Aspects of the Roman East: Papers in Honour of Professor Fergus Millar [1] 2503526256, 250352625X, 9782503526256

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Aspects of the Roman East Papers in Honour of Professor Fergus Millar FBA

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STUDIA ANTIQUA AUSTRALIENSIA EDITORIAL BOARD UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ANCIENT HISTORY DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH CENTRE MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY Editors in Chief: Samuel Lieu, FAHA and Alanna Nobbs (Macquarie) Board Members: Pauline Allen, FAHA (Australian Catholic University) Brian Croke, FAHA (Sydney I Macquarie) John Davidson (Wellington) Andrew Gillett (Macquarie) Geoffrey Greatrex (Ottawa) Timothy Gregory (Ohio I Macquarie) Naguib Kanawati, FAHA (Macquarie) Paul McKechnie (Auckland) Neil McLynn (Oxford) Geoffrey Nathan (University of New South Wales) Boyo Ockinga (Macquarie) Tessa Rajak (Reading) Claudia Rapp (UCLA) Roger Scott, F AHA (Melbourne) Nicholas Sims-Williams, FBA (London I Cambridge)

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Aspects of the Roman East Papers in Honour of Professor Fergus Millar FBA

I Edited by Richard Alston and Samuel N. C. Lieu

BREPOLS

ANCIENT HISTORY DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH CENTRE MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY NSW AUSTRALIA

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© 2007, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. D/2007/0095/81 ISBN 2-503-52625-6 Printed in the E.U. on acid-free paper.

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Professor Fergus Millar FBA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS (VOL.l) vii viii

CONTENTS SERIES FOREWORD INTRODUCTION ABBREVIATIONS CONTRIBUTORS

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xi xiii I. Setting the Scene

§ 1 RICHARD ALSTON Fraying Round the Edges: Models of Change on the Margins

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II. Dura-Europos §2 SAMUEL LIEU Rome on the Euphrates- The Final Siege of Dura-Europos 33 §3 DAVID NOY The Jews of Roman Syria: The Synagogues of Dura-Europos and Apamea 62 §4 NIGEL POLLARD Colonial and Cultural Identities in Parthian and Roman Dura-Europos 81

III. The Eastern Frontier

§5 GEOFFREY GREATREX Roman frontiers and foreign policy in the East

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IV. East Rome

§6 FRANK BEETHAM (TRANS.) A Byzantine Life of Constantine (BHG 365) (Annotated by Samuel N. C. Lieu)

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Series Foreword The Ancient History Documentary Research Centre was established in 1981 at Macquarie University under the direction of Professor Edwin Judge. Over the years it has become a major focus of research on epigraphy and papyrology, especially in ways in which both these disciplines contribute to the study of the background of the New Testament. Since 1981, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans) has been a flagship publication of the Centre. With the arrival of Professor Sam Lieu at Macquarie in 1996, the Centre participated actively in a new series, Silk Road Studies, published by Brepols of Turnhout. Work on both series has helped to develop facilities for the preparation and publication of a new refereed text and monograph series on Antiquity which will reflect the work of staff and graduate students based in the Southern Hemisphere. The Centre has also hosted many distinguished scholars who have contributed much to the research life both of the Centre and of the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie and we are pleased that many of them have agreed to serve on the Editorial Board. The series is based at the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre at Macquarie University but many of its authors will be from other universities in Australia and New Zealand as well as from major centres for the study of Ancient History in other parts of the world. Professor Sam Lieu and Professor Alanna Nobbs - 2006 Cover Illustration: The front cover shows a view of Zenobia (Halibiyeh, Republic of Syria) overlooking the Euphrates. Photograph © P. Edwell.

