The Partial Historians

We’ve reached a huge

While our narrative history of Rome is still very much in the early republic, the consul is a position that many aficionados of ancient Rome are familiar with. But how much do we know about the consul especially in the early years of the republic? We’re here to sift through the evidence!

After the expulsion of the Tarquins, Rome is left facing a crisis of governance. How best to restructure the state in the wake of the collapse of monarchy?

The Romans innovative solution was to divide the powers of the rex between two men, thereby saving the populace from the tyranny of a sole ruler. But to claim that the Romans came to this decision cleanly, and with a clarity of what this would really look like, is to miss the fascinating complexities of the way the role developed over time.

In this special episode we’ll trace the some of the key features of the consulship and explore what the position entailed in the early republic, the late republic, and the early empire. There’s plenty to enjoy here including:

• a return to the relationship between magistracies and assemblies;
• the role of consuls in war;
• and the consuls’ relationship with the gods.

Alexandre Jacovleff ‘Ancient Roman Senators’ illustration for The General History Edited by Satyricon (1911)

Interested in learning more about the consulship? These are the major sources we consulted in preparation for this episode and we definitely recommend them for getting a handle on the subject!

Beck, H., Duplá, A., Jehne, M., & Pino Polo, F. 2011. ‘The republic and its highest office: some introductory remarks on the Roman consulate’ in Beck, H., Duplá, A., Jehne, M., Pina Polo, F. (eds) Consuls and Res Publica: Holding High Office in the Roman Republic (Cambridge University Press), 1-15.

‘Consul’ in Pauly’s Realencyclopadie der classischen Altumsumswissenschaft Band IV, 1, col. 1112-1138 (1900).

Eck, W. 2019. ‘Suffect consul‘ in Cancik, H., Schneider, H., Salazar, C. F. (eds) Brill’s New Pauly (Last accessed 29/9/2019)

Drogula, F. K. 2015. Commanders and Command in the Roman Republic and Early Empire (University of North Carolina Press)

Gizewski, C. 2019. ‘Consul(es)’ in Cancik, H., Schneider, H., Salazar, C. F. (eds) Brill’s New Pauly (Last accessed 29/9/2019)

Hölkeskamp, K. 2011. ‘The Roman republic as theatre of power: the consuls as leading actors’ in Beck, H., Duplá, A., Jehne, M., Pina Polo, F. (eds) Consuls and Res Publica: Holding High Office in the Roman Republic (Cambridge University Press), 161-181.

Hurlet, F. 2011. ‘Consulship and consuls under Augustus’ in Beck, H., Duplá, A., Jehne, M., Pina Polo, F. (eds) Consuls and Res Publica: Holding High Office in the Roman Republic (Cambridge University Press), 319-35.

Malik, S.; Davenport, C., ‘Mythbusting Ancient Rome – Caligula’s Horse’ (4/5/2017), The Conversation (Last accessed on 5/10/2019)

Scullard, H. H. 1982. From the Gracchi to Nero (Routledge, London)

Smith, C. 2011. ‘The magistrates of the early Republic’, in Beck, H., Duplá, A., Jehne, M., Pina Polo, F. (eds) Consuls and Res Publica: Holding High Office in the Roman Republic (Cambridge University Press), 19-40.

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It is c. 459 BCE and Rome faces the consequences of the Capitol having been seized and a consul killed in the previous year. The challenges come on two fronts: Tusculum and Antium.

Episode 99 – Tusculum and Antium

• Quintus Fabius M. f. K. n. Vibulanus cos. III
• Lucius Cornelius Ser. f. P. n. Maluginensus Uritnus

The Latins and

The Aequians

These tussles lead to military actions in Algidum and Ecetra, both of which are near the territory of the Aequians and the latter is described by Dionysius as the “most prominent city of the Volscian nation” (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 10.21.3).

Rome has been raiding Antium for the past few years and recently converted the city into a Roman colony. None of these measures can be considered wholly successful.

