Cassius Dio

Caillan Davenport y Christopher Mallan han editado un libro necesario sobre Dión Casio en el que las diferentes aportaciones de los investigadores participantes proporcionan un relato integrador y coherente sobre un autor que, al parecer, está de moda a juzgar por los diversos estudios recientes sobre su figura y su obra.

The paper examines the upsurge of piracy in the last century of the Roman Republic, to underline its impact on politics. Analysing the testimonials about the period after 105 BC, we can appreciate that as well as interfering in the wars against Mithridates, the fight against the pirates who were also infesting the western Mediterranean, gained a meaningful role in the political agenda. Some prominent figures on the public scene engaged by the institutions to solve the problem, exploited it to gain extraordinary powers that would take on a different meaning depending on the circumstances and their personalities, as shown by Pompey’s command of 67 BC. He took advantage of his skill to dissimulate his ambitions and the auctoritas he enjoyed, to obtain a position that, despite modern historiography’s difficulty with establishing its juridical limits, was the first step in his quest to rise to absolute power. This continued not only the following year with the new command that the Lex Manilia granted him, but also in the next decade when Pompey consolidated his position, taking advantage of the financial difficulties linked to the shortage of food supplies, not unlike those caused previously by the pirates’ incursions. All of this is witnessed on the one hand by Cicero, whose opinion of this figure became gradually more negative in the period from 66-49 BC, on the other by Imperial Age historiography. Centuries afterwards the latter was able to perceive and underline more and more explicitly the subversive novelty of the extraordinary command given to Pompey to eradicate piracy, bringing out its major role in the process leading to the decline of the Republican institutions and the creation of the Principality.

Analysis of some sections of Remigio Nannini's anthologies of historiographical speeches (Venice, Giolito 1557; 1560; 1561), with special reference to the orations taken from Cassius Dio’s ‘Roman History’, in order to show the tendency of the Dominican Compiler to revitalize their meaning and to interpret their content in the light of the political context of late Cinquecento Florence.

The replacement of the Sassanians was a turning point in the imperial geostrategic policies. Thus, the change in the Romans' viewpoint of the Eastern superpower soon manifested itself in the very first works of contemporary historiography with Ardashir I. Roman writers sought to bridge the gap between the Sassanians and the memory of the Achaemenians. The purpose of this study is to understand the Roman mentality and the function of the propagandistic apparatus of this empire, including their new perception and depiction of third-century Iran, and to answer the question of what was the Roman reactions. Based on this research, it seems that the Roman strategy in the third century C.E. was to magnify its military successes against the Persians and even to present false reports and distort the reality. During this period, they developed political topoi to represent the events on their eastern fronts, which continued into the later centuries.
جابجاییِ اشکانیان با ساسانیان چرخشی بزرگ در سیاست‌های ژئواستراتژیک شاهنشاهی ایران بود. به این ترتیب، تغییر نگاهِ رومیان نسبت به ابرقدرتِ شرقی خیلی زود در همان نخستین آثار تاریخ‌نگارانۀ معاصر با اردشیر بابکان خود را نمایان کرد و نگارندگان رومی تلاش کردند میانِ ساسانیان و خاطرۀ هخامنشیان پل بزنند. هدف از این پژوهش شناختِ ذهنیتِ روم و کارکردِ دستگاهِ تبلیغاتیِ این امپراتوری شاملِ برداشت (Perception) و انگاشتِ (Depiction) تازه‌بنیادِ آنان از ایرانِ سدۀ سوم و پاسخ به این پرسش است که روم، افزون بر این درک و فهم از شرایط جدید، چه واکنشی متناسب با آن ارائه کرد. بر پایۀ این پژوهش، به نظر می‌رسد راهبردِ روم در سدۀ سخت و دشوار سوم میلادی بزرگنمایی در کامیابی‌های نظامی‌اش در برابر ساسانیان و حتی ارائۀ گزارش‌های رسمیِ ساختگی و وارونه جلوه ‌دادن واقعیت بود. آنان در این دوره به یک کلیشه سیاسی-رسانه‌ای برای بازنماییِ رخدادهای جبهه‌های شرقیِ خود دست پیدا کردند که در سده‌های سپسین ادامه یافت.

