This research studied the conceptualization of the functionality of power objects in the ancient world. With the help of emerging research fields on material agency and ancient emotions,...Show moreThis research studied the conceptualization of the functionality of power objects in the ancient world. With the help of emerging research fields on material agency and ancient emotions, instructions for making amulets have been studied to understand why ancient individuals put trust in certain objects that could, as they believed, influence their lives. This research has shown that the concept of protective circles can help to gain a better understanding of the believed functions of amulets and other power objects.Show less
Historiography has characterised Roman North Africa as consisting of 'two worlds', a world of Roman cities on the one hand and indigenous rural hinterlands on the other. Using geographical analysis...Show moreHistoriography has characterised Roman North Africa as consisting of 'two worlds', a world of Roman cities on the one hand and indigenous rural hinterlands on the other. Using geographical analysis, survey archaeology and discourse analysis, this thesis researches the extent to which the marginal hinterlands (or 'shatter zones') of Late Antique North Africa were integrated into the wider Roman, Mediterranean state space. Despite the topographic difficulties for the Roman Empire to control the mountainous and steppe inland of the region, survey archaeology reveals a landscape that became thoroughly transformed under the later Roman Empire. Integration in the third to fifth centuries ended in the sixth century under the pressure of emperor Justinian's ideology of imperial renovatio.Show less
The Ravenna Papyri is a set of documents from Late Antiquity. The documents provide insight into the system and structure of land ownership in this rather understudied period (445 AD - 700 AD)....Show moreThe Ravenna Papyri is a set of documents from Late Antiquity. The documents provide insight into the system and structure of land ownership in this rather understudied period (445 AD - 700 AD). This study examines both the social and economic aspects of the papyri, with an emphasis on (1) the organization of agriculture in the sources, (2) the social structure of landowners and those who are connected to landholdings (often by working on it as tenant), and (3) how landholdings circulated (between owners).Show less
Emperor Justinian (r.527 to 565) was one of the most famous and infamous emperors of Late Antiquity. One of his most remarkable qualities had been his legislative fervour. Early on, he had...Show moreEmperor Justinian (r.527 to 565) was one of the most famous and infamous emperors of Late Antiquity. One of his most remarkable qualities had been his legislative fervour. Early on, he had completed what would later be called the Corpus Iuris Civilis, incorporating the Codex, the Digesta and the Institutiones. However, in the wake of this Corpus, his reign produced another 155 ‘new laws’ that have not yet received the scholarly attention they deserve. This thesis has taken these Novellae seriously as a corpus of its own and has explored how we should understand this multitude of laws in their socio-political context and how these innovations were anchored in a sixth-century worldview. The Novellae performed a multi-layered balancing act between tradition and innovation, subject and emperor, and being shaped by and shaping society. However, these laws singled out one person whose presence invaded every corner of the text: the emperor. He was ruler of the eternal Roman Empire and Christian father of the people. In the end, he knew what was best.Show less
Volgens sommigen was de Romeinse wereld een 'slave society' waarin slaven de spil van de economie waren. De Romeinse slaaf had zo een belangrijke rol en kon allerlei functies en rollen innemen. Dit...Show moreVolgens sommigen was de Romeinse wereld een 'slave society' waarin slaven de spil van de economie waren. De Romeinse slaaf had zo een belangrijke rol en kon allerlei functies en rollen innemen. Dit onderzoek richt zich op de slaven en vrijgelaten slaven in de periferie van het Romeinse Rijk en dan met name op de provincie Britannia. Wie waren de slaven en vrijgelatenen in Britannia en wat voor rol vervulden zij in de samenleving?Show less
