Late 3rd Century Research Articles

양맥 · 숙신의 난(難), 변경에서 본 3세기 후반 동아시아와 고구려

This paper aims at exploring the international situation of East Asia in the late 3rd century and the change of Goguryeo society at that time. For this aim, the views and positions of Yangmaek(梁貊) and Suksin(肅愼) that were on the borders of Goguryeo and East Asia are emphasized. The Struggles of Yangmaek and Suksin can be found in “Goguryeo’s Records(高句麗本紀)” of Samguk sagi(三國史記). The invasion of Suksin and the military activities of Dalga(達賈) in 280 which is seen in the article of 11th year of King Seocheon(西川王) were parts of it. Yangmaek of that period was a tribe of the west of Goguryeo that lived in the eastern part of the Liaodong Peninsula. Suksin belonged to the same political force of King of Suksin, Yok(褥) in the Book of Jin(晉書) and Suksin gukgi(肅愼國記), and was a school of Yilou(挹婁) that lived in northeastern Goguryeo. Yangmaek was governed as a different tribe-subjugated people of Goguryeo since the middle of the 2nd century, and the exploitation of Yangmaek was stronger than that of general people. The Struggle of Yangmaek was a resistance to it. In contrast, Suksin was an outside being of Goguryeo until the late third century. Suksin, however, was pressured and pushed against Goguryeo’s Northeastern domination in the late third century, but fight against it. This was the struggle of Suksin. These two struggles were separate events, but there was something in common that they resisted Goguryeo in response to the Eastern policy of Western Jin(西晉) in the late 3rd century. It was the way Yangmaek and Suksin read and actively responded to the international situation in East Asia. Through these struggles, Goguryeo could be isolated internationally if the various forces of East Asia, including not only Yangmaek and Suksin, but also related Western Jin and Buyeo(夫餘), put pressure on Goguryeo. In this regard, Goguryeo named it the struggles of Yangmaek and Suksin, and seemed to remember it as a serious national crisis until later. Since the late third century, Yangmaek was changed to the general people of Goguryeo. Most of the Suksin people still existed as different tribe-subjugated people, but the exploitation and discrimination against them was relaxed. This was reflection of the historical experience gained through the struggles. The exploitative domination based on military control caused resistance, which could lead to national crises. Resistance was the result of political and social growth. The struggles of Yangmaek and Suksin shows the growth of the different tribe-subjugated people and the history of resistance that changed the society of Goguryeo.

A Unique Comparative Legal Study from Late Antiquity (Collatio legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum)

The article presents some of the main problems related to the study of a unique comparative legal work from Late Antiquity – Comparison of the law of Moses and Roman law (Collatio legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum). The manuscripts in which it is contained, its structure and content are examined. The author's generalizations of existing theories about his origin, authorship and purposes of compilation have a particular importance. The author maintains that if the work was originally composed in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries and had a rather pragmatic focus on the application of official Roman law among the Jewish communities, which had significant privileges and jurisdiction, then more later, interpolations were introduced for apologetic purposes, which does not exclude its application in epicopalis audientia. The general conclusion point to the creation a Collatio by one or more erudite and good lawyers and religious scholars who have made a brilliant comparison of the law of Moses and Roman law to achieve not only the specific goals of its time, but also to present a universal importance of law and religion in the protection of man and his values.

To the Discussion About the Cause of the Scythia Fall

For many years causes of the fall of Scythia have been a subject to a great deal of scientific scrutiny. The topic is still debatable. The author has recently published several papers, which justify Sarmatians’ involvement in the fall of Scythia in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC based on the written and archaeological evidence. Previously, the concept has also been supported by other researchers. These days, however, there are studies in favor of alternative versions claiming Sarmatians’ innocence in the events leading to the fall of Scythia. The main ideas of the studies boil down to the statement of no evidence of Sarmatians from the 3rd century BC being found not only in the North Pontic region but also to the east from the Don river. In the light of the statement, they implement the idea that Sarmatians’ appearance in the Eastern European steppes dates back to the time not earlier than the 2nd century BC. In the article, the author, given the anthropological and archaeological datasets, confirms the Sarmatians’ continuous presence in the Volga-Urals region without any chronological gaps between the 4th and the 1st century BC. The idea of the stage-by-stage settlement of the eastern nomads in the Volga-Don region and the North Pontic region is suggested. In the first stage, since the middle of the 4th century BC, the political situation underwent some destabilization processes due to the appearance of Sarmatians in the Lower Don region. The second stage is characterized by Sarmatians attacking Scythia in the first half of the 3rd century BC. For most of the 3rd century BC, Sarmatians’ main habitat was located to the east of the Don river. From there they conducted raids on the territory of the Northern part of the Black Sea region to plunder or collect the tribute. This concept is also supported by linguists’ new interpretations of written sources.

