<A>
Roman civic deities (abolished):
The father of Caracalla, Septimius Severus (from Asia Minor, emperor 195–211 AD) faced internal dissidence & external threats. He saw the need to promote religious harmony by endorsing syncretism. This combines different beliefs, blending practices of various schools of thought & involves merging of originally discrete traditions in theology & mythology. It asserts an underlying unity. Most vitally, it promotes an inclusive approach to other faiths. The "revealed religions”, the Jews & Christians, were exclusive & saw syncretism as a betrayal of their pure truth. Their hostility may have pushed Severus to issue an edict punishing conversion to Judaism & Christianity. Caracalla took a different approach to inclusion. He employed a political top down policy (Edict of 212) which brought political equality (citizenship) & thus inclusion. Because religion & citizenship were closely integrated, the equality & unity of the various religions in the Empire was inferred. No longer were the official cults of Rome placed above the myriad of local cults. Caracalla was himself very superstitious. He followed magical practices, observed all ritual obligations & in contrast to his father, tolerated the Jewish & Christian faiths. His favourite deity was the Egyptian god Serapis, whose son he pretended to be; he adopted the Egyptian practice of identifying the ruler with god & was the only emperor to be portrayed as a pharaoh in a statue.
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fides exercituum: *
Roman emperor for eight months, in 69 AD.
coin- shows Emperor Vitellius, struck in Spain Tarraco- see Illustration below
Obv: A. VITELLIVS IMP. GERMAN. Rev.: FIDES EXERCITVM S. C.
Leureate bust left Clasped hands
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fides exercitus: *
ELAGABALUS AR silver antoninianus. Struck at Rome, 219 AD.
Obv.
IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG, radiate draped bust right. Rev. - FIDES EXERCITUS, Fides seated left, holding eagle and standard, another standard before her.
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Saxon Emperors (German impulse to the South & ruin): *
Otto I (936-73), first Ottonian Emperior, started his reign by trying to unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom; he expanded royal powers at the expense of the aristocracy. However in 951 he married Adelaide (widowed queen of Italy), defeated her enemies, took control of Italy & in 962 became the first Saxon Holy Roman Emperor. Henceforth German kings considered themselves successors to the Classical Roman emperors, thereby intertwining German affairs with Italy & the popes. Otto’s later years saw conflicts with the papacy & he struggled to stabilize his rule in Italy. His son Otto II (955-983) succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor in 973. Otto dealt with domestic affairs in Germany & then focused his attention from 980 onwards to annexing the whole of Italy for the Empire. This triggered conflict with the Byzantine Empire & the Muslims Caliphate in southern Italy. In 982 Otto was defeated by Muslim forces. While preparing a counter stroke a major uprising by the Slavs broke out in 983, forcing the Empire to abandon territorial holdings east of the Elbe river. Otto III (983-1002) continued the Saxon pre-occupation with Italy. In 996, he marched to Italy to claim the Imperial title as well as re-establish Imperial control over the city of Rome. The city eventually rebelled against his rule, a rebellion strengthened by Otto sudden death. Otto’s son Henry II (1002-24) would lead 3 expeditions into Italy to enforce his claim as Emperor; in 1014 Pope Benedict VIII crowned him Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. He died without heir in 1024. This opened the way for the Salian & then Hohenstaufen dynasties, who continued the Imperial policy initiated by the Saxons.
After Otto I, Imperial power began to fade, local rulers & the Church gained. Eventually the emperor held little authority & the territories operated as autonomous states. The Hohenstaufen dynasty (1125-1268) tried to unify power. Despite imperial claims Emperor Frederick III, saw the disintegration of central rule in the Empire. Pre-occupied with Sicily he was mostly absent from Germany & gave privileges to the secular & ecclesiastical princes (such as tariffs, coining & fortification). These privileges allowed the German princes to maintain order north of the Alps while Frederick concentrated on Italy. These rulers of the many small principalities held authority over their land which superseded the power of the central authority of the emperor. The emperor could not govern autonomously; his power was restricted by the various local leaders. Imperial power declined over time & the individual territories operated sovereign states. The Imperial Diet was the legislative body & theoretically superior to the emperor; it included the electors who chose future emperors. Only after election & after coronation by the pope in Rome could the Emperor claim his tittle.
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global colonial & economic system: *
British Empire at its height- 1913-20
