Katarzyna Balbuza

Liberalitas was one of the most important forms of social activities of the Roman emperors. In quantitative terms, it is also one of the five most important imperial virtues. It appeared on coins as Liberalitas Augusti, which gave this virtue an additional, divine dimension. The first Empress to depict the idea of imperial generosity on the coins issued on her behalf was Julia Domna. In this respect, her liberalitas coins mark a breakthrough in the exposition of this imperial virtue. The well-known female liberalitas coin issues, or imperial issues with empresses’ portraits, date back to the third century and clearly articulate the liberalitas, both iconographically and literally, through the legend on the reverse of the coin. Other coins, issued on behalf of the emperors (mainly medallions), accentuate in some cases (Julia Mamaea, Salonina) the personal and active participation of women from the imperial house in congiarium-type activities. The issues discussed and analysed, which ...

Recenzja ksiązki: Bernhard Woytek, Die Reichspragung des Kaisers Traianus (98–117). Moneta Imperii Romani 14. 2 Bande (Veroff entlichungen der Numismatischen Kommission 48 = Denkschrift en der Philosophisch-Historische Klasse der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaft en, 387), Wien 2010, 682 s. ogolem, 156 tablic, 29,7x21 cm.

Recenzja ksiązki: Franziska Schmidt-Dick, Typenatlas der romischen Reichspragung von Augustus bis Aemilianus. Erster Band: Weibliche Darstellungen. (Veroffentlichungen derNumismatischen Kommission 38 = Denkschriften der Philosophisch-Historische Klasse derOsterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 309 = Numismatische Zeitschrift, herausgegeben vonder Osterreichischen Numismatischen Gesellschaft, 110), Wien 2002; Franziska Schmidt-Dick, Typenatlas der romischen Reichspragung von Augustus bis Aemilianus. Zweiter Band: Geographische und mannliche Darstellungen (Veroffentlichungen der Numismatischen Kommission 55 = Denkschriften der Philosophisch--Historische Klasse der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 428), Wien 2011

The consecration coinage of Tiberius, the Flavians, the Antoninians or the Severan dynasty may be divided into two subperiods. First one is marked by ″the Spanish″ mint of Tiberius concerning the departed Augustus, which shows peculiar terminological confusion in addressing the deified emperor in the early phase of the imperial cult development. It is also marked by the coins of the Flavian dynasty, which – with the use of personified Aeternitas – emphasize not only the divine status of the deceased Vespasian, but also the majesty of the state as well as the idea of continuity of power within the same dynasty. The second subperiod falls in the reigns of the Antoninians and Severans. In the case of consecration coins of Faustina the Elder and Faustina the Younger, attention is drawn to the high frequency of minting combined with a huge diversity of applied symbols as well as with a vast array of personified deities and virtues. It is possible that the inconsistency in the multidimens...

The paper analyzes the typology of imagery of Aeternitas in the coinage (from Vespasian to the Tetrarchy) propagating the concept of emperor’s eternity. The iconography of Aeternitas is not homogenous, being characterised by an abundance and diversity of motifs and representations. One thing that would not change, a common denominator of sorts, was the figure of a woman in a long dress. Her attributes, however, did fluctuate and depending on their kind symbolised either cosmic eternity or renewable time (phoenix). Aeternitas personified by a woman in long dress, shown in contrapposto, holding a radiant sun and moon was introduced on the reverses of coins in the Flavian period and continued to appear until Hadrian. During that time, the astral attributes would be exchanged for other devices, but although these insignia changed over time, the figure in a long tunic remained, as a permanent  and originally Roman element in the iconography of female personifications of the Roman Empire.

Although the first unambiguous original proofs of the aeternitas Augusti idea come from the Flavian dynasty, its origin lies in the period of the late Republic and Principate. Aeternitas was a deified abstraction, which expressed the state the emperor could obtain as a result of deification. It was also an attribute of the emperor, the property of his divine nature. Analysis of the places and contexts of the occurrence of the eternity phenomenon with respect to the emperor in preserved sources suggests that the ideas of the state and the emperor’s eternity were complementary and mutually conditioned.The emperor’s aeternitas was declared to emphasize his religious and political role in thestate, in the process of granting him everlastingness. It was discussed in the context ofconcerns about his health and safety, particularly in the context of neutralizing plots toassassinate him, and in the context of the implications to the policy of the throne. Despite the fact that proclaiming th...

