Roman Republic

16th Celtic Conference in Classics. Coimbra, July 15-18, 2025 2025-06-16 | Conference paper.

The controversial concept of race—better understood through the lens of ethnicity—is
difficult to apply to Antiquity. However, this paper examines whether the treatment of
the Samnites, a community with a distinct cultural identity, can be interpreted from an
ethnic perspective in the aftermath of the Social War (91-87 BCE).

In this regard, the repressive measures taken by Lucius Cornelius Sulla (cos. 88, 80 a.C.) against the Italic communities after his victory in the First Civil War (87–81 BCE) are
particularly significant. Sulla imposed varying degrees of repression on Italic groups that
had not supported his return to Italy. Beyond his proscriptiones, these additional punitive
actions were particularly severe against the defiant Samnites, who were mercilessly
massacred following their defeat at the Battle of the Colline Gate and the capture of
Praeneste. This was followed by military campaigns in Samnium itself, with devastating
consequences. The extraordinary level of repression directed specifically at the Samnites
suggests that Sulla may have harbored a particular animosity toward them.

In the case of Praeneste, Appian (BCiv. 1.94) reports that Sulla divided the defeated into
three groups—Romans, Samnites, and Praenestines—granting clemency to the Romans
after executing their leaders. However, he was relentless with the captured Italics,
namely the Praenestines and Samnites, who were executed despite theoretically holding
Roman citizenship. Notably, Sulla ordered the separation of Praenestines and Samnites,
possibly indicating differences in their execution methods.

We will seek evidence to assess whether this differential treatment, from the Social War
to Sulla's victory, was driven by ethnic motives, political retribution, or a combination
of both. Our analysis will explore which elements point to ethnic targeting and which
suggest political motivations, opening debates and avenues for further research on other
Italic communities before and after the Social War.

Déployée à partir d’un terrain sud-américain, l’anthropologie politique de Pierre Clastres pose de manière tranchante la question de la présence de l’État : ce dernier se situe-il dans la société ou au dehors ? Quel est le degré intrinsèque de verticalité que suppose son existence ? Par le biais de telles interrogations, Clastres a exploré les possibilités de sociétés sans État, ou plutôt activement « contre l’État ». L’objectif de cet article est de prendre au sérieux la théorie clastrienne ainsi que l’idée centrale d’une énergie du politique qui s’opposerait à l’État, afin de déterminer si de telles réflexions peuvent être utilisées (et à quel prix heuristique) pour mieux saisir les ambivalences de la polis athénienne, de la res publica romaine ou encore des pouvoirs de l’empereur romain.

Book review of:
-Pitassi, Michael. 2010. The Navies of Rome, Woodbridge, UK; Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press. ISBN 9781843836001. First print, hardcover: 2009. ISBN 9781843834090.
-Pitassi, Michael. 2011. Roman Warships. Woodbridge, UK; Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press. ISBN 9781843836100.

La comunicación tiene el objetivo principal de tratar de exponer las claves y motivaciones que tuvo Roma para mantener “viva” a Cartago en el 201 a.C., y sus nuevos intereses para destruirla en el 146 a.C. No se pretende hacer un análisis de las maniobras militares y políticas de ambas guerras o sus causas. El foco estará puesto en las razones políticas, militares y económicas que tuvo Roma para destruir la ciudad africana en el 146 a.C. y no antes. Para ello se investigará la situación en Italia y en África en los años finales de cada contienda (204-201 a.C./148-146 a.C.). Para el cumplimiento de los objetivos se han consultado gran variedad de fuentes primarias. Entre las literarias destacan: Apiano, Plutarco, Polibio, Livio y Estrabón. También son fundamentales otras, como las arqueológicas y las numismáticas.

Roman views on the public and private are notoriously complex. Romans confidently utilized the public space for their individual benefit; however, the private space was equally expected to be used for the common good. This presentation examines the Roman space through visibility and movement in relationship to the concepts of public and private. Through the concept of administrative work, the presentation explores individual cities, such as Pompeii and Delos, and their houses to investigate the possibility of privacy and publicity. The spatiovisual examination offers a new understanding of space that reaches beyond the strict ownership-based dichotomy of public and private.