The Marine Scene in the Lod Mosaics

The Lod mosaic, discovered in the city bearing that name in Israel, was laid in a luxurious villa urbana in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. It contains inter alia a nautical scene presented as a floor carpet in the form of a pond. The scene includes sea life and two ships. One is sailing freely while the other, facing the opposite direction, is becalmed and perhaps in distress. The scene, in that place and time, symbolized the penetration into this country of the sea-oriented Greco-Roman culture. The pond containing the sea life and the vessels conveyed the idea of the sea, full of life, as a representation of the world organized by its creator. The scene details of the sea symbolize the truism “big fish eat little fish,” which also appears in contemporary literature. The vessels symbolize life as a sea voyage, also reflected in contemporary sources. The two ships affected contrarily by the same wind suggest the metaphor that a benefit divinely granted to one may be undesirable to another, and that it is impossible to appease everyone all the time. Such ships could also present additional ship associated symbolic concepts. To the modern observer the pond and its contents look as if they were purposefully and successfully designed to fit most cultural backgrounds of contemporary viewers, be they Jews, Christians, Samaritans or pagans.

A snapshot of subsistence in Iron Age Iberia: The case of La Hoya village

Excavations at the Iron Age settlement of La Hoya in north-central Iberia, which was attacked between the mid-4th and the late 3rd centuries BC, provided fossilized scenes of devastation and death but also an extraordinary opportunity to analyze lifeways. Here, we conduct stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human, animal and plant remains to reconstruct aspects of subsistence. The results indicate a mainly C3-based subsistence economy, focused on the cultivation of cereals and the herding of domestic animals, particularly pigs, as the archaeological data support. Although C4 plants are less abundant, they may have played a key role in infant and child feeding practices. Inferred differences in livestock management, as well as in manuring intensity and management in relation to water resources between crops, suggest a well-established farming economy. Inter-household variability in crop-cultivation and land-use suggests household production and subsistence autonomy, and suggests the existence of socio-economic inequalities within the community.

Rasionalitas Kenabian Menurut Fakhrudin al-Razi

This paper discusses the prophetic rationality according to Fakhruddin al-Razi. al-Razi seeks to prove the prophetic truth of the mind to oppose the assumption that prophetic is a matter that is not necessarily believed to be true. This assumption due to the prophetic is not considered something that could be resourceful and intangible. It was conceptualized by Muhammad Ahmad ibn al-Ruwandi (late 3rd century H) and Abu Bakar Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865-925 A.D.). According to both view the Prophet’s position can be substituted human sense as long as it is true and be able to develop human's knowledge. Thus the Prophet with all his functions as a messenger of God is no longer needed in life. It is certainly contrary to that of Islamic taught. For this reason al-Razi rejected the concept and proved that the prophetic was true in Revelation and reason. In his study, al-Razi used two elements of revelation and philosophy to prove the prophetic concept. It is because revelation is the source of everything and philosophy as a tool of thinking with reason. Systematically, the concept of the prophetic rationality of al-Razi is able to demonstrate that the prophetic is not only the dogma of religion, but it is also an obligatory truth.

