Ad ripam fluminis Danuvi - Papers of the third Intern...[...]

protulique fines Illyrici ad ripam fluminis Danuvi: With these words, quoted from the report of the deeds of the first Roman emperor Augustus, the expansion of the Roman rule from the Adriatic coast, the Aegean and Black Seas to the southern and western banks of the Danube, is for the first time explicitly expressed. From this point forward southeastern Europe became a permanent part of the empire ruled by the Roman people. The Danube and Balkan area, which in earlier periods had served as the backyard of Italy in the West and of the Greek polis-centred world in the East, developed during the 1st and 2nd cent. AD into the backbone of the Empire. Thanks to its military and personnel resources the region made a vital contribution to the survival of the Imperium Romanum at the time of the 3rd cent. crisis. One of the results of this comprehensive process was the transformation of the former periphery of the Danube into a core area of the Empire and into a cradle of emperors. From the military class of the Danube and Balkan provinces during the 3rd cent. AD, a new imperial elite evolved, which not only inherited, but renewed Romes ideology and reshaped its tools of rule. Two of the most prominent representatives of this social group are Diocletian and Constantine. Under this perspective, the Danube and Balkan area may be regarded as a key region for a deeper understanding of several fundamental processes which shaped Roman imperial history, first the implementation of Roman rule and government, second the interaction and ultimately reversal of roles of the empires centre Italy and its peripheral zones, and third, last but not least, the empires readiness and ability to adapt itself to new demands. The presence of Rome in the Balkans and along the Danube, the establishing of its power structure, the development of the social and economic systems as well as the cultural processes, which can be observed from the 1st to the 3rd century AD, were the object of a conference organised by Fritz Mitthof and took place in Autumn 2015 at the University of Vienna. The volume contains 29 contributions on the subject from the field of Roman Provincial History, Epigraphy and Archaeology. The main focus of the volume lies on the historical analysis of inscribed monuments. The analysis of the material heritage from these territories is a further focal point of the contributions. Closely connected issues such as language, identity, religion and coinage are also central themes of the contributions