and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the aim of this paper is to determine if the coins in the Vestal hoard can be related to other contemporary coin hoards by means of numismatic typology; this information could add to our understanding of why Anthemius’ reign is considered such an unmitigated failure and why the Empire collapsed soon after his murder. In this article, the composition of the hoard is examined, and the contents are compared to other contemporary solidus hoards in the Mediterranean, Gaul, Poland and Scandinavia. I argue that this comparison shows that the Vestal hoard is not part of a larger network but that the hoard constitutes the remains of an isolated occurrence—as initially suggested by its unusual composition and location.

Christograms as Signs of Authority in the Late Roman Empire

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ildar Garipzanov
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Rhetorical Device ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Courtly Culture ◽  
Diachronic Change ◽  
Late Roman

The first section tests the main interpretations of Lactantius’ passage on Constantine’s victorious sign in 312 against existing graphic evidence from the 310s and early 320s, and consequently supports the interpretation of Lactantius’ description as a rhetorical device invented or modified by the Christian narrator. The next two sections support the argument that the perception of the chi-rho as Constantine’s triumphant sign became entrenched in courtly culture and public mentalities from the mid-320s onwards, and trace the diachronic change of the chi-rho from its paramount importance as an imperial sign of authority under the Constantinian dynasty to its hierarchic usage alongside the tau-rho and cross in the Theodosian period. The final section presents a contextualized discussion of the encolpion of Empress Maria and mosaics from several early baptisteries, illustrating the paradigmatic importance the chi-rho and tau-rho for early Christian graphicacy around the turn of the fifth century.

Letters and Communication Networks in Merovingian Gaul

2020 ◽  
pp. 530-555
Author(s):  
Andrew Gillett
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Complete List ◽  
Narrative Texts ◽  
Manuscript Tradition ◽  
Letter Exchange ◽  
Late Roman

While some letters from Merovingian-era Gaul are well known—for example, Remigius’s letters to Clovis or Radegund’s letters founding her monastery—the scale and scope of extant and attested letters tell us more about the period than the sum of data from individual documents. The cumulative range of known epistolary communications indicates that Merovingian Gaul, like the late Roman Empire of the previous centuries, hosted multiple, entangled networks of social and political interconnections. This chapter considers how we can set about contemplating both the limitations and value of the evidence we have. Comparison with contemporary Egypt, from which letters are preserved both in manuscript tradition (as with Gaul) and as papyri originals, evokes the possibility of envisaging Merovingian Gaul quite differently from our received image. The extant evidence for letters is surveyed, including “literary” collections of letters, letters preserved in other types of texts, and the extensive number of descriptions of letter exchange in narrative texts. The chapter includes the first checklist of more than 500 extant letters and a list of narrative sources, including the first complete list of references to letters in the works of Gregory of Tours.

Unique Osteoid Osteoma of the Frontal Sinus From the Late Roman Empire

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 965-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Varotto ◽  
Maria Teresa Magro ◽  
Rodolfo Brancato ◽  
Carmine Lubritto ◽  
Lorenzo Memeo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Osteoid Osteoma ◽  
Frontal Sinus ◽  
Late Roman

Fortresses of the Tur Abdin and the confrontation between Rome and Persia

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 181-229
Author(s):  
Anthony Comfort
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
Substantial Risk ◽  
Urgent Necessity ◽  
Late Roman

AbstractAlthough research is currently impossible on the ground, satellite photographs allow some further information to be gleaned concerning the region of the Tur Abdin, of crucial importance during the wars between the late Roman Empire and Sassanian Persia in the fourth to seventh century AD. This article examines the ancient sources and the reports of visitors to the area in the light of what is now visible to all via Google Earth and other suppliers of free satellite imagery. Apart from describing the remains of the fortresses and their role in defending an important redoubt against Persian attacks, it draws attention to the urgent necessity for proper ground surveys of what remains of the fortifications of various periods before these are completely destroyed by looting and reuse of building materials. Dams also present a substantial risk to some of the monuments discussed here.

scholarly journals Aspects of seashore protection in the Late Roman empire

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-80
Author(s):  
Adam Świętoń
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Late Roman

The article contains brief considerations on the legal aspects of coastal protection in the period of the late Roman empire. The Roman authorities of the transmarine provinces were likely to face problems such as the smuggling of illegal goods or unwelcomed persons. The question is who was in fact responsible for the prevention of and fight against unlawful activities. There are only few constitutions which indirectly refer to this problem. The laws indicate that the responsibility burdened various types of officials. only one of them – custos litorum – seems to be strictly connected to the marine duties. The origins and com- petences of custodes litorum are however unclear and should be subject to further research.

Law, Heresy and Judges under the Thedosian Dinasty

Klio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
María Victoria Escribano Paño
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Exclusion Laws ◽  
Late Roman

SummaryReligious legislation against heretics was an innovation in the Late Roman Empire and its enforcement involved great difficulties. The provincial governors who, except in the period of the persecution of Christians, had tolerated religious diversity, were to implement exclusion laws against pagans and heretical groups. This paper analyzes the form of interaction between bishops, emperors and judges in the issuing and enforcement of the laws against heretics, as well as casting light on the relevance of episcopal intervention as a method of informing and shaping the imperial will.

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