As news of the seizure of Rome’s Capitol reaches south, it seems like a good time to revolt. This is spearheaded by the Volscians, which makes perfect sense as Antium is part of their historical sphere of influence.

Livy and Dionysius of Haliarnassus disagree on a range of details about how this conflict unfolds so it’s fair to say that we’re less than impressed with our narrative sources right now! Nevertheless, what they do tell us is very interesting:

• Livy has Rome heading in with a force made up of Romans and allies and devastating the Volscian camp by surprising them.
• Dionysius offers us a tale of Rome turning Antium into a camp by surrounding it with palisades!

Despite Rome facing

Join us for some

P.S. Be on the listen for our podcat Hamish who makes a guest appearance!

An artistic impression of what early Republican soliders may have looked like (right). If you know the artist, please let us know so we can credit them appropriately.

Our Sources:

Selected Secondary Sources:

Sound Credits:

Additional sounds were provided by:

• Fesliyan Studios
• Pond5

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Dr Amy Place from the University of Leicester sits down with Dr Rad to discuss the humble Roman toga, fashion and social identity, and everyday life in late imperial Roman North Africa!

On a recent tour to Australia, Place presented a paper for the SPQR Roman History Forum at Macquarie University on the representation of fashions in Late Roman North Africa. The Partial Historians we lucky enough to grab the chance to chat.

Late Roman North Africa is a time period and an area that is understudied, but just as fascinating as Italy. Place is particularly interested in how clothing is represented and how it was used to express social identity.

Dominus Julius Mosaic from Carthage, Bardo Museum. Copyright credit: Sean Leatherbury/Manar al-Athar

Dr Place’s research focuses on 200-550 CE. The late Roman empire is full of intrigue and was a time of great change. While there was some stability under the emperor Septimius Severus, who ruled from 193-211 CE, with his death and the succession of his son Caracalla, a century of turmoil began.

Amidst the political chaos that characterised much of this century, the Christians rose in prominence. By the beginning of the fourth century, Rome would have its first Christian emperor, Constantine I. This emerging system would rapidly became established as the exclusive religion of the empire as Rome entered the fifth century.

The focus of Place’s research has been the coastal regions of North Africa, examining an area that spans Namibia to Morocco. Parts of North Africa began to be acquired by Rome in the 2nd century BCE with the end of the Third Punic War. Roman influence continued to expand in this region throughout the late Republic and into the Empire.

Place’s research is based in part on literary sources but is supplemented with mosaics. She highlights the difficulties that come with using textual evidence to understand something that was visual. The terms used in the sources are not always easily matched to a surviving representation and it is extremely rare for any actual samples of clothing to survive to the modern day.  

Matron at her Toilette Mosaic from Sidi Ghrib, Bardo. Copyright credit: Sean Leatherbury/Manar al-Athar.

Place’s research focuses on the impact that the growth of Christianity had on dress and identity. A particularly important author was Tertullian, a Christian writer who made some very vocal criticism of female dress in this region.

Although Roman writers had been critical of women dressing too provocatively before the advent of Christianity, for Tertullian there was an extra moral imperative for women to dress modestly and plainly. Austerity was a means of advertising one’s commitment to the new religion, most especially if one was wealthy enough to have a choice.

We see a stark contrast between words and deeds, however, when we consider the mosaics from the region. As Place notes, these don’t often show people have taken Tertullian’s advice – quite the opposite!

Tune in to hear all Place’s insights into the local trends for women and men and the place of the toga.

Interested in learning more about this fascinating topic? You can consider more of Dr Amy Place’s work at Academia.edu

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It’s c. 460 BCE and

Episode 98 – Cincinnatus, Suffect Consul

Looking to catch up on the narrative before diving into this episode? You can find out more about the earlier events of this year here.

• Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus

There’s nothing

Cincinnatus takes

The post Episode 98 – Cincinnatus, Suffect Consul appeared first on The Partial Historians - Ancient Roman History with smart ladies.

In this special

Liz’s research includes the fashion of women’s dress in ancient representations in order to investigate what we can learn about the representation of women. This means considering how representations of women in statuary were often mediated by a male perspective and asking what this might reveal about women’s lived experience.

