Basileus eirenophylax – Culture(s) of Peace and Monarchical Representation in the Hellenistic World

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Gregor Weber
• Subject Area: Ancient History
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 406045435

Contemporary research on ancient monarchy is characterized by the assumption that a specific need for the legitimization of monarchic rule existed, which involved the constant necessity of proving one’s military victoriousness. There can be no talk of a strong military self-representation of the Hellenistic kings, however. For instance, Polybius declares peace to be the only undisputed good valued by all humans. That is why this aspect needs to be integrated into the framework of monarchical self-representation and to be evaluated accordingly.References to warfare or victoriousness will be analyzed in a wider historical context that particularly takes into account their connection to the desired results of war. In this context, one central issue concerns the question whether war was predominantly conceptualized as a means of attaining peace or as a means of appropriating material resources. Furthermore, chronological differentiation is in order: The model of the "victorious king" has high explanatory value when it comes to the disputes over Alexander’s legacy, but this does not automatically apply to the time after the establishment of the great dynasties, since the "routinization of Charisma" cultivated ever-new forms of display.The analysis is based on the following guiding questions:(1) What weight do references to peace, concrete peace agreements or a defensive policy have in the context of monarchical self-representation, especially in comparison to military victoriousness?(2) In how far are kings themselves involved in peace negotiations? What figures of argumentation are used in this context?(3) How is peace conceptualized – as an absence of war, as a defense of acquired rights, as an enforcement of colonial control or God-given sovereign rights, as a guarantee of normatively assumed "justice"?(4) Which claims to the ruler are formulated with regard to peace in normative texts (apart from philosophical writings also in passages in geographers’, historians’ and biographers’ accounts)?(5) Are aspects of material prosperity predominantly associated with military success or the absence of war? Does the acquisition of spoils play an important role for the self-representation of a monarch? (6) Are certain forms of representation connected to specific places and were they addressed to a specific audience? Apart from literary sources, an analysis of epigraphic, papyrological and numismatic material is necessary, which allows for conclusions about the monarchical self-representation regarding these aspects. Thereby, the texts will be subjected to semantic tagging based on categorical motifs that will provide for the sustained use of a text database not solely bound to the subjects in question. Half-way through the planned project duration, a workshop will take place to discuss the gained results with scholars from neighboring disciplines and with experts for the specific types of sources.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Kay Ehling; Dr. Andreas Hartmann