The paper reprises the discussion concerning the phrase Dacia restituta within Pan. IV [8] uttered on March 1st, 297 at Augusta Treverorum by an anonymous orator on the occasion of celebrating the Quinquennalia, in the honour of Constantius becoming a Caesar. The first part features an overview of the opinions formulated regarding the localisation of Dacia mentioned by the orator. Hence, some believe that it is the North-Danubian province, “taken back” by the Empire around 289 or even 297. Others point out that it is the extreme southern area of the former province, controlled permanently by the Romans through the fortifications on the left bank of the river. Others yet, without denying that the orator was referring to the former trans-Danubian province, only credit the information with the value of rhetorical expression, as more of an ideological than a realistic claim. Finally, certain researchers pinpoint that the orator must have referred to the South-Danubian province of Dacia as a whole or to one of the provinces by that name (Dacia Ripensis, Dacia Mediterranea) situated on the left side of the river. The following lines feature the significations of the term restituta (-us), in general, then in the Panegyrici Latini. The paper also includes an internal analysis of the fragment where the phrase Dacia restituta is featured, as well as of other contexts within the speech where the lexeme in question is used, leading to the conclusion that the phrase can only refer to a Dacia that the Empire considered an integrant part of it—a provincia—and that was restored, reintegrated in the initial structures (administrative, legal, tax-related, etc.) of the state, after the perturbation of the natural evolution by the barbarian incursions. Hence, it could not have been the former province of Dacia in the north of the Danube, given that its legal Roman status had ceased de jure and definitively upon the official abandonment of the province, but the province of Dacia in the south of the Danube, in close connection with the events requiring the presence of Diocletian on the Danubian front in 289, 290–291, 293–294, 296. A further argument to support this idea is the frequency of the opposition amissa-recepta, not amissa-restituta. Finally, the foreign policy ideology of the 297 speech is worth highlighting; namely, the view according to which the Empire was a closed space, a stable world, where territorial acquisitions on the left bank of the Danube were excluded.
Articles
Die Antike Biographie als Hintergrund des Evangeliums
This essay continues the critique of perceived evangelical exceptionalism by providing a detailed study of the genre of biography in antiquity. While some scholars claim that the Gospels were a literary anomaly without clear precedents, we instead claim that they are an innovative variation of the classical biographical tradition. By classifying the Gospels into this generic classification, we work to establish an access to this literature that is historically grounded and does not seek the presumed religious ‘community’ of the author in the rhetorical framework of their writings.
Late Roman Tableware from Argamum – ‘Faleză Est’. African, Cypriot, Egeean and Pontic wares
The archaeological excavations of the ‘Faleză Est’ sector have extended over twenty years. Their result was the discovery of a large quantity of ceramic fragments from the Hellenistic and Roman eras. This article analyzes the tableware from the late Roman period, imported from North Africa, Cyprus, the Aegean basin and the Pontic region. Most of the imported tableware comes from North African workshops. The ceramic fragments discovered in the ‘Faleză Est’ sector are dated in the 5th–6th centuries.
Complex Genealogies in Mesopotamia: From Mesilim to Tukultī-Ninurta I
The current article examines four case studies of complex genealogies in Mesopotamia from the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. The first three case studies are focused on the complex genealogies used by 3rd millennium BC kings in the Early Dynastic Period III, in Lagaš II, and in the period of 3rd Dynasty of Ur. The fourth case study deals with Assyrian king Tukultī-Ninurta I (1242–1206 BCE).
On the Lineage of King Telepinu
Sources on the reign of the Hittite king Telepinu, including the principle source in the form of an edict issued by the king himself, are unfortunately taciturn about his relationship to previous kings. Such information that we do have hints at two possibilities: he was either a son or a son-in-law of Ammuna, a previous ruler. He is tied to Huzziya I, a usurper, but the latter’s position in the dynasty is uncertain as well. This article makes the case for the view that Telepinu married into the royal family rather than being born into it, and Huzziya I was a lower-rank son who had to eliminate higher-standing candidates in order to ascend to the throne.
Manipulating Genealogies: Pheidon of Argos and the Stemmas of the Argive, Macedonian, Spartan and Median Kings
The article focuses on the manipulations of the genealogy of a legendarily famous Argive king or tyrant Pheidon ruling during the Greek Archaic Age (eighth to sixth century BC). The ancients did not possess any precise knowledge about his dating, which caused variable attempts to locate him in time. On the other hand, he became a target of different synchronisations which led to the manipulation not only of the Argive data, but also the genealogies of the Macedonian, the Median and the Assyrian kings. The discussion will reveal how genealogical evidence, or pseudo-evidence, was forged and manipulated for arriving at ostensibly historical accounts which, although possibly based on genuine traditions, produced visions of the past which in many points clearly did not correspond to the truth.
Der Mythos im Dienst der Politik: das Beispiel der euripideischen Tragödie Ion
The author analyzes the Euripidean tragedy Ion. In this article an attempt was made to explain some important elements, such as the date, when the play could have been staged, and political situation of Athens in that time. Essential question were mythical innovations in this tragedy. The author looks for sources of these innovations and their influence on propaganda meaning of Ion. Regarding the problem of date, when the tragedy was staged, there were additionally made some methodological remarks. Very helpful in that chapter were auxiliary sources, such as another literary sources and epigraphical sources.
A Genealogy of Pythagoras
This article deals with different traditions of the genealogy of Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570–480 BC). It shows how three versions of Pythagoras’s lineage were combined in antiquity. Firstly, Pythagoras could be seen as the son of human parents who themselves descend from Ancaeus, the mythical founder and first king of Samos who is closely connected with both Greek and Near Eastern mythology. Secondly, there is the tradition that Pythagoras was the son of a human mother and Apollo, which goes together with the important role that this deity played in the religion of Pythagoreanism from the very start. Finally, the Pythagorean doctrine of metempsychosis holds another possibility in explaining Pythagoras’s genealogy that connects him directly with the shamanistic motif of the soul-journey. A distinct analysis of the sources shows that the symbiosis of all three traditions was obviously the most common way of explaining Pythagoras’s genealogy.