Excusatio is used several times in the Latin sources 2 to refer to the act of publicly presenting a satisfactory excuse, pretext or exemption, for not taking up office or for not accepting undertakings, after being elected to a magistracy. Through this procedure, which was common in Republican and Imperial Rome, candidates or magistrates-elect could thus turn down different offices: an aristocrat who had stood for election could eventually withdraw his candidacy; 3 a senator could refuse to attend a Senate session or to sit on a quaestio when his presence was required; 4 a young girl who met the requirements to become a Vestal Virgin could, depending on her family situation, choose not to participate in the Vestal sortitio; 5 magistrates could decline to cast lots for their provinces during their term of office or to govern the province they had just been assigned; and so forth. It is this last type of excusatio, with which it was possible to relinquish a provincial governorship, that is discussed here. The focus is placed on the curule 1 I would like to warmly thank Francisco Pina Polo for inviting me to this conference and Thomas MacFarlane for his careful proofreading of my text. All dates are BCE, unless otherwise stated. 2 E.g. Caes.

Revue de l'équipe de recherche ERASME Université Toulouse -Jean Jaurès (UT2J) Anabases dispose d'un Comité de lecture international. Chaque article envoyé à la rédaction est soumis, une fois anonymisé, à l'expertise de deux spécialistes qui rendent un rapport écrit. Les deux rapports anonymisés sont transmis à l'auteur qui tient compte des observations en vue de la publication.

À l’occasion de la parution du livre Theater der Macht : die Inszenierung der Politik in der römischen Republik (Munich, C. H. Beck, 2023), cet article revient sur le rôle politique de la plèbe de Rome sous la République dans l’œuvre de son auteur, K. J. Hölkeskamp. En replaçant cet ouvrage, aussi bien dans le débat qui en est directement à l’origine (sur la nature, aristocratique ou démocratique, de la République romaine) que dans un iter historiographique plus large portant sur la place accordée, depuis Mommsen, au peuple ou à la plèbe dans la vie politique républicaine, il tente de mieux cerner l’apport des travaux de K. J. Hölkeskamp à la compréhension de la culture politique des masses urbaines, d’en mesurer l’originalité et la finesse, d’en montrer les limites. Malgré des évolutions notables, sur la durée de sa carrière, dans le discours de K. J. Hölkeskamp, la place accordée aux acteurs non aristocratiques de la vie politique demeure celle d’éternels mineurs, cantonnés à reconnaître et légitimer la grandeur de leurs supérieurs.

This article traces the evolution of the well-known Legiones Cannenses from a citizen army into a professional force, possibly the first in the history of the Roman army. I shall focus on three main aspects
of this transformation. First, I shall deal with the split of the legionaries from civic life, in the wake of the battle of Cannae. The Roman senate in 215 BCE decided to strip the survivors of the battle of their civil
rights and sent them to garrison Sicily. The decision of the Senate created a mercenary force, different from the rest of the Roman army. Then, I shall examine the peculiar commitment of the soldiers to some of the most important warlords, such as Marcellus, Scipio, and Flamininus, who in turn were in command of the Legiones Cannenses during the Second Punic War and the Second Macedonian War. The last topic discussed in this part are the changes in the tactical composition of the Legiones Cannenses, evident in the African campaign. By then, the tactical composition of the Legiones Cannenses looked very much akin to that of the Late Republican legions. The cohors had taken the place of the manipulum as the main tactical unit.

Revue de l'équipe de recherche ERASME Université Toulouse -Jean Jaurès (UT2J) Anabases dispose d'un Comité de lecture international. Chaque article envoyé à la rédaction est soumis, une fois anonymisé, à l'expertise de deux spécialistes qui rendent un rapport écrit. Les deux rapports anonymisés sont transmis à l'auteur qui tient compte des observations en vue de la publication.

