Andreas Alfoldi

Andreas Alföldi ( Hungarian Alföldi András ; born August 27, 1895 in Pomáz near Budapest , † February 12, 1981 in Princeton ) was a Hungarian ancient historian , epigraphist , numismatist and archaeologist . He was one of the most productive classical scholars of the 20th century and is considered one of the most important research personalities of his time. His contributions to classical antiquity are still considered groundbreaking and fundamental in several areas.

life and career

Youth and student days

Andreas Alföldi was born as the son of a doctor in Hungary under the Austro- Hungarian monarchy . He attended the humanistic grammar school in Budapest. After the death of his father in 1910, the family's financial means were limited, but after graduating from high school , he was able to study classical studies . During this time he not only took part in normal teaching, but also conducted his own studies. Above all, he devoted himself early to ancient numismatics , which at that time was still neglected in Hungary.

When the First World War broke out, Alföldi - like many other young men of the Hungarian bourgeoisie - went to war as an officer. After being seriously injured, he was discharged from the army in 1917 in a highly decorated manner. Even in later years he proudly looked back on this period, which in his own mind represented a personal test. He kept an interest in everything to do with military and strategic issues. The Trianon Treaty, which was perceived as a humiliation in Hungary, strengthened his ties to his homeland and was a reason for his research, which was initially strongly related to the Hungarian region.

After his discharge from the army, Alföldi resumed his studies at the University of Budapest . He received his doctorate in 1919 under Bálint Kuzsinszky . Here Alföldi's interest in neglected research topics was already evident. Alföldi initially focused his research on exploring the Danube and Carpathian regions . That was not unusual for the time. In addition, between the world wars it was common for national archeology to serve national perspectives. As a result of the First World War and its aftermath, many structures and connections that had grown over centuries were destroyed by new borders. In a discussion between Hungary and Romania , which revolved around Transylvania and which was partly conducted with historical arguments, Alföldi took the Hungarian side. After all, this contributed to the fact that research was intensified, especially in the field of archeology and soil conservation.

The main focus of Alföldi's first studies was on epigraphy and numismatics of the Danube region. In particular, Hungarian numismatics was still at a very low level at that time. Already in his first publication, a review of an epigraphic manual in 1914, which turned out to be devastating, Alföldi showed that his private studies were way ahead of established scientists. In reply, the professor who wrote the book believed that the name Alfoldi was just the pseudonym of an established scientist. As a freshman he amazed a lecturer with the exact determination of a Roman coin and on a first visit to the Institute for Ancient History at the University of Vienna, he was asked who had taught him advanced numismatic knowledge in Hungary; one was simply not used to seeing a Hungarian scientist with such expertise. So it finally came about that Alföldi found his first job in 1919 at the coin cabinet of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. Here he continued to devote himself primarily to numismatic studies.

1923 to 1947: career in Hungary

In 1923 Alföldi was appointed to the chair of ancient history at the University of Debrecen . After several years in which he further reinforced his reputation as an outstanding scientist, he was appointed to the chair of Archaeologia terrae Hungaricae (archeology of the Carpathian region) - a chair of outstanding national importance - at the University of Budapest in 1930 as successor to Bálint Kuzsinszky . The chair also included a research institute, which Alföldi headed. Thanks to his organizational skills, his charisma and his creative power, which meanwhile included many areas of ancient studies (ancient history, classical archeology, numismatics, epigraphy, prehistoric archeology, art history), Alföldi shaped the ancient historical and archaeological studies of Hungary for the next 15 years. His effectiveness was not only limited to the Hungarian region, Alföldi was also recognized as an outstanding scientist in the international professional world. In Hungary he promoted the various sciences, for example as editor of the journals Numizmatikai Közlöny and Archaeologiai Értesitő as well as the publication series Dissertationes Pannonicae .

Although the ancient sciences continued to specialize in the meantime, Andreas Alföldi was one of the last scientists who was able to provide decisive food for thought with his research in various disciplines. In doing so, he managed to master the sometimes different approaches in the various areas of classical studies. Alföldi also gave impetus to archeology and the auxiliary sciences , but his goal was the historical use of the research results. Under his leadership, the Danube region became one of the best-researched areas of the former Roman Empire at that time , after it had previously received little attention from research. Alföldi worked on several large projects as well as on individual studies, most of which he carried out in parallel in different disciplines. Thanks to many friends and loyal co-workers, many of his studies have been published in different languages. Worth mentioning here is his work The Fall of Roman Rule in Pannonia , which represented a synthesis of his research on sources in the various sub-areas of archeology and history, and was based on his various preparatory work, which he published primarily in essays.