Climatic Optimum as a Factor of the Economic Crisis of Steppe Nomads in the 4th Century AD

Introduction. Archaeological sites of the 4th century AD absent on most of the area of the Late Sarmatian culture. This may be both due to the difficulties of their identification and absence of chronological indicators and due to migrations of nomads from the steppe zone. Perhaps unfavorable climatic conditions for nomadic cattle breeding affected the decrease in the number of nomadic population in the 4th century AD. Methods and materials. The paleosoil data allow reconstructing the ecological situation in dry and desert steppes in the first centuries AD. The initial stage of the Late Sarmatian era (the late 2nd – the early 3rd centuries AD) was marked by arid conditions with cold winters with little snow, which were favorable for cattle breeding in the steppe zone. In the late 3rd century and at the turn of the 3rd – 4th centuries, the processes of humidization began – an increase in climate humidity, which favorably affected the ecological situation in the steppe: high grass, area watering. Such situation provided successful livestock grazing in summer. However, in winter, an increase in humidity led to heavy snowfalls and snowstorms, an increase in snow cover, frequent winter thaws, rain, fog, that were replaced by periods of cooling. At this time, grass icing and ice crust formation occured. Analysis. In those conditions, the number of days, when cattle grazing was impossible, increased. As a consequence, there was weakening and disease of the livestock, until the complete loss of the herd. This was followed by the decrease of population. Results. The humidization processes primarily affected the Southern Urals and in the final of the 3rd century reached the Volga-Don steppes. This could be the reason for the outflow of the Late Sarmatian population from the Southern Urals to the Volga regions. In the 4th century AD, the steppes from the Urals to the Lower Don were practically depopulated. The beginning of the humid period, which was unfavorable for the nomadic economy, had a positive effect on settled agricultural societies. The Early Alanian culture of the Central Caucasus demonstrates the dynamics of active development throughout the Late Sarmatian period, including in the 4th c. AD. The duration of this humid period is difficult to estimate, however, in the Hun Epoch, steppes remained almost uninhabited, as evidenced by the small number of sites of this time.

“Sacra Tharrhica Project”: Preliminary Results of 3D Virtual Reconstruction of the Punic-Roman Sacred Areas of Tharros, Sardinia

Abstract The “Sacra Tharrhica Project” was started by the University of Bologna in cooperation with the University of Cagliari in 2017. The aim is to obtain a 3D virtual reconstruction of all temple structures of the Punic settlement of Tharros on the central west coast of Sardinia, starting from a systematic architectural and archaeological study of the Punic and Roman phases of the buildings. The project has firstly focused on the “Monumental Temple” or “Doric half-columns Temple”. This Punic sacred area was probably monumentalized between the late 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. After the Roman conquest, it was rebuilt between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D.

The Emotions in Early Chinese Philosophy by Curie Virág

Reviewed by: The Emotions in Early Chinese Philosophy by Curie Virág Ellen Y. Zhang (bio) The Emotions in Early Chinese Philosophy. by Curie Virág. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. 291. Hardcover $90.00, ISBN 978-0-19-049881-8. This is the first book-length study of the conception of emotions (qing 情) in premodern, or more specifically, pre-Han Chinese philosophical traditions, ranging from the early-5th to the late-3rd centuries BCE. This era is known as the "Warring States period" in China and marked by the flourishing of a number of different schools of philosophers who advocated their visions of how society should be run. The author looks at wide-ranging views about the nature of emotions and their proper role in moral life espoused by representative thinkers of the time. The approach taken by the author is based on a premise that what constitutes emotions as phenomena in the world is of primary importance to questions concerning the normative status of emotions. When psychological categories such as the mind, human nature, and emotions are employed by early Chinese philosophers to explain the source of ethical authority or the foundation of knowledge, these categories embody "a naturalistic understanding of the workings of the world" as an ordered and harmonious system (p. 103). With that in mind, the author contends that the wide-ranging views of emotions or emotive intuitions in early Chinese philosophy show "a diversity of intellectual landscape in which basic questions of ethics and politics were the focus of major concern" (p. 24). Therefore, rather than simply accepting a longstanding assumption in the study of China that there is no clear line drawn between emotion and cognition in early Chinese philosophical thought as exemplified by the word xin 心 (heart/mind), the author attempts to avoid a mode of what may be called "exoticized reading" of the East or "reversed orientalism" (i.e., holistic thinking in the East vs. dualistic thinking in the West). Instead, the author takes an approach that is to "step out of such dualistic categories altogether" by examining alternative ways of thinking about the conceptions of emotions, cognition, self, ethics, political order and emergent perspectives on the natural world that shape those conceptions (p. 3). The analysis consists of six parts, corresponding to six ways of exploring the conceptions of emotions in the Chinese classical tradition and their connections to ethics and politics of the time. It includes the integrated self in the Analects of Confucius/Kongzi 孔子, redefining human community in Mozi's墨子 ethical argument, the understanding of cosmic desire and human agency in [End Page 663] the Daodejing 道德經, the conception of human nature as well as the pattern of moral life in the Mencius/Mengzi 孟子, the multiple valences of emotions in the Zhuangzi 莊子, and the composite self and the fulfillment of human nature in the Xunzi 荀子. For the part on Confucius, the author uses the term "integrated self" to argue that emotions, according to Confucius, need to be attuned with the correct way to act, so one achieves moral fulfillment. The role of rituals in regulating human desires and emotions is also discussed. According to the author, while Mozi agreed with Confucius in terms of curbing one's selfish desires, the Mohists saw the Confucian practice of graded love instead of impartial care as the root of social disorder. Meanwhile, the author explores Mozi's approach to emotions in light of Mohist epistemology which influences the Mohist way of understanding the cognitive aspect of moral agency: Whereas Confucius had envisioned the ideal society as the result of a complex balance of individuals interacting with one another in a differentiated social landscape—and had, accordingly, focused on cultivating the intuitions and emotional dispositions that could sustain proper relationships with one another—Mozi saw it, rather, as arising from the exercise of a shared cognitive capacity to reason and draw proper conclusions, which enabled them to identify with one another and to act toward the well-being of all. (pp. 73-74) I would like the author to say more about the relationship between emotions or desires and name or naming (ming 名) in Mohism. In fact, Mozi treated the human...