REC. KSIĄŻKI The Roman Imperial Coinage, volume II, Part 1: from AD 69–96. Vespasian to Domitian, by I.A. Carradice and T.V. Buttrey (M. Amandry & A. Burnett eds.). Second fully revised edition, Spink&Son Ltd, London 2007, 404 s., 160 tablic.

The article is concerned with the title aeternus Augustus and its position in Roman imperial titulature at the end of the third and during the fourth century A.D. Modern authors tend to rate this title among the so-called unofficial imperial titulature, mainly due to the fact that it served to admire the emperor. The paper discusses forms and methods of addressing the emperor who was determined by the appellation aeternus Augustus. The analysis of these enables to appoint, out of the emperors of the discussed period, those few who were officially specified as aeterni.

The paper analyses all early Severan coinage commemorating the ideas of concord (concordia) in the state, in particular the concepts of marital concord (concordia felix), perpetual concord (perpetua concordia) and eternal concord (concordia aeterna ), against the backdrop of the simultaneously propagated idea of aeternitas Imperii as well as the ideology and policy of succession of the ruling house.

Liberalitas was one of the most important forms of social activities of the Roman emperors. In quantitative terms, it is also one of the five most important imperial virtues. It appeared on coins as Liberalitas Augusti, which gave this virtue an additional, divine dimension. The first Empress to depict the idea of imperial generosity on the coins issued on her behalf was Julia Domna. In this respect, her liberalitas coins mark a breakthrough in the exposition of this imperial virtue. The well-known female liberalitas coin issues, or imperial issues with empresses' portraits, date back to the third century and clearly articulate the liberalitas, both iconographically and literally, through the legend on the reverse of the coin. Other coins, issued on behalf of the emperors (mainly medallions), accentuate in some cases (Julia Mamaea, Salonina) the personal and active participation of women from the imperial house in congiarium-type activities. The issues discussed and analysed, which appeared on behalf of the emperors or the imperial women-with a clear emphasis on the role of women-undoubtedly demonstrate the feminine support for the emperor's social policy towards the people of Rome, including the various social undertakings of incumbent emperors, to whom they were related. They prove their active involvement and support for the image of the princeps created by the emperors through the propaganda of virtues (such as liberalitas). The dynastic policy of the emperors, in which the empresses played a key role, was also of considerable importance.

Nummi restituti (Restitution coins) appeared in Roman imperial mintage thanks to the Flavian mints, operating in the times of Titus and Domitian. The authoress shares the thesis that the Restitution coins, apart from their commemorative function, expressing the tribute to memory — of
pre-Flavian members of the Roman imperial house, their successes and virtues, as well as the Roman senate or earlier coin types — served also as a medium of ideological contents. Their production might have fulfilled an ideologically justified political need — an intention of ensuring the continuity of the pre-Flavian emperors’ politics and the legitimization of the Flavian dynasty. The authoress looks for a selection criterion of the prototypes for the Restitution coins and points to the possible key of choosing those prototypes which may have been military successes of predecessors crowned by triumphal honours.

The autor of the article studies the problem of confrontation between war prisoners of high political status led in the triumphal ceremonies and the Roman triumphator. The issue is analyzed on the basis of selected examples from the epoch of principate with regard to: political status of prisoners and that of triumphator, their position in the triumphal ceremony, and the way of presentation of the winners and of the defeated. The symbolic clash during the triumphof the two worlds, two different images of the ancient world leaders  as well as of two parties - the winners and the defeated - was an element of carefully designed choreography and had a great significance for emperor's ideology of victory.

TRAVIS DURDEN, MYTHS AND IDOLS. STAR WARS IN THE ARTISTIC ENCOURAGE The project Myths and Idols, by the French photographer Travis Durden, came into being in 2015 by means of digital technology. The artist processed photos of nine selected modern sculptures, mostly related to ancient matters, in order to provide them with the attributes or heads belonging to the heroes of the famous Star Wars saga. The sculptures chosen by Durden for his project had been created by European artists (French sculptors and one Italian master) and they are exclusively of an early modern provenance (arising from the Renaissance, Classicism, and Neoclassicism). Not a single work of ancient art is included. However, the classical (ancient) art itself became an object of the Parisian sculptor's interest in terms of taking early modern art into account as the artists of the latter patterned themselves on ancient samples and picked up ancient subject matters. Likewise, Star Wars in turn constitutes a product of the American pop-culture frequently referring to motifs which had originated in ancient culture. The article discusses all nine photo collages and the whole project is being interpreted. Myths and Idols offers an example of the double reception of ancient culture-the early modern and contemporary ones.