Based on his studies of the Danube region and the Carpathian Basin, Alföldi expanded his research further and further to cover the resulting problems. He published studies on the imperial crisis of the 3rd century , on the history and culture of Eurasian shepherds and horsemen, on pictorial symbolism and on the representation of the Roman emperors in late antiquity . Even the Second World War could not interrupt Alfoldi's work. Only after the war did a deep turning point in his life. As a result of Hungary's development into a satellite state of the Soviet Union and the hindrance of its work by the new rulers, Alföldi left Hungary forever in 1948 and went to Switzerland . His emigration took place in a relatively orderly manner; Alföldi only had to leave most of his work materials behind in Hungary.

1948 to 1981: living in Switzerland and the USA

Since Alföldi was separated from the sources he had mainly used until then outside of Hungary, colleagues suspected that his career would now be over. But over the next 30 years in exile he not only continued to produce outstanding achievements in the areas of his previous research, but also dedicated himself to early Roman history and the fall of the Roman Republic. In an obituary, Géza Alföldy later said : "He shone through the history of Rome from beginning to end like no other scholar in this century".

Despite major personal problems, friends in Switzerland quickly enabled him to make a new scientific start. In 1948 he became professor of ancient history in Bern , and four years later in Basel . He was now able to continue many of the projects started in Hungary - sometimes even under better conditions. Analogous to the Hungarian “Dissertationes Pannonicae” he founded the series “Dissertationes Bernenses” in Switzerland. As in the Hungarian magazines before, various of his articles appeared in magazines such as the “Schweizer Münzbl Blätter”. However, he now devoted himself to more general problems in Roman history.

In 1956 he moved to the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton , New Jersey . In addition to better pay, he was also offered generous travel opportunities here. Even after his retirement , Alföldi stayed in Princeton and worked on various projects until his death, which he was however no longer able to complete.

Personality and skills

Alföldi is described as uncompromising and tough on himself and others. This uncompromising attitude is evident from the fact that even serious illnesses could not keep him from working. Those who were not able enough in Alfoldi's eyes were better off avoiding him. On the other hand, he was a sociable person who got along well with simple people and liked to sing Hungarian folk songs. He felt closely connected to his home country Hungary throughout his life, even - or especially - when he lived in exile after 1947. He was good with children, and he regarded close colleagues as family members. Alföldi loved telling humorous anecdotes in the company of others. In his second marriage, he was married to the archaeologist Elisabeth Alföldi-Rosenbaum from 1967 , who was not only a great support to him during periods of illness.

The short man with a low voice could only deal with criticism to a limited extent. Although he saw them as necessary in principle, he vehemently rejected them if they appeared to him inaccurate. Alföldi was a good draftsman, which was particularly useful in numismatic studies, where he was able to work out even the smallest of subtleties. He also benefited from this ability when sketching geographic conditions. In addition, he had a very good memory, great visual skills and a good imagination, which helped him with associative problems well into old age. However, he was a poor speaker, even though he liked to give lectures. According to Karl Christ, these had in many cases "ongoing success". They usually did not even meet the most modest didactic and rhetorical requirements.

Research, work and merit

Early Rome

In Alfoldi's opinion, Rome's importance in Etruscan times was far less than it was later portrayed. He tried to research the oldest structures of the Roman state by comparing them with Eurasian horsemen and shepherds. Even if Alföldi's theories did not find an undivided positive response in research, but were also widely criticized, even Alföldi's critics had to acknowledge the original way of his argumentation. In addition to archaeological and later literary sources, Alföldi used the methods of comparative religious studies.

The fall of the Roman Republic

Andreas Alföldi's work on the fall of the Roman Republic was shaped by his thesis that Caesar wanted to establish a monarchy based on the ancient Roman model. He believed that there was evidence of his theory in the coinage of the year 44 BC. Chr. To find. Even the compilation of these coins in a catalog was a great achievement, as Alföldi had to look for these coins from various places. Alföldi was no longer able to carry out a larger study on Caesar, for which this preliminary work was intended. Nevertheless, he expanded the research at this point to include an innovative component. However, he defended Caesar against too harsh criticism. Like Theodor Mommsen , he was fascinated by Caesar's personality, but disappointed by Cicero's “opportunism” . For him, Cicero was the ideological instigator of the murder of Caesar. On the other hand, he saw Cicero as an artist. He attested that the Caesar murderers were blind and unscrupulous, and for him the senatorial oligarchy was no bearer of a republican order. In his eyes, the outrage against Caesar was the conflict between a Greek-influenced upper class and a down-to-earth, Roman-influenced Caesar.

