Krisen und Katastrophen im Spiegel der Münzen, Porträts und Reliefs der Kaiser Vespasian bis Commodus (68–192 n. Chr.)

Abstract

This thesis deals with the question to which extent crises and catastrophes affected the public visual art of the Roman emperors from Vespasian to Commodus. Various developments and events that we would describe today as crises or catastrophes have survived for the period under investigation. In contrast to the modern media landscape, however, Roman pictorial art only directly depicted crises and catastrophes in isolated cases. Rather, changes and continuity in the content and formal design of the coins, portraits and reliefs of the Roman emperors reveal potential reactions to the threats and misfortunes that the principes had to face. The focus of the work is on the pictorial representations of the coins, portraits and reliefs. Although the material only represents a small selection of imperial imagery, it provides fascinating insights into the official assessment of disasters.