Dynastic Names and Unofficial Imperial Nicknames during the Severan Dynasty

Abstract

The paper examines the usage of official names and informal nicknames in connection with the dynastic policy of the Severans. No other period in the history of the Roman Empire was characterized by such an intense “change of names” as the era of the Severan dynasty because imperial onomastics and titulature played an important role in legitimization of the new dynasty, which ascended to power as a result of the civil war. Along with the names that from the very beginning of the Principate became part of official imperial titulature (Caesar, Augustus), during the age of the Severans, the “dynastic” names, especially the nomen Antoninorum, came to the fore. They had an ideological background playing a crucial role in representation of power and “dynastic” continuity. By virtue of their specific aura, the nomen Antoninorum and other names were destined to indicate the continuation of the tradition of the Golden age, consolidation of power. They served as political slogans symbolizing adherence to a particular political line. Roman onomastic traditions which allowed (or even implied) mutatio nominis, when family or political status was changed, set certain prerequisites for this process. At the same time, these traditions implied giving policymakers various nicknames with humorous or pejorative connotations, which should be considered as a form of reaction of different social groups to the behavior and personality traits of the rulers. These nicknames, including dysphemisms or negative modification of official or semantically neutral names, usually emerged when there was a discrepancy between the moral qualities of the ruler and expectations of the society. Besides that, imperial names were reinterpreted both as far as their literal meanings were concerned and with regard to the associations with the key figures who had been on the imperial throne and embodied the ideal of a ruler.