A consideration of material evidence, especially when combined with inscriptions offers an alternative to the literary sources for thinking about women and daily life in the ancient world. Our evidence in this episode dates from the third century CE, which means we’re thinking about a Rome embroiled in empire and imperial rule.

In this episode

• drapery in statues and reliefs
• the colour of statuary
• the stola
• the palla
• dress as status

Epiktesis outlives her family. We consider the monument she dedicates to her husband, her children, and herself. Liz takes us through the pose adopted by Epiktesis – the Large Herculaneum Woman Type – and its implications.

Grave stele dedicated by Epiktesis to her family, from Prilep, Macedonia. Skopje Archaeological Museum, inv. AMM 41. Photography © Skopje – Archaeological Museum of Macedonia. Photograph: Ortolf Harl 2017 November.

The husband remains

With Epiktesis

Liz explains how

We consider the

Social status is a

Sarcophagus dedicated by Aurelia Eutychia to herself and her husband Marcus Aurelius Marino. Originally in Voghiera, then moved to Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Italy. Front panel. Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Italy. No inventory number. DAIR Inst. Neg. Rom. 64.2022

Liz explores the

Here’s the inscription found on the sarcophagus:

Aurelia Eutychia built this sarcophagus while alive for herself and her husband Marcus Aurelius Marino a veteran of Syrian lineage at the behest of the patron and her most dutiful husband with whom she lived for forty-three years by order of the patron out of his own funds. If someone after the death of the both opens it they will deposit a thousand sesterces to the tax authorities.

Join us for a lively

Addendum: In exciting news, in the time between our chat with Liz and the release of this episode, we can confirm that Liz has passed her doctoral examination and joins us as a full academic. Congratulations Dr Liz Smith!

Edit: Since conducting this interview, further analysis of the sarcophagus dedicated by Aurelia has revealed the insight that Aurelia would have been Marcus Aurelius Marino’s enslaved property, before he freed and married her. As his freedwoman, Aurelia would have been bound by custom and law to respect Marcus and give him services (operae), even after her manumission. Accordingly, it is all the more interesting that Aurelia represented herself as an equal partner to her husband through the statuesque elements we see on the front and lateral sides.

For further reading:

Peter Stewart 2003. Statues in Roman Society

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We return to our narrative of Rome’s history of its foundation with some surprising Sabines. It’s still 460 BCE , which is an indication of just how complicated Rome’s history is becoming when we read our sources.

Both Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus are very focused on the ongoing conflict between the Roman elites and the emerging claims to power from the plebeians.

We wouldn’t would to give too many spoilers away, but while the Romans are busy trying to figure out what their internal politics will look like, there might just be an enemy on the horizon!

You can catch up on the earlier action of this year here.

Some of the

• connections between this conflict and the First Succession;
• the use of annual levies by the patricians as a means of controlling the plebeians;
• and the role of local warfare in preventing plebeians from engaging fully in Rome’s politics.

Just when the Romans

We discuss the various strategies credited to Herdonius for entering the city and his apparent aims in making such a bold move. Suffice it to say, word of Rome’s internal unrest has spread…

Needless to say, the Romans are less than pleased to have an intruder in the heart of the City. Like a kicked beehive, the citizens rally to defend themselves! It’s not long though before this chaos turns into competing calls to arms. The consuls and tribunes seize upon the moment to offer differing opinions about the situation and urging the citizen body to divergent actions.

Hear how the

Consuls

• Publius Valerius P. f. Volusi n. Publicola (cos. II)
• Gaius Claudius Ap. f. M. n. Inrigillensis (or Regillensis) Sabinus

Tribunes

• Aulus Verginius
• Marcus Volscius Fictor

Sabines

• Appius Herdonius

Tusculans

• Lucius Mamilius

• Livy Ab Urbe Condita 3.15-18
• Dionysius of Halicarnassus Roman Antiquities 9.14-16

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Warning! This post and episode contain huge spoilers.