IIIviri monetales, którzy nadzorowali proces bicia monet za rządów Augusta i sygnowali je swoimi imionami, nie zawsze umieszczali na nich treści związane tylko z princepsem. W artykule przeanalizowano kilka wybranych emisji z lat 22–12 p.n.e. pod kątem tematyki najbliższej triumwirom monetarnym, tj. rodowej. Pytanie, które przyświecało niniejszym rozważaniom, dotyczyło istnienia, bądź nie, ewentualnej swobody monetarnych triumwirów augustowskich w zakresie doboru treści monetarnych (legendy, ikonografia). Czy w trakcie formowania się pryncypatu młodzi przedstawiciele rodów arystokratycznych Rzymu mogli jeszcze akcentować swoje rodowe pochodzenie, czy też musieli się dostosować do zasady, by każdy obraz kojarzył się z nowym państwem i jego przywódcą? Przeprowadzona analiza wykazała, że IIIviri z jednej strony kontynuowali tradycje republikańskie w zakresie nawiązywania do tematyki prywatnej (rodowej) na monetach (przypominali o sukcesach politycznych poprzedników, o regionach, grupach etnicznych, z których się wywodzili, wzorowali się na monetarnych typach monet rodowych, budowali genealogię rodu na monetach), z drugiej – poprzez lokowanie na awersach lub rewersach podpisanych wizerunków Augusta, bądź wizualnych odzwierciedleń rozmaitych aspektów jego polityki lub ideologii, uwzględniali odgórne wytyczne ideologii oficjalnej. Istnieją zatem przesłanki, by twierdzić, że w początkach pryncypatu owi młodzi przedstawiciele rodów arystokratycznych Rzymu mogli swobodnie wykorzystywać stare formy przekazu i narzędzia do przedstawiania siebie samych jako reprezentantów starych gentes, jednak zawsze uwzględniając i promując przy tym osobę i pozycję princepsa. Omawiane emisje świadczą o swoistym kompromisie nowego ze starym, swego rodzaju współbrzmieniu na płaszczyźnie idei, co przecież dokonywało się w wielu dziedzinach ówczesnej rzeczywistości.

Wśród wielu interpretacji, które pojawiły się w dyskusjach na temat restytucji Tytusa, przekonująco brzmi supozycja mająca za podstawę zbieżność czasu ich emisji z konsekracją Wespazjana i odnotowującymi ten fakt regularnymi emisjami monet konsekracyjnych Tytusa. Supozycja ta opiera się na założeniu, że restytu-cje służyły synowi Wespazjana do podkreślenia legalności jego sukcesji po ojcu. Powoływanie się na cesarzy, którzy dostąpili konsekracji z woli senatu, stawało się nie tylko ważnym elementem ideologii dynastycznej następcy, lecz również istotnym czynnikiem w kreowaniu jego wizerunku politycznego.

Roma Aeterna and othe ‘eternal’ threads in the Roman coinage
in the time of the third century crisis. Ideological meaning
Common and frequent was the appealing to the motifs of Roma Aeterna in the Roman imperial coinage in the time of the crisis of the third century. This was an expression of ideological context referring to the emperor, state or city, on the one hand, while of the goddess, protector of Rome, on the other. Most often, political reasons were behind this practice — an intent to legitimize the imperial power, to stabilize it or to strengthen the authority of the ruler. They resulted from the symbolism of Roma Aeterna, behind which there was the ideology of the eternity of Rome and of imperial rule. The certainty of the eternity of Rome was as similarly strong as the conviction about the eternity of its overlords. Such opinions were naturally consolidated by immortalizing the deities and virtues, intensively propagated in the coinage in the times of the crisis.The issues disseminating the Roma Aeterna in the discussed period outnumber by nearly three times those minted earlier during the reigns of the Antonines and the Severan dynasty. This might have indicated Rome supposedly as still the symbolic centre of the world at this time, whereas the situation in reality was altogether different — the empire was gradually losing its primary position in the ancient world.

AETERNUS AUGUSTUS IN DER TITULATUR DER RÖMISCHEN KAISER IM SPÄTEN 3. UND IM 4. JH. The article is concerned with the title aeternus Augustus and its position in Roman imperial titulature at the end of the third and during the fourth century A.D. Modern authors tend to rate this title among the so-called unofficial imperial titulature, mainly due to the fact that it served to admire the emperor. The paper discusses forms and methods of addressing the emperor who was determined by the appellation aeternus Augustus. The analysis of these enables to appoint, out of the emperors of the discussed period, those few who were officially specified as aeterni.