The Dacian Kingdom was a formidable opponent to the Roman Empire. However, it’s suprising to find a pronounced tone of wonder and acknowledgment in the greco-roman literary fonts to this enemy: far away of the classical stereotyped perception of the “barbarían”, the Dacians, the Dacian Kingdom and its most prominents sovereigns are described in a very remote line of vision against the greco-roman insight about any other foreign entity. The image of two key sovereigns of the Dacian History, Burebista and Decebalus, built by the same classical fonts, particularly attracts our attention: the first was a founder and civilizing King, creator of a power took into account by Rome along and after his reign; the second was a clever strategist, who was able to (could) put the Roman Empire against the wall, being the tragic hero of the fall and conquest of his Kingdom during the Trajan’s Dacian Wars (AD 101-106). To that is added that Burebista (without forgetting Deceneus, his adviser and heir) and Decebalus became in the personified definition of the culture, the Kingdom and the Dacian “State” in the collective imaginary of the classical fonts that speak about them.

The paper examines the peculiarities of Cassius Dio’s narrative in Julio-Claudian books of his «Roman History». Dio’s work, as a whole, reveals a remarkable combination of contradictory features, which are specifically mirrored in books LI–LXIII. Here he combines traditional annalistic narration with considerable biographical component, an antiquarian interest for Roman past with actual political allusions of his own time, superficially descriptive account of the events with rather thin penetration into an essence of things and characters of mentioned persons, aristocratic class bias with realness (sometimes even cynicism) of author’s view on the course of history and human nature, multiple rhetorical stamps with genuine dramatics in drawing situations and characters, banality (or even naivety) of many his judgments with originality of offered answers to challenges of time, and so on. Dio’s personality and topical problems of Severan age are directly reflected in the general character and maintenance of the Julio-Claudian books. Because of his own life experience and assiduous study of the beginnings of the Principate, Dio was convinced of possibility to unite monarchical rule and liberty (in its senatorial sense). Especially, Augustus’ example showed how a decent output from the turn of civil wars and an imperial arbitrariness can be found. Hence the historian’s special interest to the first imperial dynasty results.

Preview of the first two pages. Please email me for a PDF offprint at caillan.davenport@gmail.com

This article offers an explanation as to why Cassius Dio praises aspects of Vitellius' conduct as emperor in his Roman History (65.6-7). Although Dio preserves much of the standard invective against the emperor, he also acknowledges Vitellius' clemency towards his predecessors' supporters, his restrictions on aristocratic participation in gladiatorial combats, and his even-handed treatment of his fellow senators. It is argued that Dio chose to highlight this behaviour because it contrasted positively with the negative examples of emperors during his own lifetime. This conclusion enhances our understanding of Dio's historical methodology, demonstrating that he was able to discriminate between an emperor's character deficiencies and the good aspects of his rule.

Ce livre propose une réflexion d’ensemble sur la septième Vie de l’Histoire Auguste, consacrée à l’empereur Commode, fils du philosophe Marc Aurèle et dernier des Antonins. L’auteur met d’abord en évidence son indéniable valeur historique et recherche les sources qui l’ont inspiré. Elle explore ensuite les éléments qu’il est suceptible d’apporter à la connaissance d’un recueil de biographies qui reste l’une des œuvres les plus énigmatiques que nous ait transmis l’Antiquité. Traçant le portrait d’un personnage haut en couleurs, le premier malus princeps de la collection, la Vita Commodi  recèle en effet, sur la personnalité du biographe anonyme et les objectifs qu’il assigne à son œuvre, plus d’indices que ne le laisserait de prime abord soupçonner sa richesse historique.

This paper examines how and why Cassius Dio portrayed Julia Domna in the manner that he did. Dio consistently depicts Julia as foreign and power-hungry, a portrait that appears to be driven by his analysis of the later Severan regime. Julia serves as a link between the two halves of the dynasty, a claim that runs counter to the of cial line of Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. The later Severan house, seen by Dio as foreign and dominated by powerful female  figures, informs his portrayal of Julia Domna and shows a continuity of analysis throughout the  nal books of his history.

