Imperial Rome AD 193 to 284: The Critical Century

271 Pages·2012·6.98 MB·English

by  Clifford Ando

IMPERIAL R OME
AD 193 TO 284
T H E C R I T I C A L C E N T U R Y
Clifford Ando
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Imperial Rome AD 193 to 284
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The Edinburgh History of Ancient Rome
General Editor: J. S. Richardson
Early Rome to 290 BC: The Beginnings of the City and the Rise
of the Republic
Guy Bradley
Rome and the Mediterranean 290 to 146 BC: The Imperial
Republic
Nathan Rosenstein
The End of the Roman Republic 146 to 44 BC: Conquest and
Crisis
Catherine Steel
Augustan Rome 44 BC to AD 14: The Restoration of the Republic
and the Establishment of the Empire
J. S. Richardson
Imperial Rome AD 14 to 192: The First Two Centuries
Jonathan Edmondson
Imperial Rome AD 193 to 284: The Critical Century
Clifford Ando
Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363: The New Empire
Jill Harries
From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565: The Transformation
of Ancient Rome
A. D. Lee
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Imperial Rome 193 to 284
AD
The Critical Century
Clifford Ando
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© Clifford Ando, 2012
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF
www.euppublishing.com
Typeset in Sabon
by Norman Tilley Graphics Ltd, Northampton,
and printed and bound in Great Britain
by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
A CIP record for this book is available from the
British Library
ISBN 978 0 7486 2050 0 (hardback)
ISBN 978 0 7486 2051 7 (paperback)
ISBN 978 0 7486 2920 6 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 0 7486 5534 2 (epub)
ISBN 978 0 7486 5535 9 (Amazon ebook)
The right of Clifford Ando
to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published with the support of the Edinburgh University
Scholarly Publishing Initiatives Fund.
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Contents
Figures vi
Series editor’s preface viii
Acknowledgements ix
Abbreviations xi
Maps
1. The Roman empire in the age of Septimius Severus xii
2. The eastern Mediterranean in the third century AD xiii
3. Military advances from Septimius Severus to Gordian III xiv
4. Military advances from Papienus to Diocletian xiv
1. A critical century 1
2. The principal author of the decline and fall 18
3. The legacies of Septimius Severus 48
4. Law, citizenship and the Antonine revolution 76
5. The empire and its neighbors: Maximinus to Philip 100
6. Religion 122
7. Failure and fragmentation: From the accession of
Decius to the death of Gallienus 146
8. Government and governmentality 176
9. Reconquest and recidivism, 268–84 201
10. Conclusion 224
Emperors and usurpers 230
Chronology 233
Guide to further reading 239
Works cited 242
Index 253
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Figures
1. Emperors and usurpers, AD 235–85 (copyright Kelley
L. Ross; reproduced with permission) 4
2. The dedicatory inscription from the arch of Septimius
Severus in the forum at Rome (Photograph: Clifford
Ando) 41
3. The north-west frieze of the arch of Septimius Severus
in the forum at Rome (Photograph: Clifford Ando) 41
4. The arch of Septimius Severus at Lepcis Magna
(Photograph: David Gunn; public domain) 42
5. The theater at Lepcis Magna (Photograph: David
Gunn; public domain) 43
6. The market at Lepcis Magna (Photograph: Sascha
Coachman; public domain) 43
7. A tondo of the Severan period, probably Egyptian.
It once depicted Geta and Caracalla standing before
Julia Domna and Septimius Severus, but Geta’s face
has been rubbed out. Antikensammlung Berlin inv.
31329 (Photograph: Bildportal der Kunstmuseen,
reproduced with permission) 52
8. An altar, now in the British Museum, whose
inscription was mutilated to efface Geta’s name
(Image ID: 00034479001) (Photograph: British
Museum; reproduced with permission) 53
9. The commemoration in relief of the investiture
of Ardashir by Ahura Mazda at Naqsh-e Rustam
(Photograph: Photo Ginolerhino 2002; public domain) 73
10. A detail from a narrative relief of Sapor at Bishapur.
Sapor’s horse tramples Gordian III, while Philip the
Arab surrenders (Photograph: Matthew Canepa;
reproduced with permission) 114
11. A certificate of compliance with the Decian edict on
sacrifice, PMich. inv. 262 (Digitally reproduced with
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Figures vii
the permission of the Papyrology Collection, Graduate
Library, University of Michigan) 136
12–13. The consecrated emperors according to Decius:
Augustus (1935.117.215), Vespasian (1944.100.19976),
