PhD student within the interdisciplinary Graduate School 2571 "Empires". Defended 12th July 2024. Research focus on imperial relations, temporality of local communities, the memory and negotiation of the past in the Roman Empire, urban history, empire and Imperialismus, and the their intersections. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Peter Eich and Prof. Dr. Sitta von Reden
As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley prov... more As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley provides a well-suited case study for understanding the complexity of imperial ideology and architecture in first century CE Rome. Imperial architecture was a crucial element in expressing issues of power and legitimacy, but studying them on their own is not enough. This article studies the interrelatedness and interdependence of monumental architecture, ideology, imperial power and urban experience in the Colosseum Valley during the Flavian period by taking a sensory approach, arguing that contemporaries’ experiences are equally as important for ideological communication as the buildings themselves.
What made a polis important in the Roman period? Was it its architectural monumentality, its inst... more What made a polis important in the Roman period? Was it its architectural monumentality, its institutions, its economic, religious or political significance? Ideally, a polis had enough of all, topped off by an illustrious past. Especially civic pasts proved to be mouldable in such a way – both discursively and medially – that it forms arguably the most interesting way to look at discourses of civic significance. References to a city’s past were made by means of epithets, changes to the city’s name, and the appropriation of well-known myths and histories, to name a few. They were advertised on inscriptions and referred to with sculptures erected in public spaces, and in many cases, they became part of the identities and felt realities of the citizens. Highlighting two cases from the Roman eastern Mediterranean, this paper will discuss what made a city to be considered significant.
Research paper at workshop "Experiencing Emperors and Emperorship", held 16-17 November at the Ra... more Research paper at workshop "Experiencing Emperors and Emperorship", held 16-17 November at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Presented at the workshop "Memory, Space and Mindscapes in Ancient Greece", organized under the a... more Presented at the workshop "Memory, Space and Mindscapes in Ancient Greece", organized under the auspices of Giorgia Proietti at the Università di Trento, 23-24 February 2023
In a race for prestige among the cities of Asia Minor, the city of Sardis erected and re-erected ... more In a race for prestige among the cities of Asia Minor, the city of Sardis erected and re-erected inscriptions and ancient monuments throughout its urban and direct extra-urban environment that referred to the archaic Lydian empire, a deliberately non-GrecoRoman past. Throughout the second and third century CE, it styled itself as “first of the earth” and “metropolis of Asia, and all of Lydia, and Greece” in an attempt to gain privileges and prestige within the Roman imperial framework. In this sense Sardis differentiated itself from surrounding cities, which mostly took Greek mythological figures and events for promotional strategies and the formation of collective memory. This focus can be seen especially well in the case of the so-called Wadi B imperial cult temple. The paper discusses to what extent a post-imperial Lydian memoryscape was constructed in Sardis by taking the Wadi B imperial cult temple as case study. The nature of the sanctuary as dedicated to the imperial cult formed a symbolic space for the interaction between city and empire in the city itself and therefore as a space for negotiation of Sardis’ place within the imperial structure. By adding the layer of a contemporary empire onto the construction of post-imperial memory, it shows the importance of the imperial framework in the formation of cultural memory in a local context. Through establishing the expressions of memory in the sanctuary itself and through the spatial connections between the temple and other elements in the city and in the landscape around the city, the paper will show the intricate relations between the city, its past and the Roman empire. It will also show the importance of landscape for the construction of (post-imperial) memories.
Programme for the 5th PhD Day of trinational Classics association Collegium Beatus Rhenanus (CBR)... more Programme for the 5th PhD Day of trinational Classics association Collegium Beatus Rhenanus (CBR), held at the University of Freiburg, 5th July 2024. Organisation: Simon Schall and Rogier van der Heijden. Speakers: Lucia Lakatosová, Thomas Schmidt, Julia Wilm and Max Thomé.
Conference programme Politics of Pasts and Futures in (Post-)Imperial Contexts
1-3 December 2022... more Conference programme Politics of Pasts and Futures in (Post-)Imperial Contexts
1-3 December 2022, University Freiburg, Kollegiengebäude 1, Aula/Prometheushalle.
Registering for both online and in-person participation is possible by sending an e-mail to conference@grk2571.uni-freiburg.de before 28 November.
