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  1. Home
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  3. The Cambridge Ancient History
  • Cited by 19
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
March 2008
Print publication year:
2005
Online ISBN:
9781139053921
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521301992
Subjects:
Ancient History, Classical Studies
Collection:
Cambridge Histories - Ancient History & Classics
Series:
The Cambridge Ancient History
Information

Book description

This volume covers the history of the Roman Empire from the accession of Septimius Severus in AD 193 to the death of Constantine in AD 337. This period was one of the most critical in the history of the Mediterranean world. It begins with the establishment of the Severan dynasty as a result of civil war. From AD 235 this period of relative stability was followed by half a century of short reigns of short-lived emperors and a number of military attacks on the eastern and northern frontiers of the empire. This was followed by the First Tetrarchy (AD 284–305), a period of collegial rule in which Diocletian, with his colleague Maximian and two junior Caesars (Constantius and Galerius), restabilised the empire. The period ends with the reign of the first Christian emperor, Constantine, who defeated Licinius and established a dynasty which lasted for thirty-five years.

Reviews

"This series is a basic 'must' for all public and private libraries, in the community or in universities. It will be the standard general work for serious academic students and scholars for the next generation." --Religious Studies Review

"This volume, as with the rest of the set, will provide a historiographical reference for the next half century thereby justifying the cost. Both the volume and the larger set are recommended for academic, college and research libraies." --American Reference Books Annual

"This work is an excellent reference work for professional scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates." - Michael DiMaio, Jr. Salve Regina University

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Contents

Page 2 of 2

Contents
  • 17b - The individual and the gods
    pp 538-552
  • View abstract

    Summary

    The late polytheist world-view affords the historian a first orientation amidst an exceptionally complex body of evidence. But daily contact with the Gods came to most people not through philosophy or theurgy, nor even the occult sciences, but through public and domestic cult, dreams, the rites of the dead, and so on. The building of temples was among the most fundamental human social acts. During the major festivals of Artemis, the emperor too was honoured - it was on such occasions that the imperial cult came closest to everyday life. The need for special relationships with Gods arose either from some objective problem, such as illness, or, less commonly, from what one might call intellectual or spiritual curiosity. Walls and floors were adorned with frescoes or mosaics depicting, not just mythological scenes, but also rituals of the mysteries and other cults, and allegories of mystical philosophical teachings. The individual's last encounter with his gods came of course at death.
  • 17c - Public religion
    pp 553-572
  • View abstract

    Summary

    The Severan dynasty's attitude to religion was well exemplified by Caracalla. It was in the nature of things that an emperor's personal piety could not remain a private matter. The significance even of well-known gods varied widely from place to place. Roma, the emperor, the Capitoline Triad and the 'Twelve Gods' were revered throughout the empire, but in a way that varied according to the degree of their assimilation to local tradition, and of the natives zeal for Rome. Tripolitania and Trier illustrate well the variety of the regional perspective. The historic centre of Lepcis Magna was the old forum, whose shrines offer a first orientation in Tripolitanian religion. Earthquakes, nomad invasions and failure to effect repairs were probably more significant than Christianity as causes of the ruin that overcame many temples in the coastal cities, Sabratha, Oea and Lepcis Magna, during the latter part of the century.
  • 18a - Christianity, a.d. 70–192
    pp 573-588
  • View abstract

    Summary

    It may have been in Syria that Lucian first encountered Christianity; for not only was he a native of that province, but he says that it was in Syria that the Cynic Peregrinus formed a temporary alliance with the church. Appealing to Greek philosophy in support of Christian teachings, Theophilus produced a learned demonstration that the Pentateuch is superior in antiquity to the literature of Greece. Among the numerous apostolic churches of the Troad Ephesus had the strongest claim on Paul and also purported to house the tombs of John the Apostle and the Virgin Mary. The consumption of pagan offerings is now treated as a heresy, since the idols had been fed with the blood of Christians. Remains of Christianity in Phrygia are prolific, the most famous being the epitaph of Abercius Marcellus. The writings of Paul and Clement show that Greek was the earliest language of the Christians in the capital.
  • 18b - Third-century Christianity
    pp 589-671
  • View abstract

    Summary

    This chapter explains the geographical coverage of Christianity in the third century. It deals with Christians relations with the Roman state and the persecutions which formed a backdrop to the mental lives of many Christians even if physically they may have been little affected by them. The chapter describes the literary and intellectual life of third-century Christianity. Persecution of Christians by Roman officials had been in the course of the second century sporadic and unsystematic, and basically local in range, and is best seen in the context of the occasional harassment of many another exotic group equally regarded as deviant. By autumn 249 the emperor Decius was secured in power after his usurpation. Mani and his disciple missionaries, the narrow band of high achieving 'Elect' and their devoted faithful, the 'Hearers', had in the course of the third century made remarkable proselytizing progress both inside and outside the permeable boundaries of the Roman world, especially in the eastern empire.
  • 19 - Art and architecture, a.d. 193–337
    pp 672-703
  • View abstract

    Summary

    The reflexive relationship between art and society is particularly evident in the period AD 193-337, with art reflecting social developments and also shaping them. Art and architecture had a major role in creating the imperial image and in establishing a new Christian empire. The increasingly structured society had an impact on the development of style and form, while the enhanced status of the emperor and court ceremonial led to new themes in iconography and building types. From the Severans to the last quarter of the third century the picture is more changeable. Some of the most striking pieces are portraits of soldier emperors such as Maximinus Thrax and Philip the Arab. In contrast, portraits of Gallienus show a range of styles, rather as those of Septimius Severus had done, but bringing back a softer classicizing treatment of form. The development of Christian motifs on sarcophagi represents a new start and a progression from which there is no turning back.

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