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Introduction Fergus Millar's contribution to scholarship (and I omit from what follows his sponsorship of academics, his administrative and political activities on behalf of Ancient History and also Jewish Studies, and his tutoring of a generation of scholars, notably in Oxford) can be divided into three main areas. To each of these fields, he has made remarkable contributions, each sufficient in itself to generate a considerable academic reputation without reference to other areas of activity. In the crude culture of research accountancy to which UK academia has descended, Millar is a star in terms of quality and quantity. He has worked on the emperor and Roman administration, on the politics of the Roman Republic, and on the East in the Roman and early Byzantine periods, with a particular focus on the history of the Jewish people. Notably, although his interests have shifted between themes, Millar has been active and hugely influential in all three fields for more than four decades. Millar has transformed the way in which people think and write about the Roman emperor and Roman administration. No serious scholar can afford to ignore the role of the emperor as administrator or sweep aside with easy generalisations the administrative structures that underpinned the workings of the empire. His work on the political theory and practice of the Roman Republic has been similarly influential. Hs decision to reject generations of research and take Polybius' view of the workings of the Roman Republic seriously was radical and extraordinarily fruitful. Any who take Roman Republican politics seriously must, again, start by making a judgement as to where they stand on Polybius and on Millar and the crowd in Roman political life. His third line of research concerns the Roman East. To an extent, this might seem to be a departure from the interest in political power that characterises Millar's work on Rome, but, in fact, this is merely a continuation. Millar's work has focused on issues of ethnicity, culture and power in a region of the world in which religion, culture and political power have been a potent and destructive mix. Ethnicity is one of the major themes of the historiography of the Roman East, but one which has been treated crudely, too often adopting modern rhetorics of age-old ethnic groups (Arabs-Jews-Greeks) whose identities are fixed and unproblematic. Millar avoids these easy generalisations and characterisations of earlier generations and, as is also characteristic of his other research, deviates from the normal corpora of 'Classical' texts. Inscrip-

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X

Introduction

tions and obscure notes on a manuscript of Photius provide routes into issues. Millar's eye for detail takes him beyond easy categorisation from linguistic or religious forms, makes him suspicious of the loose way in which ancients applied terminology from which modems now derive different and precise meanings. The precision of scholarship demands that all who engage with these debates operate with similar precision. It is perfectly possible to disagree with Millar. He is unashamedly positivist in dealing with historical questions, but that is, in many ways, a strength and a challenge to those who would disagree. It is a reasonable basis to start with what there is before you, the evidence that can be amassed, and then make the argument. If one wants to make the argument from theory, one than has to justify that different approach. By demolishing easy generalisations with the weight of material and scholarship, Millar makes other scholars work harder and think harder. Rather than closing down areas of research, Millar gives them fresh life, and that encourages and revitalises the discipline. There can be no greater tribute to a life of scholarship than this. Richard Alston (London) The idea of publishing the papers by friends and admirers of Professor Fergus Millar in a relatively new monograph series came as a result of unforeseen and unacceptable delays caused by a change of publisher for the original series in which this volume should have appeared. Fergus has many admirers and fellow researchers in Australia - a country which had once hosted a conference in his honour at its capital city (Canberra, 1997). It is therefore entirely appropriate that an Australian series should host the papers, some submitted as early as 2002. The Ancient History Documentary Research Centre at Macquarie University had hosted a mini-conference in 2003 as well as a seminar series in 2005, both on the Roman East. The main papers from these meetings are included in these two volumes as their subject matter is entirely germane to Fergus's research interest. The first volume contains studies by scholars based mainly in the Northern Hemisphere while the second volume will contain works by scholars based in Australia. Sam Lieu (Sydney and London)

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Abbreviations Agathias, historiae, ed. R. Keydell, CFHB Ammianus Marcellinus, res gestae, ed. J. C. Rolfe, LCL Aufsteig und Niedergang der romischen Welt Bulletin ofthe American Studies of Oriental Research Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca, 3rd edn .. , ed. F. Halkin, 3 vols. (Brussels) Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies BICS Bulletin de la Societe archeologique d'Alexandrie BSM Chronique d'Egypte CE Corpus Inscriptionum Judaicarum CIJ Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum CIS Codex Justinianus, ed. P. Krueger, eleventh edition. CJ (Berlin 1954) Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae CFHB Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae CSHB Dura Report The Excavations at Dura-Europos Conducted by Yale University and the French Academy of Inscriptions and Letters: Preliminary Report of the [First-Ninth] Season of Work (New Haven) Eus., h. e., Eusebius, historia ecclesiastica, ed. E. Schwartz, GCS _, v. Canst. Idem, vita Constantini, ed. F. Winkelman, GCS FHG Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, ed. C. MUller, 5 vols. (Paris) FHN Fontes Historiae Nubiorum: Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region between the eighth century BC and the sixth century BC, edd. T. Eide, T. Hagg, R. Holton Pierce and L. Torok (Bergen) Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten GCS J ahrh underte Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie IGLS /JudO iii Inscriptiones Judaicae Orientis vol.3, Syria and Cyprus eds. D. Noy, D. & and H. Bloedhom (Ti.ibingen) JARCE Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