A booklet with abstracts of all speakers can be found on https://www.grk2571.uni-freiburg.de/events/annual-conference-2022/booklet_conference_2022.pdf
***Deadline has been moved to 24 March 2022***
The conference aims to explore how references t... more ***Deadline has been moved to 24 March 2022***
The conference aims to explore how references to past empires and imperiality have shaped perceptions of history and imagined futures, both in imperial and in post-imperial contexts. These include, for example, not only references to imperial foundation myths, but also stories of success and resilience during times of crisis, and uses of imperial symbolism and history to express civic, national and/or imperial identity. It also explores legacies of pre-existing empires in post-imperial political orders. In connection to imperial claims of universalism, longevity and a transcending historical significance, analyzing these temporal aspects of imperiality can serve as an important key to understanding imperial dynamics. Accordingly, markers of (imperial) temporality can be found, for example, in political discourse, but also in cultural products, social relations and religious practices.
Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft, Bd. 26, 2023
Book review of Martin Hallmannsecker's monograph "Roman Ionia. Constructions of Cultural Identity... more Book review of Martin Hallmannsecker's monograph "Roman Ionia. Constructions of Cultural Identity in Western Asia Minor"
Review of Miko Flohr (ed.), Urban Space and Urban History in the Roman World (Routledge; London, ... more Review of Miko Flohr (ed.), Urban Space and Urban History in the Roman World (Routledge; London, 2020) 348 p., ill., €140 ISBN 9780367406226
File upon request. Published as peer-reviewed article in BABESCH 97 (2022). Doi: 10.2143/BAB.97.0... more File upon request. Published as peer-reviewed article in BABESCH 97 (2022). Doi: 10.2143/BAB.97.0.3290536.
As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley provides a useful case study to understand the complexity of imperial ideology and architecture in first century CE Rome. This thesis studies the interrelatedness and interdependence of monumental architecture, ideology, imperial power and urban experience in the Colosseum Valley during the Flavian period. Similar studies have been done before, but all without fully taking into account the role of urban experience based on movement and the senses. Here, a sensory and kinetic approach will be taken and theories from urban design will be implemented in order to show the interplay between imperial ideology and urban space in Flavian Rome and the awareness of the Flavians of this interplay. The Colosseum Valley thus served a pivotal role in the urban planning of all three Flavian emperors as the district provided the dynasty with the necessary legitimation to rule and a connection with Rome’s manifest destiny and the Augustan past.
As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley prov... more As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley provides a well-suited case study for understanding the complexity of imperial ideology and architecture in first century CE Rome. Imperial architecture was a crucial element in expressing issues of power and legitimacy, but studying them on their own is not enough. This article studies the interrelatedness and interdependence of monumental architecture, ideology, imperial power and urban experience in the Colosseum Valley during the Flavian period by taking a sensory approach, arguing that contemporaries’ experiences are equally as important for ideological communication as the buildings themselves.
What made a polis important in the Roman period? Was it its architectural monumentality, its inst... more What made a polis important in the Roman period? Was it its architectural monumentality, its institutions, its economic, religious or political significance? Ideally, a polis had enough of all, topped off by an illustrious past. Especially civic pasts proved to be mouldable in such a way – both discursively and medially – that it forms arguably the most interesting way to look at discourses of civic significance. References to a city’s past were made by means of epithets, changes to the city’s name, and the appropriation of well-known myths and histories, to name a few. They were advertised on inscriptions and referred to with sculptures erected in public spaces, and in many cases, they became part of the identities and felt realities of the citizens. Highlighting two cases from the Roman eastern Mediterranean, this paper will discuss what made a city to be considered significant.
Research paper at workshop "Experiencing Emperors and Emperorship", held 16-17 November at the Ra... more Research paper at workshop "Experiencing Emperors and Emperorship", held 16-17 November at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Presented at the workshop "Memory, Space and Mindscapes in Ancient Greece", organized under the a... more Presented at the workshop "Memory, Space and Mindscapes in Ancient Greece", organized under the auspices of Giorgia Proietti at the Università di Trento, 23-24 February 2023
In a race for prestige among the cities of Asia Minor, the city of Sardis erected and re-erected ... more In a race for prestige among the cities of Asia Minor, the city of Sardis erected and re-erected inscriptions and ancient monuments throughout its urban and direct extra-urban environment that referred to the archaic Lydian empire, a deliberately non-GrecoRoman past. Throughout the second and third century CE, it styled itself as “first of the earth” and “metropolis of Asia, and all of Lydia, and Greece” in an attempt to gain privileges and prestige within the Roman imperial framework. In this sense Sardis differentiated itself from surrounding cities, which mostly took Greek mythological figures and events for promotional strategies and the formation of collective memory. This focus can be seen especially well in the case of the so-called Wadi B imperial cult temple. The paper discusses to what extent a post-imperial Lydian memoryscape was constructed in Sardis by taking the Wadi B imperial cult temple as case study. The nature of the sanctuary as dedicated to the imperial cult formed a symbolic space for the interaction between city and empire in the city itself and therefore as a space for negotiation of Sardis’ place within the imperial structure. By adding the layer of a contemporary empire onto the construction of post-imperial memory, it shows the importance of the imperial framework in the formation of cultural memory in a local context. Through establishing the expressions of memory in the sanctuary itself and through the spatial connections between the temple and other elements in the city and in the landscape around the city, the paper will show the intricate relations between the city, its past and the Roman empire. It will also show the importance of landscape for the construction of (post-imperial) memories.