In the 5th century BC, athletes in Greece increasingly became heroized and celebrated in legend and cult. Through alleged displays of dúnamis, aretē, and other parts of their narratives, athletes...Show moreIn the 5th century BC, athletes in Greece increasingly became heroized and celebrated in legend and cult. Through alleged displays of dúnamis, aretē, and other parts of their narratives, athletes were compared to mythic heroes and associated with a ‘heroic paradigm’ that made it possible for them to gain enough kleos or ‘fame’ to turn into new heroes and to become incorporated in Greek legends. The aim of this thesis is to compare these ‘heroic athletes’ to non-heroized athletes in a threefold way: by looking at athletic feats and displays of strength (dúnamis), other ways in which athletes measured up to a heroic paradigm in life (aretē), and alleged manners of death and possible cults as they were narrated in Greek legends. In doing so, it lays bare similarities and differences between accounts of heroic athletes and those who were not heroized, and takes a step towards applying the notion of kleos to the ideological motivations behind Greek processes of heroization in the 5th century BC.Show less
This study searches for an answer to the question who the Palestinian leistes was and which role he played within early Roman Palestinian society. It starts with a re-examination of earlier models,...Show moreThis study searches for an answer to the question who the Palestinian leistes was and which role he played within early Roman Palestinian society. It starts with a re-examination of earlier models, mainly the Zealot model and the social banditry model. Due to dissatisfaction with both major models, it continues by seeing latrocinium as a means used by both regional strongmen and Palestinian peasant communities to fulfil economic, social, and political goals. Peasants entered into patronal relations with regional strongmen and performed latrocinium-like activities for the former in exchange for protection against subsistence crises and external enemies. The regional strongmen on the other hand, used their leistai to strengthen their own position in society. This study looks at how latrocinium worked in Early Roman Palestine and how it penetrated into all levels of society. Furthermore, making use of both the model developed in this study and the model of multi-polar network-centric insurgency, it proposes a new way of looking at the First Jewish War (66-74AD) and at the role of leistai within this event.Show less
Welke relaties bestaan er tussen de Romein en de hond, welke inzichten in de Romeinse samenleving verschaffen deze relaties en hoe verhouden die zich met hoe men tegenwoordig in Nederland met...Show moreWelke relaties bestaan er tussen de Romein en de hond, welke inzichten in de Romeinse samenleving verschaffen deze relaties en hoe verhouden die zich met hoe men tegenwoordig in Nederland met honden omgaat? Deze hoofdvraag onderzoek ik in drie categoriën. De eerste gaat over de daadwerkelijke omgang met honden, de tweede over verhalen over de (gedeeltelijke) transformatie van mens in hond en de laatste categorie gaat over de rol van honden in de bovennatuur. De daadwerkelijke omgang gaat over de relatie tussen hond en baas, of het nu om waakhonden of schoothonden gaat, de puppytijd of juist het overlijden van het dier. Het transformatiegedeelte zal gaan over alles wat tussen het menselijke en het dierlijke in zit, met name weerwolven en cynocefalen. Deze categorie is zeer interessant voor de perceptie van de Romein van de hond, omdat er hier sprake is van mythes over hybridewezens die mens noch dier zijn, maar iets ertussenin. Deze verhalen geven extra inzicht in wat nu eigenlijk mens-zijn definieert. De goddelijke categorie zal gaan over goden die met honden worden geassocieerd, honden als attribuut hebben en de rol die honden spelen in verband met de bovennatuur. Deze drie thema’s samen geven ons een inkijkje in de antieke samenleveing. Ze geven inzicht in hoe men tegenover dieren, goden en zichzelf staat. In combinatie met elkaar werpen de thema’s licht op hoe men denkt over de verschillen tussen mens en dier, hoe menselijke eigenschappen worden geprojecteerd op dieren en of de godenwereld door de alledaagse realiteit wordt vormgegeven. Of anders gezegd, het geeft ons iets meer inzicht in het antieke menselijke gedrag en ook het denken, door zowel verhalen en ideeën als de werkelijkheid te bekijken.Show less
Ancient Roman notions of the feminine were ambiguous: on the one hand the feminine was defined as wild, irresponsible and dangerous, but on the other hand the feminine was defined as a cultured,...Show moreAncient Roman notions of the feminine were ambiguous: on the one hand the feminine was defined as wild, irresponsible and dangerous, but on the other hand the feminine was defined as a cultured, productive and essential element of society. Pearls regularly feature in Roman discourses about the feminine, and posess a similar ambiguity. Pearls were used as a symbol or metaphor for both sides of the ambiguous identity of the feminine in literary, visual and archaeological sources. This thesis analyses the underlying thoughts and connections between pearls and the ambiguous notions of feminine identity in the Roman world.Show less
