DOI issue:
Artykuły/Articles
DOI article:Okoński, Mateusz: Images of Central European "externae gentes" in Trajan's Monetary Iconography and Their Role in the Propaganda of the Imperial Era
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.57341#0115
IMAGES OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN EXTERNAL GENTES...
of the mentioned scenes is also interesting for another reason - behind a group
of Dacians before the Emperor, Decebalus is depicted. The latter is presented in
a similar manner to Trajan - he is much taller than the warriors crammed before
him. In addition to the characters themselves, the elements of Dacian war gear
were cast in a similar way on both the coins and the relief of Trajan’s column. On
the latter, therefore, we can see both folded swords and war sickles (falces), as well
as rectangular or oval shields that can be seen in the shows of tropaions or weapon
piles, placed on the coins of the Best Emperor. Elements of Dacian armament are
visible particularly clearly in scene LXXVIII, where Victoria is shown writing on
the shield. On both sides of the goddess there are piles of weapons and trophies, set
up after the victory in the First Dacian War. In addition to the images of warriors
on Trajan’s column, we also see the figures of Dacian women. They occur both
individually and in small groups, most often as mothers, less often in small groups
and in the company of men or children.105 To understand the images of Central
European barbarians, the XLV scene is important, which consists of a group of five
figures of Dacian women and three Roman prisoners being tortured by them. We
do not know the context and details of the presented scene, but we can be tempted
to interpret it. Let us first pay attention to the appearance of the prisoners: all three
are naked and their hands are tied behind their backs. Their origin is not clear, but
we can suggest that, by the lack of facial hair in two of them, they were probably
Roman, because barbarians are usually depicted with luscious facial hair. The third
of those captured has stubble, which suggests that he fought on the side of Rome
in one of the barbarian auxiliary contingents (auxilia).106 Particularly interesting,
however, is the fact that the prisoners were given over to the women. We can
understand this fact in two ways. Perhaps this scene was to prove the high position
of women in the Dacian society. Following this interpretative path, we think of
E. Hall’s theory, which stated that, according to the Romans, the more barbaric
the community was, the greater the role women played in it.107 On the other hand,
if we refer to our reflection on the coins and images of women placed on them, we
can draw yet another conclusion. Namely, if we assume that women represented
the vitality and fertility of a given people, this scene may symbolize the savagery and
barbarity of the Dacian society at its very lowest level, which I. Ferris has already
noted.108 The whole scene may also serve as an excuse for the Roman conquest
105 DILLON 2006: 245-246.
106 The existence of German warriors contingents is confirmed by the column relief itself in scene XXIV
(the so-called Battle of Tapae), where half-naked warriors dressed in pants are visible between Roman legionnaires
- they certainly did not come from Italy.
107 HALL 1989: 95.
108 FERRIS 2003: 56.
113
of the mentioned scenes is also interesting for another reason - behind a group
of Dacians before the Emperor, Decebalus is depicted. The latter is presented in
a similar manner to Trajan - he is much taller than the warriors crammed before
him. In addition to the characters themselves, the elements of Dacian war gear
were cast in a similar way on both the coins and the relief of Trajan’s column. On
the latter, therefore, we can see both folded swords and war sickles (falces), as well
as rectangular or oval shields that can be seen in the shows of tropaions or weapon
piles, placed on the coins of the Best Emperor. Elements of Dacian armament are
visible particularly clearly in scene LXXVIII, where Victoria is shown writing on
the shield. On both sides of the goddess there are piles of weapons and trophies, set
up after the victory in the First Dacian War. In addition to the images of warriors
on Trajan’s column, we also see the figures of Dacian women. They occur both
individually and in small groups, most often as mothers, less often in small groups
and in the company of men or children.105 To understand the images of Central
European barbarians, the XLV scene is important, which consists of a group of five
figures of Dacian women and three Roman prisoners being tortured by them. We
do not know the context and details of the presented scene, but we can be tempted
to interpret it. Let us first pay attention to the appearance of the prisoners: all three
are naked and their hands are tied behind their backs. Their origin is not clear, but
we can suggest that, by the lack of facial hair in two of them, they were probably
Roman, because barbarians are usually depicted with luscious facial hair. The third
of those captured has stubble, which suggests that he fought on the side of Rome
in one of the barbarian auxiliary contingents (auxilia).106 Particularly interesting,
however, is the fact that the prisoners were given over to the women. We can
understand this fact in two ways. Perhaps this scene was to prove the high position
of women in the Dacian society. Following this interpretative path, we think of
E. Hall’s theory, which stated that, according to the Romans, the more barbaric
the community was, the greater the role women played in it.107 On the other hand,
if we refer to our reflection on the coins and images of women placed on them, we
can draw yet another conclusion. Namely, if we assume that women represented
the vitality and fertility of a given people, this scene may symbolize the savagery and
barbarity of the Dacian society at its very lowest level, which I. Ferris has already
noted.108 The whole scene may also serve as an excuse for the Roman conquest
105 DILLON 2006: 245-246.
106 The existence of German warriors contingents is confirmed by the column relief itself in scene XXIV
(the so-called Battle of Tapae), where half-naked warriors dressed in pants are visible between Roman legionnaires
- they certainly did not come from Italy.
107 HALL 1989: 95.
108 FERRIS 2003: 56.
113