Le livre 52 de l'Histoire romaine de Cassius Dion est au cœur de cette contribution. Loin d'opposer frontalement démocratie et monarchie, les discours respectifs d'Agrippa et Mécène proposent deux visions de la démocratie, que la mise en forme rhétorique (in utramque partem) permet de mieux cerner.

The defeat of Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE had profound repercussions for Roman history as it opened the way for the transition from Republic to principate. The conditions that allowed the Battle of Actium to occur were the result of the competition between Mark Antony and Octavian (Caesar), a competition that reached a critical point in 32 BCE. Different versions of the events that led to the Battle of Actium, however, can be observed in Plutarch's 'Life of Antony' (late 1st or early 2nd second centuries CE) and Dio Cassius' 'Roman History' (early 3rd century CE). An examination of Plutarch and Dio Cassius highlights points of difference and similarity and from this a plausible narrative of events for 32 can be reconstructed. The issue centres around Mark Antony's will. Both Plutarch and Dio demonstrate that Octavian manoeuvred effectively to gain access to Antony's will. In Dio's version the action flowed smoothly, while in Plutarch's account the action was slowed by the obstruction of the Vestals. One discrepancy between these two accounts lies in the identification of the custodian of Antony's will in Rome. Plutarch and Dio proposed different custodians - the Vestal Virgins, and a (nameless) man. Both sources could be wrong, but they certainly cannot both be correct. This paper proposes that Plutarch's inclusion of the Vestal Virgins represents the more plausible version of events and that Dio's identification of a man as the custodian of the will indicates the differing aims of his narrative.

Agrippa's Pantheon remains the subject of lively debates. A much-discussed passage is found in Cassius Dio's Roman History (53.27.2-3), which is most often treated as a stand-alone, self-explanatory whole. However, in order to be comprehensible, each text needs a broader range of reference points in order for meaning to be extracted. In this paper, I analyze part of that contextual spectrum (including Dio's attitude to the so-called imperial cult and the roles played in his narrative by the cults of both Augustus and Caesar), and I argue that we should view his account of the Pantheon with considerable caution. That account contains three different narrative threads: one based on the annalist tradition, but also one which drew on the author's own experiences, and one that constituted a literary and rhetorical overlay aimed at realizing the general objectives of the Roman History. In this account, the 'former Caesar' has been placed in between twice over: between the author's historical knowledge and his present circumstances, and between the realms of gods and humans. That imprecise nature of this expression was no accident. I believe the expression was not so much a reference to a specific statue as a figure of speech emphasizing the difference, fundamental from Dio's perspective, between the incumbent emperor and his deceased predecessor.

Este livro reúne artigos voltados ao estudo de aspectos da literatura helenística e de sua influência na produção literária posterior, abrangendo variados assuntos, tais como épica, historiografia, mimo, teatro, biografia e filosofia. A publicação dessa coleção de textos desempenha um importante papel na divulgação da produção crítica oriunda da "Quarta Semana de Estudos sobre o Período Helenístico", organizada pelo grupo de pesquisa "Hellenistica" e ocorrida na Universidade de São Paulo entre os dias 17 e 18 de setembro de 2015, por meio de financiamento da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) e do Departamento de Letras Clássicas e Vernáculas (DLCV - FFLCH - USP).

Publius Helvius Pertinax (126-193 CE) was Roman emperor in the early months of 193, following the murder of Commodus. While feted by the senatorial order, he struggled to win the loyalty of other political constituencies within the Roman state. After a reign of only eighty-seven days, he was assassinated in the imperial palace by soldiers of the praetorian guard.

For EAH, see:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444338386

This article presents ancient Roman texts dealing with the topic of same-sex weddings with the purpose of examining the reliability of these sources and contributing to the understanding of this element of the ancient tradition. In order to do so, this paper takes literary and historiographical sources and legal aspects into consideration, making use of research by Craig Williams, Bruce Frier, and Michael Fontaine. Apart from a Late Imperial constitutio, our most important sources are historiographical works on two emperors of scandalous reign, namely Nero and Elagabalus; Juvenal’s Satire 2; and two epigrams by Martial: 1, 24 and 12, 42. In the closing section of the paper, I suggest a new interpretation for the punchline of the latter poem.

