Johns, Kieren Alexander (2022) A crisis of consensus : the epigraphic representation of imperial status in the Latin-speaking west, AD 180-235. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates the epigraphic representation of imperial status from AD 180 to 235 in the western provinces of the Roman Empire.1 Encompassing the reigns of the Severan emperors, from Septimius Severus (193-211) to Severus Alexander (222-235), it also includes an analysis of Commodus (180-192), an important ideological precursor, and Maximinus Thrax. Herodian’s history recognised the political volatility of this period, noting that the empire had been “shared by more rulers than the years warranted, so producing many strange phenomena.”2 The thesis analyses this instability, identifying its manifestation in imperial epigraphic representations.

My analysis is concerned primarily with the use of specific honorific titulature to communicate, and in turn conceptualise, imperial status. This includes the representation of imperial genealogies as well as triumphal titles. It adopts a broad analytical approach to the evidence. This comprises a comprehensive survey of material compiled from two digital databases: the Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss/Slaby and the Epigraphische Datenbank Heidelberg (data collection stopped in March 2021). It investigates the quantitative change in the use of certain titles, supported by qualitative analyses of specific case studies.

Examining each emperor in turn, the thesis characterises this era of imperial history as a ‘crisis of consensus’. Although the institution of the principate itself was never challenged, the individual emperors themselves were. In short, this thesis demonstrates how the accession and assassination of Commodus prompted a period of sustained political upheaval. This instability compelled both the emperor and the agents of imperial authority to confront the question of imperial status: what was it that made a man an emperor? The diversity of epigraphic representations identified in this investigation reveal the period 180 to 235 to be characterised by an ongoing lack of acceptance in the answer.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CJ Numismatics C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CN Inscriptions. Epigraphy. P Language and Literature > PA Classical philology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Epigrams, Latin, Inscriptions, Latin, Coins, Roman, Coinage -- Rome -- History, Social status -- Rome -- History, Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-284 A.D, Rome -- Social conditions
Official Date:	April 2022
Dates:	Date Event April 2022 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Classics and Ancient History
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Rowan, Clare ; Cooley, Alison
Sponsors:	University of Warwick. Centre for Arts Doctoral Research Excellence
Extent:	550 pages : illustrations, charts, maps, photographs
Language:	eng

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