Armed Violence Among the Altai Mountains Pastoralists of the Xiongnu-Sarmatian Age

On the basis of perimortem cranial injuries, we examine armed violence among the Altai Montains nomadic pastoralists during the Xiongnu-Sarmatian period (2nd century BC to 5th century AD), when this region was within the military and political orbit of the Central Asian nomadic empires—Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Zhouzhan. The sample included 470 crania from 20 cemeteries of the Bulan-Koba Culture. Blade wounds, depressed fractures, and penetrating projectile wounds were registered. Additionally, weapon related lesions of the postcranial skeleton (arrowheads stuck in the bones and blade wounds), as well as possible cases of scalping, decapitation, and severed limbs were recorded. The frequency of perimortem cranial traumas is 13.3% in males, 6.4% in females, and 4.8% in subadults. This rate shows considerable variation across local groups. During the Xiongnu-Xianbei period (2nd century BC to early 3rd century), perimortem trauma was mainly related to interpersonal and local intergroup violence. Between the late 3rd century AD and the 5th century AD, following the disintegration of the Xianbei Empire and the rise of intergroup clashes, the Bulan-Koba people became also involved in military clashes with foreign tribes.

Cult of Jupiter in Singidunum Area

In the area of Singidunum and its vicinity so far the total of 30 votive monuments have been identified, 25 of them dedicated to Jupiter’s independent cult, two to Jupiter and imperial cult, and one each to Capitoline Triad, to Jupiter and Hercules, and to Jupiter, Terra Mater, Liber and Libera. One dedication was inscribed into an urn, which is specific for the territory of central Serbia, not only Singidunum. The main method for this paper involves references to general characteristics of the cult of Jupiter, relation between Rome and provinces, and morphological, decorative and votive characteristics of votive monuments from the area near Singidunum and its vicinity. All the monuments may be dated into late 2nd and 3rd century.

The Emergence and Character of chafing-dish-shaped earthenware in the Wooden chamber Tomb of Yeongnam Region

