Senatorial Estates in Imperial Asia Minor – State of the Question, Methodological Issues and Perspectives on Future Research

Abstract

The wealth and possessions of Roman senators in the imperial period consisted predominantly in land property, as emphasized by Pliny the Younger (epist. 3,19,8). It is mainly epigraphic documents that give us information about the location and sometimes extent of senatorial land ownership. Especially in Asia Minor there is plenty of evidence, of which Helmut Halfmann already compiled quite some in 1979. Since then many new testimonies have been discovered and published. Apart from that, further, earlier published evidence for the land ownership of senators whose origin was not in Asia Minor can be added. However, a systematic study of senatorial land ownership in Asia Minor as a whole is not yet at hand. The paper provides prolegomena to such a study. I thus give an overview of the extent, distribution and background of senatorial land ownership in Asia Minor. Rarely is this property so clearly indicated as in the land register of Magnesia (I.Magnesia 122, c2). Usually only the combination of different inscriptions confirms the identification of senatorial landowners. Therefore, I outline methodological guidelines on how to obtain reliable findings from such information. Landed properties could change owners, senatorial estates often passed into the possession of the emperors, which is much better researched. Important questions relate to continuity of ownership within a family and to the circumstances of changes of possession. In this context, I also discuss how the senators came to their property. Especially in the case of senators from other parts of the Roman Empire, the question arises as to why and how they acquired landed property in Asia Minor.

Keywords

• Asia Minor
• Roman senators
• senatorial estates
• methodological issues
• epigraphic evidence
• onomastics

İmparatorluk Dönemi Küçük Asya'sında Senatörlere Ait Mülkler - Sorunun Durumu, Metodolojik Sorunlar ve Gelecekteki Araştırmalara İlişkin Perspektifler

Öz

Genç Plinius'un da vurguladığı gibi (epist. 3,19,8), imparatorluk döneminde Romalı senatörlerin servet ve mülkleri ağırlıklı olarak toprak mülkiyetinden oluşuyordu. Senatoryal toprak mülkiyetinin yeri ve bazen kapsamı hakkında bize bilgi veren esas olarak epigrafik belgelerdir. Özellikle Küçük Asya'da, Helmut Halfmann'ın 1979'da bir kısmını derlediği çok sayıda kanıt vardır. O zamandan beri birçok yeni tanıklık keşfedildi ve yayınlandı. Bunun dışında, kökeni Küçük Asya'da olmayan senatörlerin toprak mülkiyetine ilişkin daha önce yayınlanmış kanıtlar da eklenebilir. Bununla birlikte, Küçük Asya'daki senatoryal toprak mülkiyetinin bir bütün olarak sistematik bir çalışması henüz mevcut değildir. Bu makale böyle bir çalışmaya ön hazırlık niteliğindedir. Böylece Küçük Asya'daki senatoryal toprak mülkiyetinin kapsamı, dağılımı ve arka planı hakkında genel bir bakış sunuyorum. Bu mülkiyet nadiren Magnesia tapu sicilindeki kadar açık bir şekilde belirtilmiştir (I.Magnesia 122, c2). Genellikle sadece farklı yazıtların kombinasyonu senatoryal toprak sahiplerinin kimliğini doğrulamaktadır. Bu nedenle, bu tür bilgilerden nasıl güvenilir bulgular elde edilebileceğine dair metodolojik ilkeleri özetliyorum. Toprak mülkleri sahip değiştirebilir, senatoryal mülkler genellikle imparatorların mülkiyetine geçer ve bu konu çok daha iyi araştırılmıştır. Önemli sorular, bir aile içinde mülkiyetin devamlılığı ve mülkiyet değişikliklerinin koşullarıyla ilgilidir. Bu bağlamda, senatörlerin mülklerine nasıl sahip olduklarını da tartışıyorum. Özellikle Roma İmparatorluğu'nun diğer bölgelerinden gelen senatörler söz konusu olduğunda, Küçük Asya'da neden ve nasıl toprak mülkiyeti edindikleri sorusu ortaya çıkmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Küçük Asya
• Roma senatörleri
• senatoryal mülkler
• metodolojik sorunlar
• epigrafik veriler
• onomastik

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