Programme for the 5th PhD Day of trinational Classics association Collegium Beatus Rhenanus (CBR)... more Programme for the 5th PhD Day of trinational Classics association Collegium Beatus Rhenanus (CBR), held at the University of Freiburg, 5th July 2024. Organisation: Simon Schall and Rogier van der Heijden. Speakers: Lucia Lakatosová, Thomas Schmidt, Julia Wilm and Max Thomé.
Conference programme Politics of Pasts and Futures in (Post-)Imperial Contexts
1-3 December 2022... more Conference programme Politics of Pasts and Futures in (Post-)Imperial Contexts
1-3 December 2022, University Freiburg, Kollegiengebäude 1, Aula/Prometheushalle.
Registering for both online and in-person participation is possible by sending an e-mail to conference@grk2571.uni-freiburg.de before 28 November.
A booklet with abstracts of all speakers can be found on https://www.grk2571.uni-freiburg.de/events/annual-conference-2022/booklet_conference_2022.pdf
***Deadline has been moved to 24 March 2022***
The conference aims to explore how references t... more ***Deadline has been moved to 24 March 2022***
The conference aims to explore how references to past empires and imperiality have shaped perceptions of history and imagined futures, both in imperial and in post-imperial contexts. These include, for example, not only references to imperial foundation myths, but also stories of success and resilience during times of crisis, and uses of imperial symbolism and history to express civic, national and/or imperial identity. It also explores legacies of pre-existing empires in post-imperial political orders. In connection to imperial claims of universalism, longevity and a transcending historical significance, analyzing these temporal aspects of imperiality can serve as an important key to understanding imperial dynamics. Accordingly, markers of (imperial) temporality can be found, for example, in political discourse, but also in cultural products, social relations and religious practices.
Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft, Bd. 26, 2023
Book review of Martin Hallmannsecker's monograph "Roman Ionia. Constructions of Cultural Identity... more Book review of Martin Hallmannsecker's monograph "Roman Ionia. Constructions of Cultural Identity in Western Asia Minor"
Review of Miko Flohr (ed.), Urban Space and Urban History in the Roman World (Routledge; London, ... more Review of Miko Flohr (ed.), Urban Space and Urban History in the Roman World (Routledge; London, 2020) 348 p., ill., €140 ISBN 9780367406226
File upon request. Published as peer-reviewed article in BABESCH 97 (2022). Doi: 10.2143/BAB.97.0... more File upon request. Published as peer-reviewed article in BABESCH 97 (2022). Doi: 10.2143/BAB.97.0.3290536.
As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley provides a useful case study to understand the complexity of imperial ideology and architecture in first century CE Rome. This thesis studies the interrelatedness and interdependence of monumental architecture, ideology, imperial power and urban experience in the Colosseum Valley during the Flavian period. Similar studies have been done before, but all without fully taking into account the role of urban experience based on movement and the senses. Here, a sensory and kinetic approach will be taken and theories from urban design will be implemented in order to show the interplay between imperial ideology and urban space in Flavian Rome and the awareness of the Flavians of this interplay. The Colosseum Valley thus served a pivotal role in the urban planning of all three Flavian emperors as the district provided the dynasty with the necessary legitimation to rule and a connection with Rome’s manifest destiny and the Augustan past.
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This focus can be seen especially well in the case of the so-called Wadi B imperial cult temple. The paper discusses to what extent a post-imperial Lydian memoryscape was constructed in Sardis by taking the Wadi B imperial cult temple as case study. The nature of the sanctuary as dedicated to the imperial cult formed a symbolic space for the interaction between city and empire in the city itself and therefore as a space for negotiation of Sardis’ place within the imperial structure. By adding the layer of a contemporary empire onto the construction of post-imperial memory, it shows the importance of the imperial framework in the formation of cultural memory in a local context. Through establishing the expressions of memory in the sanctuary itself and through the spatial connections between the temple and other elements in the city and in the landscape around the city, the paper will show the intricate relations between the city, its past and the Roman empire. It will also show the importance of landscape for the construction of (post-imperial) memories.