Dr G and Dr Rad always enjoy a trip to the movies, as you tell from our past forays in classics like Spartacus, Gladiator, and the contemporary farce Hail, Caesar! We are planning to record more special episodes when we see a historical flick or television series that sparks our interest. This week we saw Tarantino’s latest offering, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).

The two main

Dalton is an actor trying to keep his career afloat and Booth is his stuntman, BFF and all-round handyman. The Hollywood that they used to know is disappearing. For decades, the film industry had been controlled by the major studios (such as MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros) and each movie was subject to strict censorship rules. By 1969, the studios were no longer as dominant and the Production Code had been abandoned, opening the door for a wider range of artists and film subjects. The Graduate (1967) would have been unthinkable at the beginning of the decade and in 1969 Dennis Hopper’s ground-breaking, counter-cultural classic, Easy Rider, would be released.

Even so, Hollywood was about to be rocked by something more earth-shattering than a progressive movie. In August 1969, Charles Manson decided that it was time for his followers to unleash the race war that he had dubbed ‘Helter Skelter’ after the Beatles song from the 1968 White Album. This would lead to the grisly Tate and La Bianca murders. The crimes committed by the Manson Family had many implications, but it is the build-up to these events that Tarantino traces as Dalton and Booth cruise through Hollywood.

Just as the audience is preparing to see Sharon Tate and her house guests get brutally murdered by Manson’s drug-addled followers, Tarantino turns audience expectations on their head. Dalton and Booth, who live next door to Tate and Polanski, are attacked by the Family and it is the latter who suffer a gruesome end. This is not the first time that Tarantino has ventured down this road with historical fare. Django Unchained (2013) and Inglorious Basterds (2009) both play with historical reality. Is it in the interest of providing his audience with a sense of catharsis? What are the implications of counterfactual history – of exploring the ‘What ifs?’ of history? This may seem harmless and perhaps beneficial; can exploring what didn’t happen help to shed fresh light on what did happen?

Respected historians such as Niall Ferguson have trodden down this path, but others such as Richard J. Evans have emphatically refuted the value of “parlour games” that seem to lament ‘if only’, rather than ask ‘what-if?’ (Hatherley, 2014). Do these issues apply to historical films, which obviously aim to entertain? Is the silver screen a suitable place for such games, or does the wider audiences of a feature film make counterfactuals more dangerous? This is history at its most controversial.

Join the Doctors as they explore the ins and outs of the 60s, hippies and history.

• Batty, E. (2019, July 26). What the F*ck You Just Watched: The Ending of ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ Cosmopolitan.

• De La Garza, A. (2019, July 26). The True Story Behind Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Time Magazine.

• Evans, R. J. (2014, March 13). ‘What if’ is a waste of time. The Guardian.

• Hatherly, O. (2014, April 17). Altered Pasts: Counterfactuals in History by Richard J. Evans review – a ruthless, forensic demolition. The Guardian.

• For those interested in learning more about Hollywood in the Manson era, we cannot recommend ‘You Must Remember This’ enough. Host Karina Longworth has produced a 12-part series exploring Charles Manson, the Family and Hollywood in the late 1960s.

• If you are more of a true crime buff, you may be interested in checking out the Last Podcast on the Left (hosted by Ben Kissel, Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski) and their series on Charles Manson (Starting at Episode 147). These guys have a conversational, hilarious podcast that is also exceptionally well-researched.

• And finally, if you’re just loving all things 1969, check out Parcast Presents the ‘Summer of ‘69’ series, which features a number of episodes on Manson, the Manson Girls BUT also other fascinating tales from this pivotal year.

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Dr Radness travelled to Melbourne recently and met with the fantastic and erudite Dr Rhiannon Evans from La Trobe. Dr Evans is one of the famous voices on the Emperors of Rome podcast. In this special episode, Dr Rad and Dr Evans explore barbarians!

Tune in to learn more about how the Romans thought about the peoples they came into contact with.

