Inimicitiae in Tacitus

This dissertation analyzes the depiction of personal feuding, or inimicitiae, within Tacitus’ historical works. Said analysis is grounded in passages from Tacitus’ Dialogus de Oratoribus which imply that the ability to regulate feuding among citizens is a key means of evaluating a system of government and that the Roman republic collapsed because it failed to do so. Accordingly, Tacitus’ portrayal of enmity serves as a means of illuminating his depiction of the principate. I begin by reconstructing early 2nd-century C.E. beliefs concerning republican feuding through analyzing the work of Tacitus, his contemporaries, and earlier literature that likely influenced the historian’s thought. I also demonstrate that Tacitus’ emperors strive to present themselves as controlling the harmful effects of inimicitiae, even if they do not always live up to this ideal. The second chapter focuses on feuding over the imperial succession, arguing that the question of choosing the next ruler produced endless fights over power resembling those that destroyed the republic. My third chapter examines feuds that do not involve the imperial family directly and demonstrates that while the change in governments did alter the ways in which elite Romans conducted inimicitiae, said changes did not make feuding less dangerous and opened new opportunities for enemies to use the legal system against one another. Finally, I conclude by discussing reconciliation in Tacitus, contending that the historian shows that the emperors genuinely could act as “reconcilers-in-chief” who settled the feuds of their subjects, but that in practice, they more often abuse this role to protect their corrupt underlings. These points build to the main conclusion, namely that in Tacitus’ presentation, the changes to the nature of inimicitiae brought about by the emperors hardly solved the problem of feuding. This aligns with recent scholarly trends arguing that Tacitus does not present a solution to any issue, but rather prompts his audience to consider the strengths and weaknesses of different alternatives.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Classical Philology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Rudman, Nicholas Arthur

Contributors dc:contributor

• Walters, Brian
• Augoustakis, Antony
• Traill, Ariana
• Williams, Craig

• Latin Literature
• Imperial Literature
• Historiography
• Tacitus
• Enmity
• Interpersonal Conflict

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Nicholas Rudman

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124517

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F124517