Roma, Auctrix Imperii? Rome's Role in Imperial Propaganda and Policy from 293 CE until 324 CE

Abstract

<p>By the early fourth century Rome was more than a thousand years old and the historical <em>caput mundi</em> was, accordingly, steeped in long established traditions. It was these historical traditions and memories that served as paradigms for understanding present circumstances. One such paradigm was the relationship between Rome and her emperors. Traditionally, monarchical power was the antithesis of the Roman Republican model, yet Augustus uniquely altered this model and established a new acceptable paradigm wherein the emperor was the <em>princeps civitatis</em> and the patron to all Romans. This imperial patronage was characterized primarily by the commissioning of public buildings in the <em>Urbs</em> and the maintenance of Rome’s cults and traditions. Therefore, Rome was inextricably intertwined with the legitimacy, success (or failure), and longevity of an emperor’s reign. Throughout the third century, however, Rome was plagued by manifold crises and the paradigmatic relationship between Rome and her rulers began to break down, such that some scholars have suggested that from 293 CE and the establishment of the tetrarchy Rome became increasingly manifest wherever the emperors were, with the city itself becoming nothing more than a peripheral concern. The former line of argumentation, however, is often advanced with the belief that Rome’s diminishing importance was uninterrupted and invariable, often disregarding the evidence within the city itself and focusing on monumental evidence outside of Rome and across the empire. This thesis, then, by examining the evidence within the city of Rome and that pertaining to it, demonstrates that between 293 and 324 CE Rome’s marginalization was anything but consistent and that the city, with all its symbolic and actual power, was integral to Maxentius’ and Constantine’s legitimation policies. Moreover, this thesis also elucidates how Rome functioned in imperial thought for each regime, with old paradigms becoming malleable to accommodate new imperial policy.</p>