Connotations have a very important place when thinking about barbarians. Our modern usage also influences how we think of the category. So the first order of business is a consideration of etymology and to consider who the Romans are applying the term to and why.

There are a range of factors to consider when turning to the Roman use of the term. Up for discussion:

• who cops the designation of barbarian from the Roman perspective
• what makes someone more and less barbarous
• just what is happening on the other side of the Rhine
• and some of the problems with our source materials – written versus archaeological

There’s nothing quite like expansion to bring a Roman into contact with barbarians. Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars detail his campaigns. Reading the source closely provide some clues as to:

• the divisions between the peoples
• the Roman criticism of the role of writing and speaking amongst non-Roman peoples
• maybe what’s not happening (Roman victory)
• and differences in attitude to land use

The concept of barbarian may emerge from an ancient past, but it continues to have relevance today. The idea of who belongs and who is considered an outsider, and the concept of the Other, are part of an ongoing engagement with how people navigate their relationships with strangers.

The conversation weaves through the dangers of Caesar’s description of the Germani and touches upon Claudius’ relationship with the Gauls, both of which have modern echoes that Dr R and Evans explore.

Join us for all this and more!

I, Dr G, sadly lament my absence from this episode – but having done the write up for this episode, I can assure you it is good!

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The conflict between

According to the annalist tradition, debate continues to rage about the proposal for clarity around laws and the idea of equality before the law. This leads to an unusual situation: the tribunes from the previous year return to continue pushing for these changes. Livy notes that the tribunes are riding on a high after ensuring the recent demise of Caeso Quinctius. But this also means that the incoming consuls are dealing with tribunes who seem be becoming entrenched…

We saw in the previous episode that there seems to be a difference between how the older patricians go about politics—through mechanisms such as magistracies and the senate—and how the younger patricians seek to make plays, through public violence and intimidation. Nevertheless, it seems as though the younger ones might just have hit upon a new approach which Dr Rad explores through Livy’s account.

Perhaps as a response to the violence in the City, the tribunes hit upon a new approach to push for changes. And before you know it, secret letters are being delivered to the tribunes while they’re in the forum! There are a few implications that arise because of this and more than a little drama…

Dr G considers the narrative provided by Dionysius of Halicarnassus which leads into some intense set-piece speeches from Aulus Verginius and Gaius Claudius.

Join us for an episode full of exciting turns, political jousting, letters and rumours, and maybe even…conspiracy!

• Publius Valerius P. f. Volusi n. Publicola (cos. II)
• Gaius Claudius Ap. f. M. n. Inrigillensis (or Regillensis) Sabinus

• Aulus Verginius
• Marcus Volscius Fictor

• Caeso Quinctius

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The complex relationship between the patricians and plebeians is central to our appreciation of the 460s BCE. In this episode we’ll get to consider the complexities first hand with the entrance of Caeso Quinctius (remember this name, he’s going places!).

We jump back into

Livy makes mention of the some generational differences in attitude of the elder patricians and their scions. These simmering tensions influence the way politics plays out in the forum. Dionysius is more interested in discoursing upon the variety of patrician attitudes towards the tribunes, including trying to undermine their legitimacy by noting that they have no connection to the gods. It’s at this point that the young patricians start to emerge with a reputation for public violence…

Young, handsome, dangerous, and patrician – he not only has a reputation for words, but he seems like the kinda man who’d back himself in a fight. As a ringleader amongst the young patricians, Quinctius has earned himself a bit of a reputation. Things start to get rough for this youthful specimen of Roman masculinity when Aulus Verginius, tribune of the plebs, seeks to bring charges against him…

Consuls

• Publius Volumnius M. f. M. n. Amintinus Gallus (pat.)
• Servius Sulpicius – f. Ser. n. Camerinus Cornutus (pat.)

Tribune of the Plebs

• Aulus Verginius
• Marcus Volscius

Patricians

• Caeso Quinctius
• Lucius Quinctius “Cincinnatus”

Lintott, A. W. 1970. ‘The Traditions of Violence in the Annals of the Early Roman Republic’ Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 19.1.12-29

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