1-3 December 2022, University Freiburg, Kollegiengebäude 1, Aula/Prometheushalle.
Registering for both online and in-person participation is possible by sending an e-mail to conference@grk2571.uni-freiburg.de before 28 November.
A booklet with abstracts of all speakers can be found on https://www.grk2571.uni-freiburg.de/events/annual-conference-2022/booklet_conference_2022.pdf
The conference aims to explore how references to past empires and imperiality have shaped perceptions of history and imagined futures, both in imperial and in post-imperial contexts. These include, for example, not only references to imperial foundation myths, but also stories of success and resilience during times of crisis, and uses of imperial symbolism and history to express civic, national and/or imperial identity. It also explores legacies of pre-existing empires in post-imperial political orders. In connection to imperial claims of universalism, longevity and a transcending historical significance, analyzing these temporal aspects of imperiality can serve as an important key to understanding imperial dynamics. Accordingly, markers of (imperial) temporality can be found, for example, in political discourse, but also in cultural products, social relations and religious practices.
348 p., ill., €140 ISBN 9780367406226
As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley provides a useful case study to understand the complexity of imperial ideology and architecture in first century CE Rome. This thesis studies the interrelatedness and interdependence of monumental architecture, ideology, imperial power and urban experience in the Colosseum Valley during the Flavian period. Similar studies have been done before, but all without fully taking into account the role of urban experience based on movement and the senses. Here, a sensory and kinetic approach will be taken and theories from urban design will be implemented in order to show the interplay between imperial ideology and urban space in Flavian Rome and the awareness of the Flavians of this interplay. The Colosseum Valley thus served a pivotal role in the urban planning of all three Flavian emperors as the district provided the dynasty with the necessary legitimation to rule and a connection with Rome’s manifest destiny and the Augustan past.
This focus can be seen especially well in the case of the so-called Wadi B imperial cult temple. The paper discusses to what extent a post-imperial Lydian memoryscape was constructed in Sardis by taking the Wadi B imperial cult temple as case study. The nature of the sanctuary as dedicated to the imperial cult formed a symbolic space for the interaction between city and empire in the city itself and therefore as a space for negotiation of Sardis’ place within the imperial structure. By adding the layer of a contemporary empire onto the construction of post-imperial memory, it shows the importance of the imperial framework in the formation of cultural memory in a local context. Through establishing the expressions of memory in the sanctuary itself and through the spatial connections between the temple and other elements in the city and in the landscape around the city, the paper will show the intricate relations between the city, its past and the Roman empire. It will also show the importance of landscape for the construction of (post-imperial) memories.
1-3 December 2022, University Freiburg, Kollegiengebäude 1, Aula/Prometheushalle.
Registering for both online and in-person participation is possible by sending an e-mail to conference@grk2571.uni-freiburg.de before 28 November.
A booklet with abstracts of all speakers can be found on https://www.grk2571.uni-freiburg.de/events/annual-conference-2022/booklet_conference_2022.pdf
The conference aims to explore how references to past empires and imperiality have shaped perceptions of history and imagined futures, both in imperial and in post-imperial contexts. These include, for example, not only references to imperial foundation myths, but also stories of success and resilience during times of crisis, and uses of imperial symbolism and history to express civic, national and/or imperial identity. It also explores legacies of pre-existing empires in post-imperial political orders. In connection to imperial claims of universalism, longevity and a transcending historical significance, analyzing these temporal aspects of imperiality can serve as an important key to understanding imperial dynamics. Accordingly, markers of (imperial) temporality can be found, for example, in political discourse, but also in cultural products, social relations and religious practices.
348 p., ill., €140 ISBN 9780367406226
As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley provides a useful case study to understand the complexity of imperial ideology and architecture in first century CE Rome. This thesis studies the interrelatedness and interdependence of monumental architecture, ideology, imperial power and urban experience in the Colosseum Valley during the Flavian period. Similar studies have been done before, but all without fully taking into account the role of urban experience based on movement and the senses. Here, a sensory and kinetic approach will be taken and theories from urban design will be implemented in order to show the interplay between imperial ideology and urban space in Flavian Rome and the awareness of the Flavians of this interplay. The Colosseum Valley thus served a pivotal role in the urban planning of all three Flavian emperors as the district provided the dynasty with the necessary legitimation to rule and a connection with Rome’s manifest destiny and the Augustan past.