His work on Octavian's rise relied primarily on literary sources. Here Alföldi not only shed light on the emotional and religious reasons for Octavian's actions after Caesar's death, but for the first time also the tangible economic aspects behind it.

Studies in the Imperial Era

The design of the monarchical ceremonial at the Roman imperial court (1934) and the insignia and costume of the Roman emperors (1935) are considered to be the highlight of Alföldi's work. In these two essays he describes the religious foundations as well as the continuous development and the official forms of expression of the Roman ruling ideology. In these articles, in which Alföldi again combines numismatic, literary, epigraphic and archaeological source studies, above all his understanding of the ancient pictorial symbolism and its abstraction down to small coin images is praised. Building on these studies, more followed on the world of ideas and the representation of the empire.

In the absence of comprehensive written sources for Roman history in the middle and second half of the 3rd century, during the so-called Imperial Crisis , Alföldi again resorted to numismatic sources for research. He presented large collections of material for this period. The investigation of the Siscia mint was particularly important . Based on the coins, Alföldi worked out a renewed chronology of this time. What was new, for example, was the knowledge that in the time of the soldier emperors Pannonians were predominantly in the highest positions. In addition, he presented Gallienus as the great Roman emperor, which was a different point of view than the one previously represented in historical research.

The late antiquity

Alföldi also did meritorious work in the field of research on late antiquity . Here, too, numismatics was his approach. Of particular importance was the cataloging of the so-called Kontorniat coins, which opened up a new, hitherto almost unknown source for research, particularly on the history of ideas of the late 4th and early 5th centuries. This research was done during the Second World War, which makes the achievement particularly noteworthy. Despite the chaos of the war, Alföldi managed to get the necessary material from the various museums in Europe and to publish the first edition of the book. In his study of Valentinian I , he showed that he was also proficient in literary sources.

Most interested Alföldi in his research into late antiquity, however, was the period between Constantine and the victory of Christianity over paganism . His work A Festival of Isis in Rome under the Christian Emperors of the IV ^th Century (Budapest 1937), in which he writes about a festival in honor of the goddess Isis in Rome at the time of Christian emperors in the 4th century, is considered outstanding. His annual organization of an international colloquium on the Historia Augusta , which took place regularly for 20 years, also contributed greatly to research into late antiquity.

Merits

Probably the most important impulse that Alföldi gave to ancient history was the realization that epigraphic, numismatic and archaeological sources are to be treated equally and in addition to literary sources and are not just an auxiliary science or even only suitable for the illustration of historical literature. As an opponent of too great a specialization in an ancient science, which was increasingly subdivided into subject areas, he was himself a specialist in many areas. From a historical point of view, he was in the tradition of Mommsen, and from a methodological point of view in the tradition of Michael Rostovtzeff , who was the first to draw on archaeological sources for his studies of economic history .

Alföldi also gave decisive impulses to the use of numismatic sources. They became one of the main sources of ancient history thanks to it. His methods, which included the investigation of rows of coins as well as the investigation of entire mints and the use of the coins as a source for religious and scientific interpretations, were groundbreaking. Just as Mommsen is considered the great organizer of research into Roman inscriptions, Alföldi is, as it were, the doyen of numismatics. “He played a major role in making numismatics a historical science” (Géza Alföldy). Alföldi's services to the exploration of the Danube and Carpathian regions are significant. As a result of his research, this area went from being an almost blank spot on the "map" of exploring ancient space to one of the best-researched areas.

Alföldi's oeuvre comprises well over 300 articles, around a dozen of them in the form of monographs . His impact radiates - not least through his many students - through the research he started and initiated to this day. Many of his peers regretted that he never provided an all-encompassing study of Roman history. Alföldi was not suited to such work and he preferred to concentrate on individual studies, although he was equally good at all areas of Roman history. Therefore, in the eyes of some specialist colleagues, he has the shortcoming of the lack of a "big hit".

In addition to the well-known research areas, Alföldi also devoted himself to other studies. He wrote about the technique of photographing Greek vase pictures , about the psychological foundations of sorcery and about the importance of the theriomorphic world view among the peoples of the North Asian region.

In 1972 Alföldi was accepted into the order Pour le mérite for sciences and arts , apart from him only Ronald Syme received this award as another ancient historian. He was also a member, sometimes even an honorary member, of many scientific societies and academies, as well as an honorary doctorate from several universities and recipient of other awards. Alföldi was a member of the Hungarian , British (corresponding member 1947), Mainz , Bavarian (corresponding member since 1936), Göttingen (corresponding member since 1954), and the French Academies of Sciences. In 1975 he received the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art .