Caracalla. A Military Biography is now available as a hardcover, Kindle and e-book an from the website of its publisher Pen & Sword Publishing and from most of the major booksellers.  It is not only the first published biography in English of this remarkable individual, but also the first that reassess the evidence from the point of view of military history.

L'historien romain d'expression grecque Cassius Dion (3e s.), qui écrivit une œuvre monumentale sur l'Histoire de Rome, rapporte dans le livre 43 les triomphes de César de retour à Rome en 46 a. C. Il s'attarde plus particulièrement sur l'exhibition d'un animal surprenant que les Romains virent pour la première fois lors de cette occasion : le "caméléopard". Nous nous interrogeons, d'un point de vue littéraire, sur cette insistance particulière de la part de Dion et, d'un point de vue politique, sur le sens de ce geste de la part de César.

Article en ligne en intégralité : https://telem.u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr/images/3_Article_dAntoine_Jayat.pdf

Cet article est issu d'une communication de 2016, qui tint place à l'occasion de la 2e journée des doctorants du laboratoire TELEM (Bordeaux) : https://telem.u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr/publications/journees-d-etude-des-doctorants/38-journees-d-etude-des-doctorants/197-2eme-journee-d-etudes-des-doctorants

It has long been argued, on the basis of dating evidence provided by Josephus, that the Roman General Pompey captured Jerusalem sometime in 63 BC.  This paper argues that a conquest in the fall of 64 BC is much better supported by the available evidence, including that provided by Josephus.

A critical examination of the ancient sources regarding Julius Caesar's opposition to the execution of Catiline's co-conspirators.  Sallust's account is compared to the evidence from Cicero's speech (In Catilinam IV), along with later accounts.
The paper is based on an old 1979 assignment, but with some reference updates and other minor adjustments.

[Unpublished version. For published version, see Madsen and Lange, eds. Brill. 2021, or write me.]

This chapter begins with an introduction to and reading of Fragment 49 of Cassius Dio’s Roman History, a passage that discusses Teuta, queen of the Ardiaei during the First Illyrian War. Dio’s treatment of Teuta places her sex in the foreground and explains the Ardiaean failure as a result of her gender. This simple and static negative depiction of Teuta contrasts with the representation of other feminine exempla throughout the Roman History, as a brief survey shows. Behind this static depiction, however, there are more complicated implications in terms of Dio’s historiographic process, from sourcework to approaches to gender and character analysis. Teuta, therefore, plays a significant role as barometer of feminine exemplarity throughout the Roman History.

Paper deals with the historical story of the advent of Christianity. Examines what Christianity had to offer Rome during its war with the Jews (placation of slaves & the poor, promise of life after death & "reward", making soldiers unafraid to die, "comforting" dead soldier's family, etc.).

Kbor Klib, the battlefield of Zama.



The purpose of this short paper is to provide supporting evidence drawn from the histories of; Polybius, Livy, Appian and Cassius Dio to identify the location of the battlefield of Zama as being at Kbor Klib as proposed Duncan Ross.

RESUMEN. Primera propuesta de la hipótesis de que Mérida pasara por tres procesos fundacionales, el más antiguo debido a Julio César (como 'praesidium' militar o ya 'municipium'), un segundo realizado por Publio Carisio en torno a los años 25-21 a. C., y un tercero en torno a 16-15 a. C. (después de pacificada totalmente Hispania), que es el que coincide con la nueva condición colonial inmune, con la capitalidad de la nueva Lusitania, y con el proceso de monumentalización augusteo. En esta fase Agripa desempeña, en representación de Augusto, el papel de 'ktístes' como evergeta y "constructor", pues hay que partir del hecho lingüístico de que Dión Casio LIII, 26, 1 (la única fuente para ello) no habla de ninguna "fundación ex novo", como siempre se ha venido -y se sigue- creyendo, ya que hacía siglos que el significado primitivo del verbo griego que usa Dión, 'ktísai',  se había perdido (esto aplicando M. Casevitz, 1985) (es un argumento muy sólido, pero que los detractores evitan cuidadosamente) . En este trabajo se propugnó por primera vez que fenómenos similares ocurrieron en otras ciudades, como Corduba o Caesarea Augusta, en las que los respectivos papeles de "nuevos fundadores/evergetas" serían desempeñados por Marcelo, el sobrino de Augusto, y por Germánico.

