Abstract:

In the imperial succession of 305, the persecuting emperors Diocletian and Maximian abdicated, and the sons of the reigning emperors were prevented from succeeding to imperial power. The Christian author Lactantius describes this event in chapters 17 to 19 of De Mortibus Persecutorum (henceforth Mort. Pers.), a work that ostensibly narrates the decline in power and deaths of persecutors to demonstrate God’s uirtus and maiestas. However, Mort. Pers. is remarkable for the fact that it combines sustained invective against its subjects, the persecutors, with a detailed history of events from 303 to 313. This article considers Mort. Pers. as a work of invective history and focuses on the account of the succession to demonstrate how Lactantius’s vituperative characterizations, historical narrative, and thesis of divine judgement complement one another. It argues that the succession creates a sophisticated and subversive juncture for his characterizations. Lactantius’s Galerius is a power-hungry barbarian, his Maximinus a perfidious barbarian, and, subverting a topos, his Diocletian is an impotent coward. Over the course of chapters 17 to 19, their combined personalities create the circumstances that will govern their collective loss of power, their deaths and the damnatio memoriae of their regime.

摘要：

在305年帝国继承中，迫害皇帝戴克里先和马克西米安退位，阻止了统治皇帝的儿子继承皇权。基督教笔者潭修斯介绍章本次活动17〜19德Mortibus Persecutorum（以下莫特。Pers的），一个的工作，表面上是叙述在力量的下降和迫害者的死亡证明上帝的uirtus和maiestas。但是，Mort。人 值得注意的是，它结合了针对其受害人，迫害者的持续起诉以及从303到313事件的详细历史记录。本文考虑了Mort。人作为对侵略历史的研究，并着重于对继承的说明，以证明拉克坦蒂乌斯的vi变特征，历史叙事和神圣判断论是如何相辅相成的。它认为继承为他的特征创造了一个复杂而颠覆性的结合点。潭修斯的加莱里乌斯是一个高耗电的野蛮人，他Maximinus一个背信弃义的野蛮人，和，颠覆一个TOPOS，他的戴克里先是无能懦夫。在第十七章至第十九章的过程中，他们的共同人格创造了将控制他们的集体权力丧失，死亡和政权毁灭性回忆的情况。