This thesis started with the question if parents in Roman times would be able to love their child, even if it turned out the child was disabled. The Roman law recorded in the Twelve Tables from the...Show moreThis thesis started with the question if parents in Roman times would be able to love their child, even if it turned out the child was disabled. The Roman law recorded in the Twelve Tables from the fifth century B.C.E. stated that parents had to kill their disabled children for the good of the Roman citizens. Some historians however, wrote that disabled individuals were displayed for popular entertainment in ancient Rome as part of an established tradition in the Roman culture of displaying the anomalous bodies of humans and animals. How can children be killed at birth and yet be displayed for popular entertainment? In this thesis I have placed myself within a debate about disability history. The debate is about what the social position was of the disabled within an ancient society, in this thesis the Roman era. The main question for this thesis therefore became: What was the position of the disabled within the Roman Empire?Show less
The state is a social phenomenon which first appeared only several thousand years ago. In fact, the period that states have existed for is brief in comparison with the period of stateless societies...Show moreThe state is a social phenomenon which first appeared only several thousand years ago. In fact, the period that states have existed for is brief in comparison with the period of stateless societies. Nevertheless, the theoretical debate surrounding state formation and collapse has generated a large and continuous fascination within both academic and non-academic circles. Scholars have attempted to unravel the causes and processes of state formation and collapse, which is not only essential for ancient history, archaeology, anthropology and related disciplines, but also for a more comprehensive understanding of the modern world. One might ask: why produce another work in addition to an already enormous amount of scholarship addressing these topics? Yet, it will become clear that there is no general consensus on these topics. Neither is there a theory of state formation or collapse which can be applied individually and globally through different spatial and temporal settings. This thesis is set out to create a new theory of state formation and collapse, based upon a critical assessment of the most important theories of state formation of collapse, and tested to a case study. In this way, a new approach is taken to answer the following question: “What are the causes and processes behind state formation and collapse and what are the mechanisms that facilitate the process of state formation and collapse?” This will be done for the Old Babylonian state formed by Hammurabi of Babylon (1792-1750 BCE) and which collapsed during the Late Old Babylonian Period.Show less
Dit werk poogt een bijdrage te leveren aan onze kennis over de rol die Rome kende na het invoeren van de tetrarchie en de rol die uiteindelijk voor haar overbleef in het Rijk van Constantijn....Show moreDit werk poogt een bijdrage te leveren aan onze kennis over de rol die Rome kende na het invoeren van de tetrarchie en de rol die uiteindelijk voor haar overbleef in het Rijk van Constantijn. Hierbij wordt gekeken naar de opkomende steden, de senaat en de monumentalisering van de tetrarchen.Show less
This thesis tried to give a new answer concerning cross- cultural interaction between the Roman and Sasanian Realm. Wheareas most literature concludes that interaction between these realms was...Show moreThis thesis tried to give a new answer concerning cross- cultural interaction between the Roman and Sasanian Realm. Wheareas most literature concludes that interaction between these realms was almost impossible, blocked by war, this thesis tried to give another option. Namely, that there is reason to believe there was contact, on economic, stately and social level.Show less
This thesis disagrees with the notion that "for an elite male Roman, privacy was hard to achieve." By presenting several literary fragments dealing with withdrawal, and combining these to rooms...Show moreThis thesis disagrees with the notion that "for an elite male Roman, privacy was hard to achieve." By presenting several literary fragments dealing with withdrawal, and combining these to rooms within Roman society specifically designed for this purpose, the goal was to add new data and arguments to the debate regarding privacy. The outline of the thesis is as following: in the first chapter a classification and categorisation regarding the flexible concept of 'alone' will be presented. After this, the chapters two and three will comprise the datasets (textual and archaeological) of references and ways to withdraw. The final chapter analyses these datasets and concludes with what these thoughts can mean in light of the debate.Show less
