Alternative Rome on the periphery and self-portrait of Syrians throughout the third century : Fragmented visual report.
In: Forma Aperta - Ricerche di storia, culture, religioni: 3, 2022
DOI: 10.48255/9788891322722.04
In recent scholarship, globalization can be described most clearly as a process by which localities and people become increasingly interconnected and interdependent. This growing trend shaped Roman society until the beginning of the third century. Involved in the continuous influx of diverse ideas and traditions the contemporary people often formed syncretic identities, consciously interweaving the local, Greek and Roman cultural idioms, and using them for their purposes. This came together with the growing position of Syria in the imperial structures, its wealth and exquisite art and finally accession of power by Severans – the “Syrian dynasty”. The further ascendancy of the periphery at the expense of the centre was soon fueled by the Constitutio Antoniana. As the result, during the decades of crisis, the population of Syria strengthened the Roman aspect of its identity and finally created the alternative Roman Empire ruled by the Palmyrene family of Odainath. This paper examines how this process is reflected by selected examples of visual self-representation created by Syrians from the end of Antonine rule until the middle of the fourth century. Firstly, the paper addresses the imagery of soldiers of local auxiliary forces, then the trends in portraiture of local notables from Palmyra and their families and finally the visual programmes designed by the local usurpers and legitimate rulers. This will demonstrate how was it to be Syrian in times of crisis, how the “Roman identities without Rome” were created and how Syrians sustained the regional networks when the connection with other parts of the Empire weakened.