Agath. Amm. ANRW BAS OR BASP BHG

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xii JIWE

Abbreviations

Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe, 3 vols., ed. D. Noy (Cambridge) JRA Journal of Roman Archaeology JRS Journal of Roman Studies LCL Loeb Classical Library (London and Camb. MA) MDAIK Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archiioligischen Instituts, Abteilung KairC! MEFRA Melanges de l 'Ecole fran~aise de Rome Men. Prot. Menander Protector, Historiae, ed. R. C. Blockley, The History of Menander the Guardsman (Liverpool, 1985). PBA Papers of the British Academy PG Patrologiae cursus completus, series Graeco-Latina Phi lost. Philostorgius, historia ecclesiastica, ed. J. Bidez and revised by J. Winklemann, GCS Procopius, Opera, ed. H.B. Dewing, LCL Proc. Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Agypten SB Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum SEG Scriptores Historiae Augustae, ed. D. Magie SHA (Inscription of Shapur at the Kaaba of Zoroastre), "Res SKZ Gestae Divi Saporis", ed. P. Huyse, Die dreisprachige Inschrift Sabuhrs I. an der Ka'ba-i Zardust (SKZ), Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum 3/i, 2 vols. (London, ) Socrates, historia ecclesiastica, ed. G.C. Hansen, GCS Soc. Sozomenus, historia ecclesiastica, ed. J. Bidez and Soz. revised by G.C. Hansen, GCS Theoph. Sim. Theophylactus Simoccates, historiae, ed. C. de Boor and revised by P. Wirth (Leipzig, 1972) V. Alex. Akoim. Vita Alexandri Akoimetae, ed. E. de Stoop, Patrologia Orientalis 9 (1911) p. 658ff Zonaras, Annales, edd. M. Pinder et al., CSHB Zon. Zosimus, Historia Nova, ed. L. Mendelssohn Zos. Zeitschrift jar Papyrologie und Epigraphik ZPE

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Contributors Richard Alston is Professor of Roman History at Royal Holloway, University of London. Frank Beetham was formerly an Honorary Research Fellow of the Department of Classics at Warwick University (UK). He is currently a Senior Research Fellow (Hon.) of the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University (NSW, Australia). Dr Geoffrey Greatrex is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Sam Lieu is Professor of Ancient History and Co-Director of the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre at Macquarie University (NSW, Australia). He was Leverhulme Visiting Professor (2000-2002) and Professorial Fellow (Hon.) at the Department of Near and Middle East, School of Oriental and African Studies (London). Dr David Noy is Lecturer in the Department of Classics, University of Wales, Lampeter (UK). Dr Nigel Pollard is Lecturer in the Department of Classics and Ancient History, Swansea University (UK).

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FRAYING ROUND THE EDGES: MODELS OF CHANGE ON THE MARGINS* RICHARD ALSTON