His daughter Dr. Emma Alföldi was also a historian and married to the Hungarian medieval historian Josef Deér , who worked as a professor in Bern for almost 30 years. Both had left Hungary with Alföldi.

Fonts (selection)

• The fall of Roman rule in Pannonia (= Hungarian Library. Vol. 10, Vol. 12, ZDB -ID 844344-0 ). 2 volumes. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1924-1926.
• Daci e romani in Transylvania (= Biblioteca della "Mattia Corvino". 9, ZDB -ID 2021041-3 ). Franklin, Budapest 1940.
• The history of the Carpathian Basin in the 1st century BC Chr. In: Archivum Europae Centro-Orientalis. Vol. 8, No. 1/2, 1942, ZDB -ID 433892-3 , pp. 1–51, ( digitized version ; special print: (= East Central European Library. 37, ZDB -ID 1136408-7 ). Sn, Budapest 1942) .
• A Kontorniát-Érmek. A rómavárosi pogány nagyurak félreismert propagandaeszköze a keresztény császárság ellen. Ünnepi eladás 1941 május hó 9-én. A Magyar Numizmatikai Társulat ünnepi kiadványa fennállása negyvenedik évfordulója emlékére. = The accountants. A misunderstood means of propaganda of the city-Roman pagan aristocracy in their struggle against the Christian empire. Ceremonial lecture given on May 9, 1941. Festschrift of the Hungarian Numismatic Society to celebrate its 40th anniversary. 2 volumes (text. Panels). Magyar Numizmatikai Társulat, Budapest 1942–1943, (digital copies: text ; plates ).
• On the fate of Transylvania in antiquity (= East Central European Library. 54). sn, Budapest 1944.
• The Conversion of Constantine and Pagan Rome. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1948.
• The birth of the imperial symbolism. Small contributions to the history of their creation. In: Museum Helveticum . Vol. 7, No. 1, 1950, pp. 1-13, JSTOR 24812329 , Vol. 8, No. 2/3, 1951, pp. 190-215, JSTOR 24811901 , Vol. 9, No. 4, 1952, Pp. 204-243, JSTOR 24812265 , Vol. 10, No. 4, 1953, pp. 103-124, JSTOR 24811817 , Vol. 11, No. 3, 1954, pp. 133-169, JSTOR 24812032 , (Unchanged reprografischer Reprinted as: The Father of the Fatherland in Roman Thought (= Libelli series. 261). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1971, ISBN 3-534-04653-6 ).
• A Conflict of Ideas in the late Roman Empire. The Clash between the Senate and Valentinian I. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1952.
• The early Roman equestrian nobility and its badges of honor (= German contributions to classical studies. Issue 2, ZDB -ID 525848-0 ). Publishing house for art and science, Baden-Baden 1952, ( digitized version ).
• Studies on Caesar's monarchy (= Kungliga Humanistiska Vetenskapssamfundets i Lund årsberättelse. 1952/1953, 1). Gleerup, Lund 1953.
• The Trojan ancestors of the Romans (= Rectorate Program of the University of Basel. 1956, ZDB -ID 340639-8 ). Reinhardt, Basel 1957, (Anastatic reprint: (= Studia historica. 124, ZDB -ID 847376-6 ). Erma di Bretschneider, Rome 1979).
• Early Rome and the Latins (= Jerome Lectures. 7). University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor MI 1965, (German: Das early Rom und die Latiner. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1977, ISBN 3-534-07538-2 ).
• Studies on the history of the world crisis of the 3rd century AD. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1967.
• The monarchical representation in the Roman Empire. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1970.
• The two laurel trees of Augustus (= Antiquitas . Series 3: Treatises on prehistory and early history, on classical and provincial Roman archeology and on the history of antiquity. 14). Habelt, Bonn 1973, ISBN 3-7749-1266-1 .
• Caesar in 44 BC Chr. Volume 2: The testimony of the coins. With a revision of the stamps and stamp connections (= Antiquitas. Series 3: Treatises on prehistory and early history, on classical and provincial Roman archeology and on the history of antiquity. 17). Habelt, Bonn 1974, ISBN 3-7749-1212-2 .
• The structure of the pre-Etruscan Roman state (= Library of Classical Ancient Studies . New Series. Series 1, Vol. 5). Winter, Heidelberg 1974, ISBN 3-533-02287-0 .
• Early Roman History. Criticism and research since 1964 (= Library of Classical Classical Studies. New Series. Series 1, Vol. 6). Winter, Heidelberg 1976, ISBN 3-533-02275-7 .
• with Elisabeth Alföldi : Die Kontorniat-Medaillons (= ancient coins and cut stones. 6, 1–2). 2 volumes. de Gruyter, Berlin and others 1976 (illustrated book) and 1990 (text book), ISBN 3-11-003484-0 and ISBN 3-11-011905-6 .
• Oktavian's rise to power (= Antiquitas. Row 1: Treatises on ancient history. 25). Habelt, Bonn 1976, ISBN 3-7749-1360-9 .
• Aion in Mérida and Aphrodisias (= Madrid contributions. 6). von Zabern, Mainz 1979, ISBN 3-8053-0393-9 .
• Caesariana. Collected essays on the history of Caesar and his time (= Antiquitas. Series 3: Treatises on prehistory and early history, on classical and provincial Roman archeology and on the history of antiquity. 27). Edited from the estate by Elisabeth Alföldi-Rosenbaum. Habelt, Bonn 1984, ISBN 3-7749-1859-7 .
• Caesar in 44 BC Chr. Volume 1: studies on Caesars monarchy and its roots (= . Antiquitas Row 3: . Essays on the prehistory and early history, the classical and provincial Roman archeology and ancient history 16). Habelt, Bonn 1985, ISBN 3-7749-1390-0 .