Das zu rezensierende Buch von Paul J. Burton (= B.), eine synthetische Darstellung des römischen Imperialismus, führt den seit mehr als hundert Jahren stattfindenden Diskurs über das Charakteristische an der Außenpolitik des antiken Roms fort. In seinen Erörterungen setzt sich B. hauptsächlich mit Diskussionsbeiträgen aus dem nordamerikanischen Wissenschaftlerkreis, jedenfalls aber mit dem Standpunkt der englischsprachigen Forscher auseinander. Sein Interesse gilt insbesondere dem in den 80er Jahren des 20. Jhs. begonnenen und bis heute andauernden Diskurs. Das Werk umfasst 114 Seiten und besteht aus fünf Kapiteln. Das erste Kapitel ("Introduction", S. 1-9) bietet einen Überblick über den bisherigen geschichtswissenschaftlichen Diskurs zur römischen Eroberungspolitik. Zunächst wird die von Tenney Frank vorgenommene erste systematische Analyse dieser Problematik (Roman Imperialism, New York 1914) unter die Lupe genommen. Anschließend stellt B. die Thesen anderer im 20. Jh. tätigen Forscher des römischen Imperialismus vor (die damalige Geschichtsschreibung neigte überwiegend zur Theorie des defensiven Imperialismus). Dieses Revue endet mit dem 1979 erschienenen Werk des britischen Forschers W.V. Harris (War and Imperialism in Republican Rome, Oxford 1979), wobei auch die in den 80er Jahren vorgebrachten Entgegnungen auf Harris' Thesen (A.N. Sherwin-White, J. North, E. Gruen) zusammenfasst werden. Im selben Kapitel finden wir außerdem einen kurzen Überblick über die antiken Quellen zum römischen Imperialismus (S. 7-8). Das zweite Kapitel ("Imperialism", S. 10-17) beginnt mit einer Definition des Hauptbegriffs, um dann zur Geschichte des Diskurses über die neuzeitliche Theorie des Imperialismus überzugehen. Als Erstes analysiert B. die Auffassungen John Hobsons, die von diesem in der monumentalen Studie aus dem Jahre 1902 zu den politisch-wirtschaftlichen Aspekten des römischen Imperialismus (Imperialism: A Study, London 1902) dargelegt sind, und zum Schluss betrachtet er die Auffassungen der Forscher aus dem 20. Jh. Dabei spricht sich B. für die Definition Michael W. Doyles aus, wonach: "Imperialism is simply the process or policy of establishing or maintaining an empire". Zum Charakter jenes Prozesses meint Doyle: "It can be achieved by force, by political collaboration, by economic, social, or cultural dependence" (M.W. Doyle, Empires, Ithaca 1986, S. 45). Und das Imperium an sich sieht er als "a system of interaction [formal or informal] between two political entities, one of which, the dominant metropole, exerts political control over the internal and external policy-the effective sovereignty-of the other, the subordinate periphery" (S. 12). Das so definierte Forschungswerkzeug sei, so B., optimal für die Untersuchung der Eroberungspolitik Roms. Am Anfang des mit "Roman Imperialism" (S. 18-72) betitelten dritten Kapitels unterzieht B. den römischen Imperialismus einer Bewertung. Die Frage "Did the Romans have an empire, in Doyle's terms?" wird von ihm bejaht (S. 18). Zu Recht bemerkt er, dass es in Diskussionen und Forschungen zu den imperialistischen Aktivitäten Roms stets am schwierigsten sei, Folgendes zu klären: "did the Romans covet an international empire, and how aggressively did they pursue it?" (S. 19). Um diese Frage zu beantworten, prüft er antike Quellen auf die Einstellung ihrer Verfasser zu dem von Rom aufgebauten Reich hin. Im zweiten Unterkapitel (S. 39-73) wird die Titelfrage nicht mehr-wie im ersten Unterkapitel-aus der Perspektive antiker Geschichtsschreiber, sondern aus dem Blickpunkt gegenwärtiger Historiker betrachtet. Ausgegangen wird hier von der These William Harris' (War and Imperialism...), der auf die außenpolitischen Motivationen der Römer einen metrozentrischen Maßstab anlegen wollte. Anschließend erörtert B. den in der Geschichtsschreibung durch Harris' These hervorgerufenen Diskurs. Das nächste, vierte Kapitel ("The Diversification of the Field", S. 73-92) ist weiterhin den modernen Forschungsergebnissen gewidmet. B. beleuchtet hier die römische Imperialismusfrage