Rome started as a small settlement on the banks of a large river and its history has been tied to the Tiber ever since. This essay investigates a range of myths that feature the changing river as an agent that actively shapes the landscape. Myths of the Tiber contain precious ecological knowledge about the changing environment of the river, reflecting social, religious, and political concerns. The Roman foundation myth is set in a destructive Tiber flood, exhibiting an awareness of both the dangers and the richness of the fluvial environment. The destructive forces of flooding also feature in Horace’s Odes and Vergil’s Aeneid. The god Tiberinus appears to Aeneas in a dream to announce his victory and his death in the same breath. Tiberinus is an active agent that drives Vergil’s epic narrative but also a divinity that the Romans worshiped together with Gaia, his female partner. Several stories combine the masculine portrayal of the Tiber with the productive role of women thus reflecting Roman gender and power dynamics. The story of the creation of the Tiber Island tells of land donation made by two women and renders river phenomena of alluviation and erosion in anthropomorphic terms. The myth of Vertumnus, a shapeshifter god, reflects the fluidity and gender ambivalence of rivers, as shown in the works of Propertius and Sulpicia

The paper elaborates on the lusus Troiae ('Troy game'), a cerimonial fight performed by pueri ('young boys') belonging to the Roman elite. It argues that the formula "pueri maiores et minores" refers to children divided into two squadrons not by age, but according to their belonging to the gentes maiores or minores into which patrician families were grouped since Rome's earliest time. The scrutiny of historical evidence of the lusus Troiae dating to Sulla's and Caesar's dictatorships and the triumviral period and the comparison of the vocabulary in ancient accounts (Suetonius, Plutarch and Cassius Dio) has supported the view of a division by gentes rather than by age. The paper has also focused on the participation of pueri belonging to the plebeian nobilitas, such as Cato, the later Uticensis, in the lusus Troiae. Conclusions have shown how a child's participation in the Troy game affected both the public and the personal-familial spheres, in terms of consensus-building and future political and military careers.

The Archaeological Museum of Lorca houses a collection of Roman coins, including several denarii minted between 49 and 44 BC. This period marks the rise of Julius Caesar to power after the conquest of Gaul and his ultimate victory in the second civil war. The coins minted by Caesar and his followers bear images related to contemporary conflicts and the general’s political ambitions. His appointment as perpetual dictator by the Senate in 44 BC, along with the inclusion of his portrait on minted coins, emulating the style of Hellenistic monarchs, were some of the reasons for his assassination on the Ides of March of that year.
El Museo Arqueológico de Lorca atesora una colección de monedas romanas que incluye varios denarios acuñados entre el 49 y el 44 antes de Cristo, años decisivos en los que Julio César ascendió definitivamente al poder tras la conquista de la Galia y su victoria en la guerra civil. Las monedas acuñadas por César y sus seguidores contienen imágenes que nos hablan del contexto bélico del momento, así como de las ambiciones políticas de César. Su nombramiento como dictador perpetuo y la inclusión de su retrato en vida en monedas, al estilo de un monarca helenístico, terminaron por costarle la vida en las idus de marzo del año 44 a. de C.

Termin hermaphroditus (pl. hermaphroditi) określa w łacinie osobę, która miała żeńskie i męskie organy płciowe 1 . Jest on kalką greckiego rzeczownika ὁ ἑρμαφρόδιτος (ho hermafróditos) 2 . W źródłach łacińskich używa się na określenie obojnaków również słowa androgynus (pl. androgyni). Również i ono jest kopią greckiego rzeczownika ὁ ἀνδρόγυνος (ho andrόgynos), będącego złożeniem słów: ἀνήρ ("mężczyzna") i γυνή ("kobieta") 3 . Autorzy 1 Szerzej na temat rozumienia pojęcia "hermafrodytyzm" zob. D. Lewandowska, Androgyn czy hermafrodyta? Studium nad hermafrodytyzmem w źródłach antycznych, Warszawa 2019, s. XIII-XVII. 2 W mitologii greckiej imieniem Hermafrodyt określano syna Afrodyty i Hermesa, którego wychowywały nimfy w lasach Idy we Frygii. Mając piętnaście lat, rozpoczął wędrówkę po świecie, która przywiodła go nad jezioro w Karii. Tam zakochała się w nim nimfa o imieniu Salmakis. Hermafrodyt odrzucił jednak jej miłość. Kiedy młodzieniec kąpał się w jeziorze, Salmakis objęła go w wodzie i poprosiła bogów, aby połączył ich ciała. Ci wysłuchawszy jej prośby, połączyli Hermafrodyta i Nimfę w nowej postaci o dwoistej naturze. O micie tym wspominają Ovid., met.

