Innholdsfortegnelse for AH 39 i Ancient History Magazine

STRATEGIES OF COMMEMORATION UNDER KING TUTANKHAMUN In the early twentieth century, King Tutankhamun was merely known by name, with few outstanding monuments. The king’s significance is based on his tomb (KV 62, i.e. Valley of the Kings tomb, no. 62) full of grave gifts, whose centenary rediscovery will be celebrated on November 4 this year. The king died young, which is perhaps one of the reasons his courtiers rose to great power. Many of Tutankhamun’s officials were buried in a central part of the necropolis of Memphis, known today as Saqqara, about 30 km south of modern Cairo. In one area of Saqqara, the Leiden-Turin excavation mission continues a long tradition of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden that started with the endeavour to rediscover the tomb of Maya, the…

Rome may have been relatively liberal in the way it awarded citizenship, but it made sure the rules were followed. Pretending to be a citizen could get you flogged, and non-citizens serving as legionaries was a no-no. Marines and sailors in the Roman fleets generally had the same legal status as auxiliaries; they received citizenship upon completion of their service. But on several occasions, most notably in the Year of the Four Emperors, legions were raised from or reinforced with such personnel. At those times, they received citizenship on the spot. The rules had to be followed!…

In fact, Roman citizens, especially during the Republic, employed a complex dress and colour code to convey specific messages to their community. In addition, the donning of traditional clothes was mandatory when conducting business, as it helped to demonstrate one’s status and distinguish oneself from foreigners or slaves. On the fringes Many people lived in the city of Rome, but not all of them were full citizens. However, clothing protocols still applied to a greater or less er degree. Foreigners and slaves in particular found themselves on the fringes of Roman society. The former would typically dress as any other person from their country of origin, while the latter would wear the garments their masters had chosen for them. These outfits would have been simple and comfortable for work, usually…

Romans, unlike Greeks, did not appreciate nudity and tried to be modest in public. Only certain situations justified showing one’s body, such as, of course, going to public baths or practicing sports, and on rare occasions, during a trial, as Manius Aquilius did in 95 BC when his lawyer, Marcus Antonius, successfully defended him against maladministration as relayed in Cicero’s In Verrem: “The oration of Marcus Antonius […] at the trial of Marcus Aquillius; who, as he was not only skilful as an orator, but bold also, when he had nearly finished his speech, took hold of Marcus Aquillius and placed him in the sight of every one, and tore his robe away from his chest, in order that the Roman people and the judges might see his scars” (Cic.…

On a series of eight cinerary urns a wolf – or a strange figure represented either by a wolf-head or with headgear in the shape of a wolf’s head – emerges from a well and tries to grasp a man. Around it, there is a group of armed men trying to prevent it from coming out of the well by holding it back with a chain around its neck. On five of these urns, a winged female demon appears behind the feral figure, holding a torch. These urns date back to the Hellenistic period and probably preserve the memory of an original Etruscan myth that ancient Greek and Latin sources have not handed down. Wolves and death Common in all representations is the theme of death, as confirmed by the…

Looking back at the eventual role of Ostia, it seems to be a logical assumption that Ostia was originally built to serve the above-mentioned purpose: to be a harbour city for Rome. Florus, in his work Historiae Romanae Epitomae, gives us this exact narrative: He [Ancus Marcius] also planted a colony at Ostia where the sea and river join, even then evidently foreseeing that it would form as it were the maritime store-house of the capital and would receive the wealth and supplies of the whole world. (Florus, Epitomae Historiae Romanae, I.1.4) Murky origins Cicero also claims that Ostia was founded by the legendary fourth king of Rome, Ancus Marcius (De re publica II.3.5, II.18.33). Livy provides additional information, claiming that salt drying fields were also built next to the…

What does it mean to be a citizen? What does it mean to ‘belong’ to a certain place or culture? When we think of citizenship today, many of us consider ourselves ‘global citizens’, i.e., we may hold more than one passport, thanks to our parents we may have more than one national identity, we may feel perfectly normal having divided loyalties, we may speak several languages, and we may even call more than one place on this planet ‘home’. I am definitely someone who falls into this category. I hold two passports; I was born in one country, raised in another, and after nine years I call England – my adoptive country – home. I can speak three languages and understand five. And there are also no barriers to me…