The purpose of this study was to discuss the emergence and character of chafingdish- shaped earthenware found in the wooden chamber tomb of Yeongnam Region from the Early Age of Three Empires. As a result, it shows that the chafing-dish-shaped earthenware from wooden chamber tomb in Young-nam area in Proto Three Kingdoms Age was found mainly in Ulsan and Gyeongju region, based on the current data only, and developed in Gyeongju district zone. Existing study divides chronology of the chafing-dish-shaped earthenware into 4 phases. The 1st phase is in the early 3rd century A.D., the 2nd phase in the mid 3rd century A.D., the 3rd phase in the late 3rd century A.D. and the 4th phase in the early 4th century A.D.. Hence, the chafing-dish-shaped earthenware started to appear in the early 3rd century A.D. and continued to last until the early 4th century A.D. Considering the accompanied relics and the scale of wooden chamber tomb, chafingdish- shaped earthenware seems to reflect the authority of people. In other words, it is possible that even the same earthenware can take different forms for the commoners and the ruling class. However, the accompanied relics and the scale of wooden chamber tomb degraded from the early 4th Century B.C. and chafing-dish-shaped earthenware weakened its representation of authority. Also, chafing-dish-shaped earthenware was newly developed along with other ceremonial earthenware. Considering the accompanied steel artifacts, they are rather unpractical to prove that they were related to ceremonies. In sum, chafing-dish-shaped earthenware seems to reflect the character of authority and ceremonies.

Rome in its setting. Post-glacial aggradation history of the Tiber River alluvial deposits and tectonic origin of the Tiber Island.

The Tiber valley is a prominent feature in the landscape of ancient Rome and an important element for understanding its urban development. However, little is known about the city’s original setting. Our research provides new data on the Holocene sedimentary history and human-environment interactions in the Forum Boarium, the location of the earliest harbor of the city. Since the Last Glacial Maximum, when the fluvial valley was incised to a depth of tens of meters below the present sea level, 14C and ceramic ages coupled with paleomagnetic analysis show the occurrence of three distinct aggradational phases until the establishment of a relatively stable alluvial plain at 6–8 m a.s.l. during the late 3rd century BCE. Moreover, we report evidence of a sudden and anomalous increase in sedimentation rate around 2600 yr BP, leading to the deposition of a 4-6m thick package of alluvial deposits in approximately one century. We discuss this datum in the light of possible tectonic activity along a morpho-structural lineament, revealed by the digital elevation model of this area, crossing the Forum Boarium and aligned with the Tiber Island. We formulate the hypothesis that fault displacement along this structural lineament may be responsible for the sudden collapse of the investigated area, which provided new space for the observed unusually large accumulation of sediments. We also posit that, as a consequence of the diversion of the Tiber course and the loss in capacity of transport by the river, this faulting activity triggered the origin of the Tiber Island.