Der Tod seiner Tochter Tullia im Februar 45 v. Chr. stürzte Cicero in tiefe Trauer. Zur Bewältigung seines Schmerzes verfasste er zunächst eine Trostschrift und fokussierte sich dann auf das Vorhaben, seine Tochter zu vergöttlichen und ihr ein Heiligtum (fanum) zu errichten. Erstmals erwähnt er diese Idee im März 45 in einem Brief an seinen engsten Freund Atticus (Cic. Att. 12,18,1). Das Bauprojekt und die Suche nach einem geeigneten Standort dominierten ihre Korrespondenz in den nächsten Monaten. Dabei imaginierte Cicero auch die jeweils vorzunehmenden Baumaßnahmen. Kurz vor der Auktion des favorisierten Immobilienobjekts, der nahe Rom gelegenen horti Scapulas, erfuhr Cicero im Juli über einen Bekannten von Caesars Plänen, die Hauptstadt zu erweitern (de urbe augenda) und den Tiber umzuleiten – ein urbanistisches Großprojekt, welches das Grundstück, das er erwerben wollte, direkt betraf (Cic. Att. 13,33,1). Der schockierte Cicero nahm daraufhin von seiner Kaufabsicht Abstand und gab schließlich die Pläne für das fanum ganz auf. Der für die Zukunft befürchtete Konflikt zwischen diesen beiden Bauprojekten wirkte also direkt auf die Gegenwart zurück, beeinflusste Entscheidungen und veränderte damit wiederum die Zukunft. Was Cicero nicht wusste: Caesars Projekt wurde nie verwirklicht – das Heiligtum hätte also problemlos dort gebaut werden können.
Dieser Vortrag soll untersuchen, wie Cicero in seinen Briefen über diese geplanten Bauten schrieb und welche Wirkmacht diese Zukunftsprojekte in der Gegenwart entfalteten. Zuerst wird mit einem close reading der Briefkorrespondenz die Entwicklung von Ciceros Plänen nachvollzogen. Als zweites werden die beiden Projekte, Ciceros fanum und Caesars Stadterweiterung, in ihren historischen Kontext eingeordnet und ihre Umsetzbarkeit diskutiert. Dazu werden auch ergänzende Quellen (z. B. Cic. Tusc. 3,75; Suet. Iul. 44) herangezogen. Gab Cicero sein Vorhaben tatsächlich wegen Caesar auf oder gab es weitere Gründe? Drittens wird anhand der Bauprojekte herausgearbeitet, wie über Zukunft geredet, wie sie gestaltet und mit ihr interagiert wurde. Mit diesem Beispiel lässt sich zeigen, dass Architektur auch jenseits des gegenwärtig Gebauten eine große Wirkmacht in Diskursen und Entscheidungsprozessen entfalten konnte. Damit kann der Vortrag eine innovative Perspektive auf die Zeitvorstellungen im spätrepublikanischen Rom eröffnen und das große Potential aufzeigen, das Briefe mit ihrer Zeitzeugen-Perspektive als Quelle bieten.