literature

• Géza Alföldy : Andreas Alföldi † . In: Gnomon 53, 1981, pp. 410-414.
• Maria R.-Alföldi : Andreas Alföldi † . In: Historische Zeitschrift 233, 1981, pp. 781-786.
• Karl Christ : Andreas Alföldi (1895–1981). In: Karl Christ: New Profiles of Ancient History. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1990, ISBN 3-534-10289-4 , pp. 8-62.
• Karl Schefold : Andreas Alföldi (1895–1981). In: Eikasmós 4, 1993, pp. 97-98.
• Institute for Advanced Study: Andrew Alföldi 1895–1981. Princeton 1982 (with complete list of publications).
• Martin Dennert: Andreas Alföldi. In: Stefan Heid, Martin Dennert (Hrsg.): Personal Lexicon for Christian Archeology. Researchers and personalities from the 16th to the 21st century . Vol. 1, Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-7954-2620-0 , p. 63 f.
• James H. Richardson, Federico Santangelo (Ed.): Andreas Alföldi in the Twenty-First Century (= Heidelberg Old Historical Contributions and Epigraphic Studies. Vol. 56). Steiner, Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-515-10961-1 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Andreas Alföldi in the catalog of the German National Library
• Literature by and about Andreas Alföldi in the bibliographic database WorldCat
• Andreas Alfödi at the Pour le Mérite Order
• Digitized books by Andreas Alföldi in the Digital Library Numis

Remarks

1. ^ Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , p. 8.
2. ^ Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , pp. 8–9.
3. ^ Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , p. 9.
4. ↑ Dissertation title : Pannoniai agyagminták es vonatkozásaik a császárokra , German: Pannonian clay models and imperial iconography published in Archaeologiai Értesitő. New series 38, 1918/1919, ZDB -ID 2749040-3 , pp. 1–36, ( digitized ).
5. ^ Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , pp. 9-10.
6. ↑ Review of: Árpád Buday: Római felirattan. In: Archaeologiai Értesitő. New series 34, 1914, pp. 430-431, ( digitized version ).
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} Géza Alföldy: Andreas Alföldi † , in: Gnomon 53, 1981, p. 410.
8. ^ Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , p.10.13 .
9. ↑ 2 volumes, Berlin 1924/26.
10. ↑ ^{a b} Géza Alföldy: Andreas Alföldi † , in: Gnomon 53, 1981, p. 411.
11. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Géza Alföldy: Andreas Alföldi † , in: Gnomon 53, 1981, p. 414.
12. ↑ ^{a b c} Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , p. 12.
13. ↑ Andreas Alföldi: Roman early history. Criticism and research since 1964 , Heidelberg 1976
14. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Géza Alföldy: Andreas Alföldi † , in: Gnomon 53, 1981, p. 412.
15. ^ Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , p. 55.
16. ↑ Oktavian's rise to power , Bonn 1976.
17. ↑ Géza Alföldy: Andreas Alföldi † , in: Gnomon 53, 1981, p. 412.
18. ↑ Géza Alföldy: Andreas Alföldi † , in: Gnomon 53, 1981, p. 413.
19. ^ Karl Christ: Andreas Alföldi , p. 13.
20. ↑ Member entry by Prof. Dr. Andreas Alföldi (with picture) at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences , accessed on February 3, 2016.
21. ↑ Holger Krahnke: The members of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen 1751-2001 (= Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Philological-Historical Class. Volume 3, Vol. 246 = Treatises of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Mathematical-Physical Class. Episode 3, vol. 50). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-82516-1 , p. 25.

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on February 28, 2006 .