Spaces of Memory. Architecture by Aleksandar Kadijević and Milan Popadić

Reviewed by: Spaces of Memory. Architecture by Aleksandar Kadijević and Milan Popadić Jelena Bogdanović Aleksandar Kadijević and Milan Popadić. Prostori Pamćenja. Arhitektura [ Spaces of Memory. Architecture.] In Serbian, English, Russian, and French. Belgrade: Odeljenje za istoriju umetnosti Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu. 2013. 456 pp. 34 essays with 182 black-and-white figures and line drawings, 3 tables, and selected bibliographical references. ISBN 978-8-68880-333-5. Following an international symposium held in Belgrade in 2011, Aleksandar Kadijević and Milan Popadić coedited a sizable and important collection of essays on the spaces of memory with a particular focus on architecture. This volume, Prostori Pamćenja. Arhitektura [Spaces of Memory. Architecture.] consists of 34 essays written by Serbian and international scholars trained in various disciplines—from architecture to psychology—each asking critical questions with respect to the role that architecture plays in shaping individual and collective memory. The majority of the texts deal with the complex formations of the spaces of memory in the territories of Serbia and former Yugoslavia since late antiquity to recent times. Closely intertwined with the questions of personal and collective identity embodied in architecture, most of the essays examine war memorials and various other types of architectural and urban compounds specifically designed for the display of societal values and aspirations in a given time and region. A few essays provide valuable comparative case studies of the memorials in 20th-century Russia, Poland, Scotland, Italy, Germany, and the United States. Written in Serbian, English, Russian, and French and generously illustrated with more than 180 images in order to access the largest readership, all the chapters are thematically intertwined and presented chronologically. [End Page 167] The first essay is by Olga Špehar, who examines imperial palaces—which were built in the territories of modern day Croatia and Serbia during the late 3rd and early 4th centuries—through the lenses of their importance in the promotion of the Roman imperial cult. Several case studies examine the role of Byzantine and Serbian medieval and Renaissance churches and their performativity aspects for creating memory landscapes, closely linked with religious ethos and the memory of specific historical events of the past. Jasmina Ćirić writes thoughtfully on the Old Testament motif of the Tree of Life, whose expanded meaning came to be the prefiguration of Christ and is evidenced in Byzantine and Serbian medieval churches. Branislav Cvetković examines medieval churches and their furnishing built to commemorate specific historical events such as military victories. Saša Brajović highlights the role of the Mother of God and Marian ceremonies and processions in the formation of the civic identity of Perast and the bay of Kotor, during the periods of the Venetian Republic, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires. The majority of the texts focus on the architectural and urban designs that highlight societal values or commemorate historical events from the more recent past. Branko Čolović considers chapels and tombs as the expression of Serbian identity values in 19th-century Dalmatia. Ljubodrag P. Ristić highlights the role of the British diplomatic and travel documents in the international promotion of Serbian architectural heritage in the 19th century. Milan Prosen and Viktor I. Kosik examine Russian émigré architecture in 19th-century Serbia and the Balkans as peculiar identity spaces that canvassed vast geographical distances. Igor Borozan highlights the creation of Serbian national visual culture based on the legendary battle on Mišarsko polje of 1806, where, as he successfully argues, the field (polje) over time became a memory space itself. Then again, Haris Dajč showcases how the actual space of the Sava slope in Belgrade provided an urban topography for the historical development of Belgrade in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In their texts, Miloš Stanković, Dragana Ružić, Dimitrije Lj. Marinković, Dušica Živanović, Violeta Obrenović, Vuk Nedeljković, Sladjana Žunjić, Aleksandra Ilijevski, Aleksandar Kadijević, Magdalena Pokrzyńska, Nenad Lajbenšperger, Vladana Putnik, Paolo Tomasella, Ivan R. Marković, and Dijana Milašinović Marić examine specific case studies of memorials built in honor of military heroes and victims of war as architectural solutions for expressing respect for historical individuals that continue to inspire the collective ethos and identity in a given region. These case studies include the...

Regionality in Mahan Settlement Structures

Regionality in Mahan Settlement Structures

A xianbeiek sztyeppei jelenléte és a Xiongnu Birodalom bukása

Since the late 3rd century B.C., the Northern steppes, i.e. the steppe zonesituated north of China, south of the Baikal region and between the rangesof the Altai and Hingan mountains, were dominated by a succession of nomadic peoples. The first people that established a highly centralized polity,daresay an empire, on the steppes were the Xiongnu. The demise of theirempire was brought about by a constellation of a number of factors; internaldivision, Chinese military expeditions, loss of strategically crucial territoriesand defections of allies as a result. Towards the end of the 1st century A.D.,one of their former allies, the Xianbei took over the old Xiongnu territories,but failed to establish a centralized rule on the steppes. The Xianbei ruler,who united all the steppe tribes under his control and created an ephemeraltribal alliance that somewhat resembled the Xiongnu Empire, appeared aslate as the mid-2nd century, and even this unity came to an end less than thirtyyears later.

ON THE MEANING OF CITY WALLS IN LATE ROMAN SPAIN

During three or four decades of the late 3rd and early 4th century, a number of cities across the Empire were refortified in a pattern that cannot be explained in defensive terms alone. Regional and especially local authorities seem to have played a decisive role in the process, and Lusitania is a clear case of non-military initiative. About a dozen sites, a minority that is, did invest in these new structures, which were highly disruptive to daily life, private property, and public resources. These same cities would find a relevance in the post-Roman world, as bishoprics and as military structures, an argument probably absent in their original builders’ purpose.

La riscoperta della concorrenza: immagini di rituali e cerimonie nei sarcofagi urbani tardoantichi

