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Writing a Dynasty: The Theatre of Ostia

You are now Emperor. Hooray! You have founded a new dynasty of rulers and hope to secure your place in history. The only problem: the last guy who had your job was assassinated and the empire has been in civil war for the last year...

In this blog post we will discuss the Emperor Septimius Severus, the city of Ostia, and how the former used public writing to solidify his position as patron of the later.

When Septimius Severus came to power in 193 CE he commenced a building program in Ostia, Rome's port city. This port was important to Rome's grain supply, which Septimius Severus knew. Thus, he constructed new buildings all around Ostia in order to demonstrate his munificence to its people. On these buildings he placed inscriptions with a powerful message: Ostia and the Empire was going to return to peace and prosperity with the Severans in charge.

The inscription from the Theatre in Ostia. Photo by Jack Hase.

In the theatre in Ostia there is a large inscription commemorating Severus' expansion of the site. This inscription is a perfect example of how Septimius Severus used public writing to secure his place as patron of Ostia. The inscription reads:

IMP CAES DIVI MARCI ANTONINI PII FILIVS
DIVI COMMODI FRATER DIVI ANTONINI PII
NEPOS DIVI HADRANI PRONEP DIVI TRAIANI
PARTHICI ABNEPOS DIVI NERVAE ADNEPOS
L SEPTIMIVS SEVERVS PIVS PERTINAX AVG
ARABICVS ADIABENICVS PP PONTIF MAX
TRIBVNIC POTEST IIII IMP III COS II ET 
MARCVS AVRELIVS ANTONINVS CAESAR
DEDICAVERVNT

(Emperor Caesar, son of the Deified Marcus Antoninus Pius,
Brother of the Deified Commodus, Grandson of the Deified Antoninus Pius,
Great-Grandson of the Deified Hadrian, Great-Great-Grandson of the Deified 
Trajan Parthicus Great-Great-Great-Grandson of the Deified Nerva,
Lucius Septimius Severus Pius Pertinax Augustus
Arabicus Adiabenicus, Father of the Fatherland, Chief Priest,
Holder of Tribunician Power Four Times, Commander-in-Chief Three Times, Consul Twice and
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caesar
Have Dedicated (This Theatre))
[Translation Mine]

This inscription directly ties Septimius Severus and his son (whom we call Caracalla) to the last stable dynasty. Even though the familial connections did not exist by blood, its invocation of this direct lineage give his rule legitimacy. The placement of this text in public space adds to the text's importance in three ways:

1) The inscriptions Septimius Severus placed around Ostia emitted his power. In the Roman world there were not TV or online news feeds like we have today. In times of turmoil, like that which preceded Severus' reign, uncertainty about the state of the Empire would have been wide spread. With texts like these, Severus was able to reach into urban spaces without needing to be present. These inscriptions served to enact his power and give his message of newfound stability in his place. In this way the inscription itself was a vehicle of imperial power.
The theatre in Ostia overlooking the Piazza of the Corporations. Photo by Jack Hase.

2) This inscription dominated public areas of high traffic and defined the space it occupied in line with Severus' goals. This inscription was part of Ostia's theatre, a site that overlooks the Piazza of the Corporations. This open space was the hub in which the city's different trade and commercial groups would interact with each other and with clients. This was one of the most publicly visible places in Ostia. The fact that this inscription dominated the space is important because it provides a definition of the space. One could not go to this area without the knowledge that they were benefiting from Severus' patronage. In this way the people of Ostia would have not only acknowledged imperial patronage, but actively engage with it in their daily lives. The space was tied to the inscription. The inscription tied the space to the Emperor.

3) Finally, by connecting the space with the Emperor, this inscription defined the relationship between the people and the Emperor. The contact stated that the Emperor was willing to spend money patronizing the city. This was his part of the bargain. However, the people had a part in this too. By living and functioning within the spaces built by the Emperor, the people benefited from his patronage. Their lived experience made them his clients. Therefore, these inscriptions informed the people of their status as imperial clients. Furthermore, that since they were Romans they should probably be good clients.

When we break this inscription down along these lines we can see that the main story is about legitimacy. The message of the text invokes the legitimacy of dynasty and family. This inscription then carried the Emperor's message to the people and manifested his power where they were placed. This power defined the space in terms of the Emperor. The space gave the message to the people that they were his clients. Through this series of functions the people of Ostia became the subjects of the new Emperor in a real, defined, and contractual way; Ostia was a client of Severus.

Valete.

Bibliography:

Corbier, Mirelle. "Writing in Roman Public Space." In Written Space in the Latin West, 200 BC to AD 300, edited by Gareth Sears, Peter Keegan, and Ray Laurence. London: Bloomsbury, 2003.

Meiggs, Russel. Roman Ostia. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Claredon Press, 1973.

Woolf, Greg. "Literacy or Literacies in Rome?" In Ancient Literacies: The Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome, edited by William A. Johnson and Holt N. Parker. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

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