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean and the ancient point of contact between Africa, Italy, Greece and the Eastern world, witnessed two massive slave uprisings in the 2nd century BC. Together with the later revolt of Spartacus in Italy in the 1st century BC, the movements of Eunus-Antiochus of ca. 140/135-132 BC, and that of Salvius-Tryphon and Athenion of ca. 104-100 BC form the triad of great slave wars such as were never seen in antiquity, before or since. Twice in the same
century, during a period of several years, former slaves built states of their own, states that controlled large portions of the island and exchanged blows with the Roman armies, with surprising success. Our main source, Diodorus of Sicily (books 34/5 and 36, preserved in excerpts and fragments), describes these new political structures as recreations of the Hellenistic kingdoms. This tendency is especially remarkable in the case of the First Slave War when rebel leadership brought about, at
least outwardly, a Western replica of the Seleucid monarchy of Syria. Historians of the older generation took notice of these developments, though attempts at deeper analysis were rare. With one significant exception, the newer historiography has either ignored Hellenistic connections of the Sicilian slave revolts, or dismissed them
as marginal. This paper argues that Hellenistic elements in the structure of the two ancient slave revolts are both substantial and historically significant. It was partly the case of simple ethnocultural affinity (the core of the rebels, including most of the leadership came from Syria and Asia Minor), but also of great practical necessity that political entities created by the former slaves took on the form of the military monarchy of the kind prevalent in the Hellenistic East.

PRÓXIMAMENTE **
El objeto general de esta monografía es abordar la transformación resultante tras el Bellum Sociale. En particular, nos centraremos en la mutación de las normas consuetudinarias y no escritas que hacían funcionar el sistema romano. De hecho, queremos dar una explicación empírica y contrastada de uno de los momentos más convulsos y decisivos de la República romana, con el fin de entender las consecuencias de los dos primeros conflictos de tipo civil que vivió el sistema republicano: el Bellum Sociale (91-87 a.C.) y la llamada Primera Guerra Civil entre cinno-marianistas y silanos (88-81 a.C.).

Epistolography, Knowledge, and the Ancient World. Conference, University of Bucharest October 3-4, 2025.
2025-10-03 | Conference paper

**

Cicero’s Letters and the Politics of Transgression after the Social War
This paper aims to explore the role and impact of Cicero’s correspondence in understanding political and social transgression in the period following the so-called Social War (91-87 BCE) until the consolidation of Sulla's regime and his withdrawal from active politics in 79 BCE. Through an analysis of Cicero’s letters to Atticus and his brother Quintus, the paper seeks to examine what these letters reveal about the events and dynamics of the time. How do these letters shed light on the level of transgression in late Republican Rome? To what extent can they be considered a reliable source for understanding the social, political, and personal tensions of a period marked by instability and radical transformation? By analyzing the themes of corruption, political violence, and the shifting allegiances, the paper will further investigate how Cicero’s correspondence serves as a lens to understand the complexities of Roman political life during a time of profound change. Ultimately, this study aims to highlight the value of correspondence as a historical tool for addressing this time of intense political and social upheaval, offering not only a reflection of Cicero’s personal thoughts and emotions but also a window into the complexities of power and governance in the Roman Republic.

This paper provides a critical overview on the newest literature about the epigraphic elogium of Titus Annius, one of the commissioners trusted in 169 BC to lead new settlers to Aquileia (Aep 1996, 685). The topics are: identification of the personality; typology of the monument and the inscription; dating and occasion of the dedication; original location of the statue; actions of the triumvirate in the colony; location and function of the temple; possible connection of the triumvir with the via Annia.

El análisis de la circulación monetaria en el Camp de Tarragona ha identificado una dispersión de monedas, principalmente hispano-cartaginesas, caracterizada por tener su centro y superior densidad en la ciudad ibérica de El Vilar (Valls), y por el control del territorio cosetano y de las comunicaciones entre la costa y el interior, pudiendo datarse en el 218 a.C. Las recientes excavaciones en El Vilar han constatado su destrucción violenta por parte de un ejército dotado de artillería de torsión, gracias a la documentación de proyectiles de balista entre los niveles de incendio y derrumbe de las casas. Estas dos evidencias se ponen en relación para proponer como hipótesis más probable que fueron las tropas de Aníbal Barca las autoras del asalto y destrucción de la ciudad. Finalmente, se discute la propuesta de una fortificación púnica en la acrópolis de Tarragona, anterior a la construcción de la muralla romana de inicios del siglo II a.C., y su posible relación con el control cartaginés del territorio cosetano a inicios de la Segunda Guerra Púnica. Palabras clave Segunda Guerra Púnica, prospección arqueológica, numismática, artillería de torsión, Vilar de Valls, Tarraco, arquitectura militar.

