La provincia romana de la Bética en época de los Severos (193-235 d. C.)

Abstract

The present doctoral thesis aims to offer an overview of the situation in the province of Baetica during a period of the Roman domination scarcely inquired: The Severan dynasty (193-235 A. D.). Starting from the study and critical assessment of the main historical sources, primarily Epigraphy, and a brief review of historiographical contributions on this period, we introduce a first approach on the provincial state based on epigraphic documentation, following each one of the seven periods in which we have subdivided this dynasty. We offer then an in-depth study of each of the four historical milestones in this province during the Severan age: Consequences of the mauri incursions, evolution of the Kalendarium Vegetianum, reprisal and seizure by Septimius Severus in 197 and epigraphic impact of the application of the Constitutio Antoniniana in this province. Next, we focus on the analysis of the provincial management based on the general context of the administrative reforms undertaken by the founder of the dynasty, aimed at greater centralization and specialization of bureaucracy. A prosopographic repertoire of senatores and equites involved in provincial management during this period complements this study, as well as a contextual review of the inscriptions erected in Baetican civitatesthat honored Severan emperors. The analysis of imperial involvement in the province ends with the study of interventions on the communication routes and, especially, on the Annona system. The chapter closes with a review of transformations on local management, with a significant importance of the curatores reipublicae and the hereditary transmission of the city government. Next, the Baetican society during the Severan period is assessed from the perspective of its economic resources, involvement in the maintenance of the municipal system and the migration flow within the province. We include, as well, another prosopographic repertoire of native senatores and equites along with provincial flamines and local patrons. Finally, we offer a survey of the evolution of sixteen of the main provincial civitatesfrom an epigraphical habit and urban planning perspective, with a highlight in continuities and transformations detected in this historical period.