The rediscovery of competition: images of rites and ceremonies in the late antique urban sarcophagi. The paper examines the presence of images of public ceremonies in Roman funerary art of the late 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Already in the mid-3rd century the Roman senatorial class had started to enlarge the possibilities of funerary self-representation, by adding to the traditional mythological repertoire depictions of public ceremonies presided over by the deceased as a magistrate. From the late 3rd century, however, the interest in these images, as well as in the old mythological scenes, seems to decline, in favour of a more direct aristocratic self-representation centred on the otium ideology and the related activities (hunting and banquets) taking place in the suburban villae, expressed through a set of standard iconographies. A detailed analysis is devoted to the scene depicting the journey to the villa on boardof an open coach, which, although not a public ceremony strictly speaking, was nonetheless important as a means for aristocratic self-representation in the public space of the street. At the same time, the interest for the depiction of ceremonies by late Roman aristocrats shifts decisively towards religious scenes: a small but interesting group of sarcophagus lids are decorated with images of a pompa circensis, featuring ritual objects and statues connected with Rome’s traditional deities or the imperial cult. Through the choice of these themes, these late Roman aristocrats class could celebrate both their evergetic role as financial sponsors of public games and their subscription to a system of values closely linked to the official manifestations of pagan religion. The civic self-representation as magistrates is now taken over by members of the equestrian order, who after Diocletian’s administrative reforms are in charge of the main government posts. fabioguidetti83@gmail.com

The Yogācārabhūmi against Allodoxies (paravāda): 2 Ritual Violence

The Yogācārabhūmi, a massive compilation of the early Yogācāra “school(s),” contains a comparatively short section dedicated to the critical examination of sixteen “allodoxies” (paravāda), mostly non-Buddhist doctrines, practices and institutions, some of which go back to the Brahmajāla- and Śrāmaṇyaphalasūtra of the Dīrghāgama. This section, which could be dated to the late 3rd century CE, is a remarkable milestone in the history of philosophy in the Buddhist environment, in that it summarizes and updates earlier, canonical arguments, adapting them to a new polemical context, and reveals Buddhist philosophy’s profound indebtedness to sūtra literature. The present paper analyzes allodoxy no. 8 (hiṃsādharmavāda), the brahmins’ claim that ritual violence is a religious duty and, as such, no violence at all. The Yogācārabhūmi’s arguments are among the most cogent and systematic Indian Buddhists ever directed against ritual violence.

Managing the marshes: An integrated study of the centuriated landscape of the Pontine plain

The study of Roman centuriation has a long and rich tradition, and the past decades have witnessed the rise of new perspectives on these field systems. Even though these systems were considered for some time as static structures studied through metrological analyses, they are increasingly considered as dynamic elements in the management of landscapes and the reclamation of wetlands, that should be studied from a long-term perspective. Methodologically, this development has gone hand in hand with an integration of GIS-based archaeomorphological approaches, historical, geo-archaeological and, less commonly, ecological data. This paper builds on such approaches in order to study centuriation as a complex socio-economic, political and ecological phenomenon. It aims to show that the changing roles of centuriation in human engagements with the environment can only be understood by applying a framework that integrates perspectives and approaches from different disciplines. After introducing the characteristics of this integrated framework, the paper presents a case study that synthesises recent work on the centuriated landscape of the lower Pontine plain (Lazio, central Italy), an infamous marsh with a long history of (failed) reclamation projects.A GIS-based analysis of cartographic and remote-sensing imagery, including geophysical prospection data, shows that this centuriation covered an area of some 120km2 and consisted of a hierarchical system of in-field and field-bounding ditches as well as larger collectors that drained towards the sea. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions suggest that the centuriation and several associated canals improved the hydrological structure, although such improvements may have started before.Archaeological prospections and geo-archaeological data allow us to consider both when the centuriation was established and how its role in managing and exploiting the Pontine wetland changed through time. It probably dates to the late 4th or early 3rd century BCE and presumably is one of the first of its kind. It was established in the context of Rome's territorial, economic and demographic expansion and represented a large-scale reclamation that expanded Rome's agricultural hinterland, providing dwellings, farmland and a new life for numerous colonists. But the exploitation of the Pontine wetland by a system of small farms that occupied the centuriated area proved not to be sustainable: within two centuries settlement had decreased significantly and by the Imperial period only a few sites remained, some of which represent elite-controlled estates. The decline of settlement and its associated land use system can be explained by a series of socio-economic, political and environmental factors, including Rome's on-going territorial expansion, changing elite interests in the area as well as environmental change. Individual features of the centuriation, however, remained in use for considerable time. Even though medieval and post-medieval reclamations used parcelling systems with a different orientation, the main channels associated with the centuriation remained the basis for later attempts to drain the Pontine wetland.