Titus (0000.999.8169), Nerva (1948.19.739), Trajan
(1944.100.19978), Hadrian (1944.100.19980),
Antoninus Pius (1955.59.10), Commodus
(1944.100.19984), Septimius Severus (1944.100.19986)
and Severus Alexander (1935.117.223); Marcus
Aurelius was part of the series but is not represented
here (Images drawn from the collection of the
American Numismatic Society and reproduced
with permission of the ANS) 151–2
14. Relief from Naqsh-e Rustam: Philip the Arab
kneels in submission to Sapor, while Valerian stands
captive behind, his hands bound (Photograph:
Matthew Canepa; reproduced with permission) 169
15. Gold medallion from the mint of Rome, bearing the
portrait of Aurelian on the obverse and a hopeful,
perhaps admonitory message on the reverse:
CONCORDIA LEGIONUM, “The harmony of the
legions” (Photograph: British Museum, reproduced
with permission) 206
16. A restored section of the wall of Aurelian at Rome,
between the Porta San Sebastiano and the Porta
Ardeatina (Photograph: Lalupa; source: Wikipedia
Commons) 208
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Series editor’s preface
Rome, the city and its empire, stands at the center of the history of
Europe, of the Mediterranean, and of lands which we now call the
Middle East. Its influence through the ages which followed its trans-
formation into the Byzantine Empire down to modern times can be
seen across the world. This series is designed to present for students
and all who are interested in the history of western civilization the
changing shape of the entity that was Rome, through its earliest
years, the development and extension of the republic, the shift
into the Augustan Empire, the development of the imperial state
which grew from that, and the differing patterns of that state which
emerged in east and west in the fourth to sixth centuries. It covers
not only the political and military history of that shifting and com-
plex society but also the contributions of the economic and social
history of the Roman world to that change and growth and the intel-
lectual contexts of these developments.The team of contributors, all
scholars at the forefront of research in archaeology and history in
the English-speaking world, present in the eight volumes of the series
an accessible and challenging account of Rome across a millennium
and a half of its expansion and transformation.Each book stands on
its own as a picture of the period it covers and together the series
aims to answer the fundamental question: what was Rome, and how
did a small city in central Italy become one of the most powerful and
significant entities in the history of the world?
John Richardson, General Editor
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Acknowledgements
Once upon a time, it was my great privilege to read many of the
literary texts cited in this work in the company of David Potter,
whose work has done so much to illuminate the history of the third
century. In preparing to write this book, I returned for the first time
in many years to Prophecy and History in the Crisis of the Roman
Empire and found it, if anything, an even more impressive achieve-
ment than on first encounter. To David, my thanks.
The invitation to write this volume came from John Richardson,
and it was supervised at the Press by Carol MacDonald. Without
John, it would not have been written; and without Carol, it would
not have been finished. I owe debts of a different kind to Thomas
Keith, who read the text and compiled the list of works cited; to Kate
Milco, who helped with the chronology; and to Bernhard Palme,
who solved various papyrological problems when I despaired of an
answer.
Formal acknowledgement for maps and photographs appears
below, but as many will appreciate, assembling even a limited
program of maps and illustrations requires aid and kindness that
no such list can properly convey. For permissions, assistance, photo-
graphs and friendship, I wish to express deep gratitude to Matthew
Canepa, Olivier Hekster, Andy Meadows, John Nicols, David Potter,
Richard Talbert and Brian Turner.
This book was written in July and August 2011 in Berkeley,
California, in the company of my son Theodore. We are grateful
to Irma Reyna for her hospitality and likewise to Ari Bryen for
conversation and good cheer.Nor could we have left Chicago behind
without unshakeable confidence in Ruth’s infinite care for cats.
My primary debt is to Theodore.It cannot be easy to watch some-
one else write a book. He was nonetheless an ideal companion in
writing, eating, shopping and playing. I would not wish another
such summer on him, but it was precious to me.