Historians explore for the first time the informal connections between the elite, the military and the common people in imperial Ancient Rome | 04/25/2024 | Samara

Scientists from Samara University. Korolev and the Moscow City Pedagogical University, with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), will conduct a study during which the history of Ancient Rome of the imperial era will be analyzed for the first time from the point of view of the significance of personal connections and informal contacts of three social groups of that time – the political elite (senators), the common people (plebs) and the military garrison of the capital (praetorians). The study will cover almost three centuries of ancient Roman history – from the last quarter of the 1st century. BC. to the first half of the 3rd century. AD Previously, this era, called the Principate by historians, had not been studied in such a context. This scientific project won the RSF competition “Conducting fundamental scientific research and exploratory scientific research by small individual scientific groups“.

“At the moment, in classical historiography, the relationships between the three significant social groups of Ancient Rome of the imperial period – senators, praetorians – soldiers of the capital garrison – and the plebs – the bulk of the population remain practically unstudied. We hope to fill this gap in historical science with the help of a microanalytical approach, the main feature which is an appeal to the specific historical interaction of small groups, especially in an informal way. As a result of the study, we will receive a more detailed understanding of the methods and nature of the interaction of these layers of ancient Roman society, as well as their mutual perception and the influence of their connections and contacts in terms of the prerequisites for the emergence of those. or other historical events” said one of the authors of the project Andrey Markelov , Associate Professor of the Department of General History, International Relations and Documentation Science, Samara University. Queen.

By studying informal connections between different layers of society, scientists will try to find answers to a variety of questions. For example, did senators use the plebs to achieve their political goals and, if so, how? Have there been cases of coincidence of social and political interests of the elite and the common people? Did the emperor really completely usurp control over the capital’s plebs, or did the noble senatorial families secretly compete with the emperor, fighting for patronage* over the mass of ordinary citizens? Were there any connections and of what nature between the praetorians and the senators? How were these connections expressed not only during periods of crisis, but also during everyday peaceful life?

“The answers to these and other questions will allow us to better understand the influence of the social groups under consideration on the political life of Ancient Rome during the imperial era. In turn, this will give a more detailed and real picture of the life of Roman society, an opportunity to better understand certain turning points in the history of this state, the strategies of behavior of the most important layers of Roman society during periods of both calm and during military-political crises. The chronological framework of our study covers the time from the last quarter of the 1st century. BC. to the first half of the 3rd century. AD This is certainly a large-scale period, if we approach the study of the event side of that time. However, we are more interested in social history rather than political history. In addition, unlike historians of the New and Contemporary times, we do not have many surviving sources at our disposal.“, – noted Andrey Markelov.

The heroes of the study could be approximately several hundred inhabitants of Ancient Rome – this is if we talk only about those who will be named. In fact, larger masses of the population will be in the field of view of scientists. The fact is that in many sources, the plebs, for example, are often mentioned only in a generalized form. By the way, about one million people lived in Rome at that time.

Scientists will look for data for research in various historical sources – including in the works of ancient authors, for example, in the famous “Annals” of P. Cornelius Tacitus, a historian and senator who lived at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries. AD Particular attention will be paid to the analysis of epigraphic monuments, that is, inscriptions on walls, funeral slabs, stones.

“Historical works give us a coherent picture of socio-political history and provide the necessary context. Due to the fact that most of their authors were interested primarily in the figure of the emperor and only significant events in history, they often do not contain much information on the topic of interest to us. The most important, numerous and labor-intensive category of sources consists of various types of Latin inscriptions of an official and private nature, left by the Senate as an institution of power, senators, praetorians and ordinary residents of Rome. They allow us to reconstruct the connections between representatives of these social groups. For example, honorifics left by clients for their patrons allow us to learn the identity and social background of their patron, whether he is a senator or not. Analysis of data from tombstone inscriptions of freedmen’s columbariums helps to determine the patron of the deceased and establish the approximate number of his clients“, – said Andrey Markelov.

There are special scientific publications of inscriptions in the world. The most famous and largest is the “Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum”. It consists of 17 volumes of the inscriptions themselves and 13 additional volumes with indexes and illustrations. A new updated edition is now being published. Very recent findings are published in a special magazine “L’Année épigraphique”. The search and selection of the necessary inscriptions is facilitated by the availability of electronic databases on Latin epigraphy created by a number of universities and scientific organizations. All these databases are freely available online.

Another important source will be numismatic data, that is, data from coins – images and inscriptions. Coins are a good source for dating events, helping to determine the official perception and attitude of the emperor towards representatives of the senators, praetorians and plebs. There are special catalogs of Roman coins in both printed and electronic form.

The research project is designed until the end of 2025. As a result, scientists plan to publish articles in leading scientific journals on ancient history, create a historical map reflecting the regional connections of senators and praetorians, and also hold an event (and perhaps more than one) aimed at popularizing the public’s interest in the study of antiquity.

For information

* Ancient Roman society was permeated by the so-called patron-client relationship. Clients were those who sought the patronage and favor of more influential and noble citizens – patrons. The patron helped his clients, and the clients in return provided various services to their patron or periodically paid him a certain amount of money. The patrons even had special servants who were responsible for relations with clients; these servants were called nomenclators.

Senators actively used the resource of patronage in the political struggle and were direct political competitors for the emperors. Previously, in historiography it was believed that with the establishment of imperial power, it was the emperors who became the supreme patrons of ordinary Roman citizens. For example, the poor plebs in Rome were given free food on behalf of the emperor – bread, butter, meat. However, at present, historians are increasingly abandoning this view, since it contradicts the available data on the connections of senators with the plebs.

The senators also had informal connections with the praetorians. At the same time, senators were prohibited from holding any positions in the Praetorian Guard, which guarded the emperor himself. Similar prohibitions for senators applied to another corps that was part of the capital’s garrison – fire brigades. However, guardsmen and firefighters, according to ancient traditions, visited the houses of their patron-senators.

Initially, such contacts were not regulated in any way by the imperial authority, which he took advantage of in 41 AD. e. a number of senators to eliminate Emperor Caligula. Among the emperor’s assassins were both senators and praetorians. This is what forced the new emperor, Claudius, to completely ban his guards from visiting the houses of senators.