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Fires in the sky : celestial signs and the legitimation of imperial authority from 44 BC to AD 96
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Madge, Jonathan (2022) Fires in the sky : celestial signs and the legitimation of imperial authority from 44 BC to AD 96. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3908747~S15
Abstract
In the Roman world, signs and omens were typically regarded as manifestations of divine intent and were often invoked in political contests for legitimacy and power. This practice intensified in the late Republic and early Principate as individual power became a central component of Rome’s political system. At the same time, celestial phenomena became increasingly regarded as credible signs of divine mood and will, gaining new measures of significance from Rome’s shifting social, cultural, and political environments. Accordingly, this thesis explores the changing use and meaning of celestial signs as a medium for the social and political legitimation of power from Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC to that of Domitian in AD 96. It examines the different interpretations, applications, propagations, and contexts within which the Romans discussed celestial signs contemporaneously and in retrospect, noting especially the ways in which these discussions helped to develop, and in some cases challenge, ideas about divinely sanctioned authority. By focussing on signs of a celestial origin — sub-divided into lightning, comets, and solar and lunar displays — this thesis considers the multivalence of different types of signs and their capacity for underlining or undermining the idea of divine affiliation and support. In doing so, it builds on previous studies, which have focussed on the wider development and diversification of divinatory approaches between the Republic and Principate, by noting that signs were often interpreted in conjunction with other signs of a similar nature and in connection with broader legitimating narratives. Ultimately, this thesis offers a new perspective on the interaction between politics and religion at a time of profound change; it contributes to our understanding of how responses to signs adapted to suit Rome’s evolving socio-political landscape, but, at the same time, were instrumental in bringing those changes about.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DG Italy | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Authority -- Political aspects -- Rome -- History, Authority -- Religious aspects -- Rome -- History, Omens -- Rome, Divination -- Rome, Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-284 A.D | ||||
Official Date: | September 2022 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of Classics and Ancient History | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Cooley, Alison | ||||
Format of File: | |||||
Extent: | 278 pages : illustrations (some colour) | ||||
Language: | eng |
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