Men had to find a balance between modesty and being too effeminate. Wearing a short tunic that did not reach the knee was seen as inappropriate and typical of slaves. Conversely, covering one’s legs down to the ankles was perceived as effeminate, as was wearing perfume daily, using cosmetics, or wearing expensive and exotic materials. On the other hand, not shaving one’s beard, having long hair, wearing trousers, or showing too much of the body was considered barbaric, typical of foreigners, and generally uncivilised.…

In his On the Laws, Cicero describes the supremely important role that the censors performed in the Republic, and what they did (3.7). It starts with what we already mentioned: they create a list of the citizens by age, recording the name and age of their family members, slaves, and their property (for taxation purposes). From that task flowed a range of responsibilities that give us an indication of the real use of the census. First, there are the finances: “They shall have charge of the temples, streets, and aqueducts within the city, and of the public treasury and the revenues. They shall make a division of the citizens into tribes, and other divisions according to wealth, age, and rank.” The list is also a tally of Roman manpower, so…

Diplomas are extremely formulaic, which makes them relatively easy to recognize and read. Each starts with the name of the emperor and his full titles at the time the decree was made. It then lists the units to which the decree applied. This generally means that diplomas can be broken into three main types: 1. A group of up to 25 auxiliary units in a province (possibly including a fleet stationed in the area) 2. An Italic fleet 3. A unit of the Praetorian Guard This is followed by the name of the province and the governor at the time, and then by the legal text specifying exactly what is granted with this constitutio. The diploma is then dated (day, month and year as defined by the consuls in power).…

Sources about women in the kitchen or at the table in ancient times are unfortunately scarce. By scraping together ancient text fragments, images, and archaeological remains, a picture of the woman’s role in the culinary world gently unfolds. The household In the better circles, the lady of the house made sure that the household ran smoothly. She directed staff and slaves, managed and controlled supplies, and took care of household purchases for the kitchen and table settings. In the city, she regularly went to markets and shops to buy fresh products, such as meat, fish, and vegetables. A helper at her side carried the groceries and paid the sellers. She often bought dry goods such as grains, legumes, nuts, and dried fruits in larger quantities. The products were stored in…

A Short History of Humanity: A New History of Old Europe By Johannes Krause, Thomas Trappe (Caroline Waight – translator) ISBN: 978-0593229422 Penguin Random House (2021) – $27.00 www.penguinrandomhouse.com Every one of us carries the history of our species in our genes. Armed with powerful new tools, scientists are now unpicking the story and, with it, the mystery of how we evolved to be human. This exciting new field of archaeology augmented by DNA sequencing technology has a name: archaeogenetics. Johannes Krause is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. He is a pioneer in archaeogenetics, which has allowed scientists to reconstruct human history. With the help of journalist Thomas Trappe, Krause charts the peopling of Europe. It is a remarkable journey reaching back…

DATING ANCIENT PAPYRI To understand why dating a papyrus is important, it is useful to consider why we are studying antiquity at all. Of course, the main reason is because there is so much to be amazed about, so much to enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with this historical hedonism. Still, studying the past may offer some intellectual benefits too. We can try to understand ancient ideas and notions, compare them to our own ways of thinking, look at the differences, and thus strive to better understand our ideas. This is all well and good, but the problem is that the ideas of most ancient people are incompletely known. After all, the central problem of the study of antiquity is the devilish shortage of data. So scholars do everything in their…

Roman citizens had the following rights: » The right to vote » The right to stand for office » The right to make legal contracts and hold property » A complex of rights dealing with situations between Roman citizens and foreign persons » The right to have a lawful marriage with another Roman citizen, with all that entailed » The right to maintain one’s legal status when moving to another community of comparable status » The right of immunity from some taxes and legal obligations on a local level » The right to sue and be sued in court » The right to have a legal trial » The right to appeal decisions of magistrates and lower courts » Protection from torture and the right to have most death sentences…