The Indian philosopher Thiruvalluvar (Valluvar for short), who lived about 2000 years ago, has analyzed all aspects of human life and proposed practical guidelines for a purposeful life in his remarkable book Thirukkural. His book consists of 1330 couplets. Out of those 1330 couplets, he has dedicated almost seventy couplets to discuss various aspects of friendship. Valluvar considers good and evil friendships. His idea of a good friendship is very similar to Aristotle's concept of friendship of virtue. Valluvar's ideas regarding evil friendships are very similar to those of Aristotle's ideas on friendship of pleasure and friendship of utility. Valluvar stresses the importance of due diligence before developing a friendship with anyone. He advises that evil friendships should be discontinued as quickly as possible. He also recommends that when enemies pretend to be friends, their friendships should be diplomatically terminated.

U seminarskom radu je opisan Gaj Julije Cezar u kontekstu njegovog utjecaja na Egipat i općenito njegove veze s Egiptom i Kleopatrom. U tom kontekstu prikazan je i njegov životopis sažeto te  njegova politička karijera s usponom i sve do trenutka kada je ubijen.

Il problema dell’indebitamento e la pratica dell’usura rappresentano due fenomeni importanti per la storia economica di Roma, la cui natura e incidenza varia nel tempo ed è strettamente collegata all’evoluzione della società romana. Debito e usura vengono analizzati in un preciso arco cronologico e spaziale: in relazione al periodo repubblicano, anche se non mancheranno degli sconfinamenti in epoca monarchica, e la città di Roma è il principale scenario di questa indagine

Resum Aquest treball analitza la presència militar cartaginesa entre l'Ebre i els Pirineus en el nord-est peninsular durant la Segona Guerra Púnica. En primer lloc, s'estudien les referències de les fonts escrites i els indicis arqueològics. En segon lloc, s'analitzen les mencions dels autors antics sobre la forma i disposició dels campaments de campanya cartaginesos i, finalment, es presenten aquelles restes mobles que ens permeten localitzar aquests campaments, bàsicament, monedes, restes d'armament i ceràmiques. Paraules clau: Segona Guerra Púnica; campaments cartaginesos; monedes hispanocartagineses; puntes de fletxa feniciopúniques; àmfores púniques d'importació

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

This study proposes the integrated utilization of advanced information technologies to enrich conservation, research, and visitors' experience at the Norba Archaeological Park, located in Latium, Italy. Using 3D digitalization, augmented reality (AR), and geographical information systems (GIS) technologies, this work aims to transform the archaeological and historical heritage into material that can be used via smart devices, thus improving and expanding the methodologies of fruition.