Hipótesis de 1987, bien explayada en este artículo de 1989: http://www.academia.edu/1075547/Colonia_Iulia_Augusta_Emerita_Consideraciones_en_torno_a_su_fundacion_y_territorio . En trabajos posteriores, de 2004-2006, la autora amplió desde 11 hasta 20 los argumentos de distintos tipos a favor de una fundación anterior de Emerita, seguramente cesariana según lo propuesto en 1987, cf. https://www.academia.edu/2407037/SOBRE_LA_VERDADERA_FECHA_DE_LA_FUNDACION_DE_MERIDA y passim.

I argue that the speech given to the tyrannicide Cassius at Bella Civila 4.90-100 is largely Appian's own composition, and resonates with a number of other themes and issues raised by the historian elsewhere in the text in addition to echoing Appian's own language.

Les Rencontres Doctorales 2016 de l'ED 131, Paris-VII, avait pour thème Origine / Origines. Lors de ces conférences, j'ai essayé d'aborder la diversité des constructions religieuses autour d'un évènement à la fois naturelle et historique: une pluie qui sauva l'armée romaine en 172-174 ap. J-C et fut attribuée à différents responsables: l'empereur romain, le dieu chrétien, un magicien égyptien, un mage chaldéen. Le document en ligne est l'exemplier des sources importantes du dossier. Une version imprimée simplifiée est consultable à la BnF. Je signale un ERRATUM: p. 28, RELIG(io) AUG(usti).

The historiographical writings of Arrian, Appian, Herodian, and Cassius Dio pose interesting challenges to how we characterize Second Sophistic literature. With its ostensible goal of telling the truth about the past, imperial Greek historiography seems incompatible with the large bulk of imperial Greek writing that is more obviously inspired by declamation and whose main goal is the virtuosic display of erudition, or paideia. Furthermore, inasmuch as this historiography focuses primarily on Roman history, it hardly fulfills the stereotype of Second Sophistic literature as thematically Hellenocentric, even if it is similarly characterized by linguistic Atticism. This chapter therefore argues for an expanded definition of the Second Sophistic that can meaningfully accommodate the peculiarly hybrid nature of historiography on the levels of both genre and cultural politics-as "earnest" history somewhat dominated by rhetoric, and as work better described as "Greco-Roman" than as essentially "Greek."

Dio ve Dion Cassius olarak da bilinen Cassius Dio Cocceianus, MS 155-164 yılları arasında Bithynia eyaletindeki Nicaea kentinde doğmuştur. Bithynia'nın önde gelen aristokrat ailelerinden birine mensuptur. Babası Cilicia ve Dalmatia valisi olarak görev yapmış Romalı bir senatör olan M. Cassius Apronianus, dedesi ise ünlü hatip Dio Chrysostomos (yak., 40-115)'tur. Antoninus Pius (138-161) döneminde Roma'nın eyaleti olan Bithynia'da doğan Cassius Dio yaklaşık 180 yılında Roma'ya gitmiş ve orada hızlı bir devlet kariyeri yapmıştır. Praetor, consul, Africa proconsul'lüğü ve Roma eyaletlerinde legatus olarak görev yapmıştır. Antik çağın önemli tarihçilerinden olan Cassius Dio seksen kitaptan oluşan Hellence bir Roma Tarihi yazmıştır. Eser, Aeneas'ın İtalya'ya ayak basmasından başlayıp MS 229 yılına kadar geçen yaklaşık 1000 yıllık zaman dilimini kapsamaktadır.

I analyze each of the major characters, especially in the ambiguity of them all. There is no clear tragic hero, as they can all be both heroic and tragic. However, one does exist and it is Rome herself. I then discuss the worldview that Shakespeare puts forth, the theatrum mundi (the world as a stage), and the underlying moral message of Stoicism.