Introduction Historians of the Roman Empire have a great tendency to see the world from a Roman viewpoint. Roman historians are aware of the world beyond the frontiers, but seldom does this world receive extended treatment nor is it given a significant part in the major narratives of imperial history. To a great extent, this is a reflection of our literary sources among which we can search long and hard for evidence of serious ethnographic and geographical exploration of the lands beyond the frontier. For the trans-limes East, we have itineraries which provide topographical indications, relatively short entries in the geographers, and we can reconstruct fragments of their histories from reports of contacts, normally of conflicts, with Rome. Yet, the importance of this world beyond the frontiers is demonstrated by the disintegration of Roman political authority in the fifth-century West and the seventh-century East which can be connected (to put it no more strongly) with the emergence of and then failure to integrate coalitions of barbarians. In this essay, I study the fringes of Egypt, especially Egypt's relations with the lands to the South, with the presumption that, whatever the peculiarity of the dynamics of Egypt's relationships with her neighbours, this study may have more general applicability. By design, what is presented here is relatively schematic in its attempt to understand the changing nature of that relationship over several centuries. Part of the inspiration for this analysis comes from Fergus Millar's (1998) argument that many of the so-called 'caravan cities' of the East were nothing of the sort. I Millar shows that the elite of cities such as Petra did not represent themselves as being involved in trade and that this reflects their relative disinterest in the activity. In a 'caravan city', one would expect the leading citizens to draw much of their wealth from trade and to acknowledge their city's dependence on the caravans.

* I would like to thank Professor D. Rathbone for his comments on an earlier version of this paper. Errors and misconceptions are, obviously, my own. 1 Millar 1998.

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2

Fraying Round the Edges

Although arguing from a lack of evidence in a patchy epigraphic record is problematic, the lacuna at the very least suggests that the elites of these potential 'caravan cities' saw no political benefit in depicting their influence as emanating from trade and extending beyond the borders. It would follow from this argument that such cities would have relatively little interest (beyond the obvious worries about security) in political and economic developments in those foreign lands. The exception that strengthens the argument is Palmyra. The ample epigraphic evidence of leading Palmyrenes' involvement with the caravan trade allows Palmyra to be depicted as exercising considerable influence over the desert routes from the Roman empire to the Euphrates, and down the Euphrates to the Persian Gulf.2 The involvement of leading citizens suggests that there was considerable wealth to be drawn from the trade and that the trade was vitally important for the prosperity of the city. In Millar's view, Palmyra is the one place that can be classified as a 'caravan city' and the absence of similar evidence from other Eastern cities is telling.3 Instead, Millar attributes the wealth of these cities on the borders of the desert to the agriculture generated by the extensive water-management systems.4 I intend to support Millar's view. Nevertheless, I think that there are reasons to modify Millar's picture, that chronological variations in the evidence require explanation, and that we have an opportunity to consider further the significance of contacts with communities beyond the Eastern frontiers of the Empire. I see evidence of far more extensive contact between Rome and 'fringe' societies in the first century than later. This is not necessarily a judgement on the volume of trade that passed across the frontiers of Egypt. Although we know that lots of different types of goods were moved and many of those goods were high value, we cannot establish for any period the volume of trade, nor ascertain its absolute value, nor can we reconstruct exactly how wealth was extracted from those goods as they completed their journey into the

2 Gawlikowski 1994. 3 Young 2001 follows a similar line, but is ultimately rather more cautious and positive about the potential for long-distance trade having an invisible but positive effect on communities other than Palmyra. 4 Koenen 1996, publishes documents primarily concerned with agricultural activities.

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Richard Alston

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Roman empire.s Quantitative analysis is, therefore, not a central part of this argument, though the analysis would appear to have implications for the extent of trade. Rather, I concentrate on what can be said about the nature of the contacts between Rome and the 'fringe' societies, arguing that those contacts were more influential in the first century of Roman rule in Egypt than can be established for other periods. I suggest that although trade and contact with 'fringe' societies continued, as is abundantly attested, interest in those societies faded (which may possibly be related to changes in the nature of the trade), and the results of this fading of interests were eventually extremely damaging for the Roman world.

Egypt and the East The most likely 'caravan city' for Roman Egypt was Koptos. Unfortunately, the evidence in the published excavations and in the surviving epigraphic record is comparatively slight and little can be said with confidence about the economic structure of the city.6 Nevertheless, it is clear that the Red Sea trade was of considerable prominence and is reflected frequently in the epigraphic record. SB V 8862, of the third century BC, is a dedication by Apollonios, who was some kind of official, to the gods of Samothrace, because of his being from great dangers on his journey from the Red Sea.? SB V 8036 is a dedication of a well to Isis by two officials, one of whom was strategos and probably bttcr'tp