O presente  volume  tem  origem  nas  atividades  realizadas  no  âmbito  do  projeto «BioRom Roma nosso lar: tradição (auto)biográfica e consolidação da(s) identidade(s)», financiado pela FCT (Fundos nacionais) PTDC/LLT -OUT/28431/ /2017 e que tem como instituição beneficiária a Universidade de Coimbra, através de seu Centro de Estudos Clássicos e Humanísticos. Tendo por objetivos analisar, nas fontes literárias, marcas de identidade e de alteridade no mundo romano, o escopo  deste  projeto  incidiu  na  forma  como  os  textos  refletem  definições  e  modelos  da  identidade  romana,  balizados  entre  duas  perspetivas:  a  perspetiva  ontológica  que,  assente  nos  valores,  nos  mitos  e  na  realidade  ‘comum  a  todos’,  plasma uma perceção de romanitas com fronteiras delimitadas em relação ao(s) Outro(s); a perspetiva de construção, implicada, desde a génese da romanitas, na relação com a multiplicidade e com a diferença.Parte dos contributos que formam este volume foram apresentados na Confe­rence in Classics and Ancient History (Coimbra, 22 -25 June 2020), mais especifica-mente no painel Imperial (auto)biographies: narrating identity in the Roman Empire, proposto e coordenado por dois investigadores do projeto BioRom (Ália Rodrigues e Fábio Faversani). Partindo do pressuposto de que o Império se constituiu como um período histórico no qual um grande número de comunidades e de indivíduos culturalmente distintos foram obrigados, por via da necessidade de se integrarem na  cultura  dominante,  a  negociar  e  renegociar  a  sua  identidade  no  quadro  de  circunstâncias  também  elas  muito  díspares  (alianças,  contactos  de  fronteira,  conflitos  com  Roma,  etc.),  o  referido  painel,  que  teve  como  propósito  reunir  investigadores  de  diferentes  instituições  e  estádios  de  formação,  visou  refletir  sobre o problema da identidade em textos (auto)biográficos do período imperial, discutir as perceções relativamente ao que é ‘ser romano’ e ser ‘Outro(s)’ plasma-das  nesses  textos  bem  como  perceber  se  essas  perceções  refletem,  em  alguma  medida, eventuais mutações na construção das fronteiras identitárias.Além  de  contributos  apresentados  no  âmbito  do  painel,  o  volume  acabou  por  incluir  outros  textos  já  publicados  e  inéditos  que  guardam  estreita  relação  com o escopo de análise do projeto BioRom, com o intuito de dar corpo a uma obra  também  pragmaticamente  pensada  para  apoio  à  lecionação  das  áreas  da  História  e  Historiografia  romanas  em  unidades  curriculares  de  licenciatura  e  de  pós-graduação.

El artículo que se presenta a continuación resulta de un fragmento de la obra publicada en el año 2024 “El origen del riego a occidente de Zaragoza. Sosinesta y la acequia de la Almozara” por el que, tal vez debido a la novedosa perspectiva con la que se aborda tema tan complicado, a la consistencia de sus argumentaciones y a la firmeza de sus conclusiones, se ha decidido presentar como capítulo independiente. Se pretende así dar continuidad al tema ciertamente abordado en investigaciones anteriores por muchos autores y que todavía hoy en día sigue teniendo visos de no poderse considerar asunto zanjado: las “posibles razones ocultas” que llevaron finalmente al conocido litigio entre saldvuitanos y alaunenses por la construcción de una acequia que, naciendo en el rio Jalón y pasando por la ignota Sosinesta, abastecería al oppidum de Salduie

Roman historical tradition has regarded Sulla as a paradigm of the moral corruption resulting from the exercise of absolute power. However, this negative characterisation only concerns the last part of the dictator’s life, after his victory in the civil war, and not his previous career, which on the contrary is always viewed positively in the sources; this unexplained inconsistency gives the impression of an elusive and enigmatic character. The present paper identifies Livy as the creator of this ‘double portrait’ of Sulla. As can be reconstructed from the periocha of book 88, the historian changed abruptly from a positive to a negative view of Sulla immediately after the account of the battle at the Colline Gate in 82 BC. The following account focused on three key episodes (the massacre of the prisoners of war, the destruction of Praeneste, the execution of Gratidianus) to which Livy must have attributed central importance in the economy of his narrative. The insistent recurrence of these exempla in the subsequent historiographical, rhetorical, and philosophical tradition confirms that Livy’s version of the events had immediately become canonical. The negative characterisation of the protagonist was achieved by omitting the motives behind his actions, thus suggesting that his choices were driven only by arbitrariness and cruelty. Livy’s choice reveals a design to present Sulla as an exemplary negative model, whose story was meant to warn readers of the dangers of absolute power: even a man like Sulla, faithful to the traditional Roman ethics, scrupulously respectful of the laws, loved and protected by the gods, could become dangerous for his fellow-citizens once invested with a power lacking institutional limits. The author proposes that the contemporary referent whom Livy intended to warn could be Tiberius, in his capacity as designated heir to Augustus.