Cassius Dio has never been held in high esteem by historians dedicated to Roman History. As a Greek, he was considered unable to understand the Roman Empire. As a Roman senator, he was blamed for showing little respect for the phylogeny of the emperor Trajan when he wrote that the first provincial emperor was «an Iberian, and neither an Italian nor even an Italiot». In this paper I propose a new interpretation of this text. I will try to show that the source of this text is Hadrian’s Autobiography, now lost. Hadrian devised a multicultural and multiracial identity for himself, and also for the Roman Empire, in an attempt to integrate the diversity of its regions and peoples.

The fundamental purpose of this book is to compare the perspectives and methods of two Imperial Roman historians, Appian (ca. AD 92-165) and Cassius Dio (ca. AD 162-239), through a detailed comparison of their accounts of the triumviral period in Roman history (44-35 BC).  As virtually the sole surviving historical sources for the period, the Histories of Appian and Dio are crucial to our understanding of the turbulent years between the assassination of Julius Caesar and the establishment of Augustus as the first Roman emperor.  But as representatives of a long tradition of Greeks writing Roman history and, more significantly, as members of the Roman Imperial bureaucracy, Appian and Dio merit study in their own right.  Indeed, comparison of the two reveals numerous dissimilarities that can only be adequately explained by considering the impact of their own particular circumstances on their comprehensive Roman histories.  Most studies of these two historians, however, have concentrated on their reliability as historians.  This study, by contrast, seeks to show how the differing triumviral narratives of Appian and Dio reflect the evolution of historical writing between the second and third centuries AD, when the Roman empire passed from the period of its greatest prosperity to that of irreversible decline.

Why was an unknown man insisting he was Alexander the Great received with distinct deference by Roman officials and Bacchic celebration by hundreds of attendants around A.D. 221? Examining Dio Cassius's presentation in light of contemporary beliefs, one finds that the enthusiastic reception most probably was due to the conviction that Alexander had actually returned physically immortal and deified, either resurrected or never having died at all. The respectful awe of the officials was also most likely caused by either this belief or by their holding that this was the dead and disembodied hērōs of the famed conqueror.

Writing in the first half of the third century CE, Cassius Dio, a Roman senator of Bithynian origin, composed an eighty-book history of Rome, from the founding of the city until about 229 CE.  The final portion of this work, specifically books 73(72)-80(80), provides an account of the reign of Commodus up to the accession and early part of the reign of Alexander Severus.  Dio was an eyewitness to this a period, and he explains that this section will be full of his own observations of events and will even record information that might not otherwise be worthy of inclusion, except for the fact that he himself was witness to it.  Dio, as a Roman senator, also plays a secondary role in this section of his history, as the author frequently discusses positions that he held, his interactions with emperors, and his presence in the senate.

Strikingly, the work ends not with some event of importance to Roman history or with the end of a particular reign, but rather with Cassius Dio's own retirement from public life.  The uniqueness of this endpoint is enhanced by the closing words of the work, which were not Dio's own, but rather a quotation from the eleventh book of Homer's Iliad.  In this passage, which Dio says was sent to him in a dream, Hector is removed from the battlefield and saved from the destruction of war by Zeus.  This quotation brings both a personal and menacing sense to the end of the history.  Dio appears to implicitly compare himself to Hector, and if the lines from Homer mentioned only some monumental struggle, we might assume that Dio was simply relieved to have completed such a grand work under the protection of the gods.  The slaughter, blood, and din of battle, however, give us the impression that Dio is thankful to distance himself from the subject matter, specifically the final eight books of his history.  The reader of books 73(72)-80(80) would hardly be surprised by this quotation.  Dio calls this period one of iron and rust, describing it as generally devoid of any positive aspects and characterized by turmoil and instability. 

