Academic literature on the topic 'Caracalla edict'

DIDOMI POLEITEIAN ROMAION.DIDOMI POLEITEIAN ROMAION. THE CONTENT AND THE EXTENT OF THE CITIZENSHIP GRANT IN THE ‘CONSTITUTIO ANTONINIANA’Summary In orbe Romano qui sunt ex constitutione imperatoris Antonini cives Romani effecti sunt – the mode, in which Ulpianus described the constitutio Antoniniana, does not reflect the importance of this act, the act by which nearly all inhabitants of the Imperium Romanum were granted Roman citizenship. Actually, the edict of Caracalla, released in 212 CE, was a revolutionary one. Nonetheless, due to brevity of antic testimonia, and particularly to the meagre condition of the papyrus Giessensis 42 (which carries the Greek version of the constitutio), numerous problems concerning the content and the extent of the citizenship grant remain yet unresolved. This paper aims at finding satisfactory answers to these questions. This attempt shall consist in a systematic analysis of the papyrus text read in the context of as many surviving sources as possible. A particular emphasis will be laid on the essence and the scope of the citizenship grant. This paper ignores, of necessity, several contextual questions, including those about the circumstances, motives and effects of the release. In fact, these problems are vast enough so as to be recognised separately.

In 212 AD, Emperor Caracalla issued an edict granting Roman citizenship to the entire free population of the Roman Empire. The non-indigenous the Romans edict opened the way to the army, which allowed an increase in number of legions, but made them less loyal. All this contributed to revision of Augustus’ model and formation of a new political reality, which was called by historians the name “dominate”, the first version of which was Diocletian’s tetrarchy. For the tetrarchy system to work effectively, too many conditions were necessary, and the Romans were no longer ready for such a great responsibility. In addition, Diocletian’s model, solving some problems, created others, causing confusion and starting the process of the gradual division of the empire into the Eastern and the Western parts. If the principate system can be called as “The Second Republic”, then the system following it, under which “masters” began to govern free citizens, it would be logical to call “The Third Republic”. The Emperor is one of the titles of the republican ruler of Rome, along with the titles “Augustus”, “Caesar”, “princeps senatus”, “pontifex maximus”, etc. The legal and factual significance of each of these titles has undergone evolution, but the Romans themselves would never have agreed that a monarchy had been established in their empire; they quite sincerely considered their state to be a republic. This republic was led by a person who has a whole set of temporary and lifelong titles, including the title of emperor, which complemented other the highest ranking magistrates. At the same time, there was a transition from representations of power as a civil (and, as a result, military and religious) to power as a military (and only then – civil and religious) function. If the princeps themselves could not have been military leaders, then for the dominus it became a necessity, the logical expression of which was the institution of tetrarchy.

The constitutio Antoniniana represents one of the most important legal documents of the Roman imperial period. By means of this edict, the emperor Caracalla enfranchised nearly every free person living within the borders of his empire. Despite its apparent significance, though, the constitutio remains a controversial document among modern scholars. Some consider it to be the logical conclusion to an evolutionary process in Roman citizenship that took over two centuries to achieve. Others, however, believe that it is a meaningless document given retrospective importance, changing little in the daily lives of the empire's population and representing nothing more than a superficial initiative brought forth by an absolute monarch. The primary focus of this thesis concerns the various reasons that Caracalla might have had for passing the constitutio Antoniniana in the opening half of AD 212. By considering elements such as the emperor's fascination with Alexander the Great and religious perspective, as well as issues surrounding the Roman imperial economy and army, I will construct an image of the constitutio that is more multi-faceted than has been presented in the past. The common thread running through these chapters, however, is that Caracalla employed his edict as a tool in a programme of refashioning the Severan dynasty - a programme that he found himself compelled to undertake in the aftermath of the murder of his brother and co-emperor, Geta. I will also argue that modern scholars have been wrong to dismiss the testimony offered by Cassius Dio, in which the senator claimed that a fiscal rationale underlay the legislation. Whilst the detail of Dio's argument is undoubtedly questionable, this thesis will demonstrate that, on a basic level, the senator was correct to identify a fiscal initiative contained within the terms of the constitutio text. The final chapter of the thesis will form a case study of Caracalla's imperial visit to Alexandria in AD 215/6. This is a challenging episode to analyse, since the hostile literary tradition appears content to label the violence which marked the emperor's stay in the city as the result of a merciless massacre ordered by Caracalla in revenge for an assortment of minor slights and insults. This chapter will re-assess the events of the imperial visit and argue that the disturbances were not the result of the emperor's uncontrollable temper, but rather that they resulted from riots among the local population that the local authorities were unable to control. Following this hypothesis, I will examine to what extent the effects and implications of the constitutio Antoniniana had a bearing on the disturbances in Alexandria. I contend that, although it is obviously impossible to draw a direct link between the edict and the unrest, it is possible to see that the social and fiscal implications of the legislation would have exacerbated pre-existing local sensitivities and pressures to breaking point. This work will represent one of the largest studies of Caracalla's constitutio undertaken in the English language to date. The aim of my study is not to function as an apology for the emperor, but it is an attempt to view the constitutio Antoniniana in a more rational way. My thesis thus acknowledges that the context in which the legislation was passed is of critical importance not only to our understanding of the constitutio as a document, but also to our assessment of Caracalla's actions following the murder of his younger brother.

Né en 188 alors que son père était gouverneur de la Gaule Lyonnaise, Caracalla est un empereur de la dynastie sévérienne régnant entre 211 et 217. Fils aîné de Septime Sévère et de Julia Domna, L. Septimius Bassianus prend le nom de Marcus Aurelius Antoninus en hommage à l’empereur Marc Aurèle et est très tôt associé au pouvoir. Perçu par les sources littéraires anciennes comme un tyran et un soudard (Cassius Dion, Hérodien par exemple), ce porphyrogénète accomplit des réformes militaires, administratives et financières, telles que le fameux édit de Caracalla de 212. D’autres sources, épigraphiques, numismatiques et archéologiques, accordent à cet empereur une image souvent plus positive. L’objet de l’étude est de montrer l’existence de ruptures et de continuités entre Caracalla et la figure paternelle, entre sa politique et l’œuvre de son prédécesseur. Il s’agit également de se demander si le fait d’être porphyrogénète est un handicap ou un atout dans l’œuvre politique, religieuse, culturelle et économique d’Antonin Caracalla
Born in 188 when his father was governor of the Gaul Lyonnaise, Caracalla is an emperor of the Severe dynasty ruling between 211 and 217. Eldest son of Septimius Severe and Julia Domna, L. Septimius Bassianus takes the name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus in tribute to the emperor Marc Aurele and is very early associated with power. Perceived by ancient literary sources such as a tyrant and a soldier (Cassius Dio, Herodian, for example), this purple-born carries out military, administrative and financial reforms, such as Caracalla's famous 212 edition. Other sources, epigraphic, numismatic and archaeological, give this emperor an often more positive image. The purpose of the study is to show the existence of breaks and continuities between Caracalla and the paternal figure, between his politics and the work of his predecessor. It is also a question of whether being a purple-born is a handicap or an asset in the political, religious, cultural and economic work of Antonin Caracalla