Under Divine Auspices: Divine Ideology and the Visualisation of Imperial Power in the Severan Period
Cambridge University Press, 1/3/2013
EAN 9781107020122, ISBN10: 1107020123
Hardcover, 317 pages, 25.4 x 17.8 x 1.3 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
This book explores how deities were used to communicate and negotiate imperial power under the Severan dynasty (AD 193–235). Septimius Severus connected his reign to the divine support of Liber Pater and Hercules, while Caracalla placed a particular emphasis on the gods Apollo, Aesculapius and Sarapis. Elagabalus' reign was characterised by the worship of the Emesene deity Elagabal, which resulted in a renewed emphasis on the cult of Jupiter under Severus Alexander. Numismatic evidence is reintegrated into the wider material culture of the Severan period in order to bring new insights into the use of the divine in this period, as well as the role played by the provinces in the formation and reception of this ideology. By taking a dynastic approach, this book demonstrates the dynamic nature of the imperial public image and the complex dialogue that existed between Rome and the wider Empire in this period.
1. Introduction
2. Contextualising a 'foreign' dynasty
3. Septimius Severus, Liber Pater and Hercules
4. Medical tourism and iconographic dialogues in the reign of Caracalla
5. Elagabalus, Summus Sacerdos Elagabali
6. Severus Alexander and the re-founding of Rome
Conclusion
divine ideology in the Severan dynasty
Appendix 1. Silver reverse types from Trajan to Severus Alexander
Appendix 2. Reverse silver dies of the 'stone on quadriga' type of Elagabalus
Appendix 3. List of hoards used.
'Under Divine Auspices will prove valuable not only for those interested in Severan propaganda, but for students of Roman history in general.' Julie Langford, Bryn Mawr Classical Review