Roman sources attest to several different instruments for inflicting corporal punishment under the law. They included the whip (lorum), strap (habena), lash (scutica), goad (stimulus), staff (fustis), rod (virga), chains (catenae), scourge (flagrum or flagellum), axe (securis), and cross (crux). Three of these were incorporated in a potent symbol of Roman power. A magistrate with legal power to command (imperium ) was entitled to the protection of a bodyguard of lictores. Each lictor carried the fasces, an axe within a bundle of rods tied together with a leather strap. It symbolized the magistrate’s executive authority to punish – whipping by the strap, beating by the rods, or beheading by the axe. Beating was a terrible – potentially fatal – punishment. It was embodied in the gladiator’s oath to commit his…

Augustus was assiduous when selecting his attire. As the head of the army, he had to wear patrician shoes, a tunic, and the general’s scarlet cloak, the paludamentcm, which began to be directly associated with the emperor during the second century AD. He would wear full armour for battle and add a Corona Civica as part of his attire. As the head of the State, he would have dressed as a consul, with the toga praetexta. To represent his religious power, as the head of the Roman religious state, Augustus accepted the position of Pontifex Maximus, which Caesar had occupied, thus showing a continuity in power. His attire as chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs would not have been different from that of the consul; he was only…

The ancient Mediterranean is full of citizens from differing regions with different cultures and traditions, but to identify as a citizen of Rome is to belong to the first civilization that heavily influenced the modern western world. It is because of this influence that people look back at her, and her pioneering, innovative citizens, for inspiration and understanding. But this ideological picture of ancient Rome is not only pursued and presented by people in the modern world – it was desperately upheld and perpetuated by people in the ancient world. The backstory One Roman, proudly and distinctively, took up this mission. Cicero – the man widely attested as the world’s first lawyer, the best orator in all the land, and the last defender of the Roman Republic – was a…

First, the administrative staff of a unit put together a list of soldiers who had served their time and were therefore entitled to an honourable discharge. The list was then forwarded to the provincial governor, whose staff collated all similar lists before sending the entirety to the Imperial palace in Rome. Upon the Emperor’s personal approval, a decree was written out granting honourable discharge and a certain set of rights to all veterans (and members of their family) included in the master list. This decree was engraved on a large sheet of bronze and published at the Temple of Divus Augustus in Rome, listing the names of all entitled soldiers. Personalized, individual copies – the diplomas – were then made in Rome, inscribed (twice) on two sheets of bronze, witnessed…

Ancient authors more often than not tend to wheel back to a perceived lack of emotional control, deception, drive for vengeance or their ‘wild nature’ when they describe women at war. They are ‘heroes’ ruled by emotions, or at best, they are women posing as men – and usually failing. The Argive Telesilla is a far less known figure. Arguably, however, this poetess-turned-warrior is one of the most enthralling for her time. She managed to defend Argos against not just any army, but that of the Spartans – and she managed to do it all while retaining her place as a dignified woman of her city. Argos and Sparta Named after Argus, one of the many children of Zeus and Niobe, Argos endured through the Bronze and Dark Ages, Classical…

BLOOD OF THE PROVINCES: THE ROMAN AUXILIA AND THE MAKING OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETY FROM AUGUSTUS TO THE SEVERANS By Ian Haynes Oxford University Press, 2013 ISBN: 978-0198795445 Blood of the Provinces provides readers with a comprehensive study on Rome famous auxilia. These soldiers were not citizens, yet they comprised more than half of Rome’s armies. This book looks at the latest in archeological research about this diverse group. It examines their attire, language, and daily routines, while also discussing the ways in which Rome struggled to keep their loyalties and incorporate them into society. ROMAN AND LOCAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE LONG SECOND CENTURY CE Edited by Myles Lavan and Clifford Ando Oxford University Press, 2021 ISBN: 978-0197573884 Lavan and Ando discuss the history of Roman citizenship before Caracalla bestowed universal…