The personal nature of both the end of the work and the contemporary portion as a whole begs further analysis.  Commentators on Dio's contemporary history have observed that this section reads like a memoir and have suggested that Dio serves as a sort of alternative to the debased world in which he lives.  Others, however, have noted a more pessimistic aspect of the function of Dio's character in his text.  Dio's political survival through this period, especially with his final reference to Hector's departure from the battlefield, on the surface suggests that he be viewed as a valorous hero under the protection of the gods.  Dio's history, on the other hand, is a highly critical narrative of his own era and can therefore be read as a reflection on his participation in the political life of this period, as well as a corrective to it.  The memoir-like nature of the text suggests that Dio carved out for himself a dual identity, as both senator and then annalist, participant and then critic.  Through this identity, Dio attempts to claim authority as a historian.

This paper reconsiders the political facets and purposes of Caracalla’s imitatio Alexandri and esteem for Sulla. Both emulations represented the result of a well-pondered political way of thinking and acting. On the one hand, Caracalla reclaimed the exemplum Sullanum displayed by his father, and sought to lead fruitfully the edgy relationships with the Roman political class also through the political role-model embodied by Sulla; on the other hand, by activating the cultural and historical heritage of Alexander in the hellenophone and Near Eastern provinces, the Emperor aimed to interact effectively with the local communities, elites, and populations.

Der Aufsatz befasst sich mit der Darstellung Neros und Domitians als Tyrannen bei Cassius Dio. Als grundlegend für die negative Schilderung der beiden erweist sich das Verfahren der ,Dekomposition‘: Am Beispiel von Neros Bewertung als Künstler und der Einschätzung Domitians als eines siegreichen und beliebten Autokraten zeigt sich, wie Cassius Dio ursprünglich
positiv codierte Repräsentationselemente durch verschiedene
rhetorische Mechanismen in negative verkehrt. Dabei wird durch den Vergleich mit Sueton und Tacitus deutlich, dass Cassius Dios literarische Inszenierung beider Kaiser stark durch die zeitgenössischen Umstände des frühen 3. Jahrhunderts bestimmt ist, auf die der Historiker, Schriftsteller und Politiker mit seiner kritischen Darstellung reagiert.

Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La loi du 11 mars 1957 sur la propriété littéraire et intellectuelle interdit les copies ou reproductions destinées à une utilisation collective. Toute représentation ou reproduction intégrale ou partielle faite par quelque procédé que ce soit sans le consentement de l'éditeur ou de ses ayants droit, est illicite et constitue une contrefaçon sanctionnée par les articles 425 et suivants du Code pénal.

Summary:

The landscape Agisymba embraced a vast area south of the Sahara from Lake Chad to the west to the Niger bend and belonged politically to the reign of the king of the Garamantes. This king had his headquarters in the city of Garama in today's Fezzan. Agisymba is first time mentioned in the geographical work of the Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century A. D.). An accurate localization of the landscape of Agisymba is still expected, but it is also believed in modern research to be an antecedent kingdom of Kanem. In the second half of the 1st century. A. D., Iulius Maternus who was probably a native of Roman North African, traveled from Leptis Magna to Garama. There he joined the entourage of the king of the Garamantes and traveled further four months a southerly direction until the landscape Agisymba. There are various considerations, what role Iulius Maternus had played during this expedition: he was seen as a Roman general, as a businessman or as a diplomat. I see in Maternus a diplomat who received the unique opportunity to make the extensive territory south of the Sahara accessible for the geographers in the Greco-Roman world. The cause of this long journey is assumed by many researchers to be a military campaign of the king of the Garamantes against rebellious subjects, or as a razzia.

An essay on the great fire of Rome in A.D. 64 in the time of emperor Nero as reported by the five earliest accounts. It includes the subsequent events immediately following the fire and the blame made by Nero of the Christian sect in the city. Briefly discussed are western media documentary history programmes which have reported the fire from a completely revisionist viewpoint, by ignoring these accounts which blame Nero for instigating the fire. (Extract from my book, Keith Prosser, 'Was Jesus Crucified?', Lulu.com)

This essay is an in-depth study and analysis of the lives of the two British women, Boudica of the Iceni and Queen Cartimandua of the Brigantes. It will also examine the gender rhetoric used by both Tacitus and Cassius Dio to ascertain why both of these powerful women were portrayed in such a manners in which they were.