De la victoire au pouvoir : développement et manifestations de l´idéologie impératoriale à l´époque de Marius et Sylla
(2010)
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- This PhD thesis deals with the development and the expressions of the “imperatorial” ideology in the time of Marius and Sulla (107-78 B.C.). Thanks to their military commands both figures gained a political position which broke the traditional frame of Roman republican institutions. These two men’s ambitions and power were naturally supported by propaganda which primarily aimed at exalting their military successes. The thesis follows a double objective. On the one hand, it intends to shed light on the constitutive themes of the Marian and Sullan ideologies. A particular attention is given to the various stages of the genesis of these ideologies and to their relation with the political and mental context of the period. On the other hand, the thesis aims at shedding a light on the various instruments of propaganda used by Marius, Sulla, and their followers. Strongly emphasized are the numismatic sources, which are too often neglected or misused by the historians, in spite of their decisive contribution for this kind of study. The general structure of the thesis follows a chronological division. In the first part, which is on the period ranging from Marius’ first consulate to Sulla’s (107-88 B.C.), I begin by evaluating the role of the religious themes in their respective propaganda. I then broaden the focus by examining the general “religious climate” of this period, which appears particularly dominated by one deity: Apollo, seen as a god of victory, whose protection the two imperatores tried to monopolize. I finally give an overall picture of the themes of the imperatorial ideology concurrently developed by Marius and Sulla at this time. The second part of the thesis, which deals with the years of Sulla’s campaign in the Orient and in Italy (87-82 B.C.) is opened by a chapter on the several coinages issued in order to finance the military operations in the Greek world and in the Italian peninsula. The second chapter gives a thorough study of two images appearing on several Sullan coin types: the two trophies on the one hand, the jug and the lituus on the other. I then examine the various divine patronages which Sulla claimed for himself: particularly the patronages of Aphrodite-Venus, who is closely bound with Ares-Mars, and of Ma-Bellona. The last part of the thesis is conceived as an epilogue. It deals with the time of the Sullan domination, when the imperatorial ideology, whose main theme is victory, evolves into an ideology of the “restoration”. I propose an interpretative key of the religious policy of Sulla Felix dictator, whose fundament was the felicitas of the State’s leader and the patronage of three great divinities: Jupiter, Apollo, and Venus.
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Assenmaker, P. (2010). De la victoire au pouvoir : développement et manifestations de l´idéologie impératoriale à l´époque de Marius et Sylla. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/96935