factio

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As factio ( Latin , plural factiones ), two forms of amalgamation were referred to in the Roman Empire . On the one hand, there were informal political connections between interest groups in the Roman Republic , and on the other, organizations that provided the infrastructure for running the circus games during the imperial era .

republic

Initially, factiones were associations of generally high-ranking people who wanted to achieve common goals. These connections could be temporary or permanent. In the late republic, the term acquired a pejorative character in the sense of “clique” or “ coterie ” from oligarchic forces. The associations were often accused of moral inferiority. In practice, different groups could be meant, such as political followers, conspirators such as Lucius Sergius Catilina and his co-conspirators , but also associations such as Gaius Iulius Caesar , Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus in the first triumvirate . Marcus Tullius Cicero referred to the Optimates as a whole as factio .

Basically, such connections were nothing offensive. Alongside amicitia and clientela , the factiones were one of the pillars of Roman politics. In the time after the war against Hannibal these alliances began to develop, but they changed shape in the late republic and were thus an obvious sign of the crisis in the Roman republic . With the fall of the republic, the political factiones also came to an end.

Imperial times

Horse race with participants of all four colors on an ancient Roman mosaic from Lyon

The meaning of the term quickly changed completely during the imperial era. Now it was no longer political groups, but associations of knights , without whom the circus games would not have been possible, although this in turn led to political influence. They provided everything needed for the games - from horses, wagons and charioteers to other staff and benefits in kind. The directors of the groupings were called domini factionum . They were very influential and were able to dictate the conditions of the games to the gamblers even into the reign of Emperor Nero . There were four competing associations, recognizable by their colors: venetus (blue), prasinus (green), russatus (red) and albatus (white). Domitian introduced two other colors with purpureus (purple) and aureus (gold), but these did not catch on and disappeared again after his death. Initially, the supporters were not tied to one of the colors as in the very late Imperial Era and the early Byzantine Empire to the circus parties , but freely granted their favor. Only at the imperial court did permanent circus parties develop. Both the charioteer's tunics and the car bodies were in the colors of the factiones and were therefore easily recognizable. In the 2nd century victorious charioteers like Gutta Calpurnianus and Diocles picked up their victory palms dressed in all four colors.

Initially, the races in the Augustan era were largely reserved for lovers and connoisseurs of horse races, the simpler people enjoyed themselves at other events. Since the rule of Caligula , they have become an important part of the entertainment of the city of Rome, and have become constant sensations. Although the games have been played since the royal era , it was not until Pliny the Elder that the factiones and colors were mentioned for the first time, according to the sources that have survived . In his time, the relationship between the audience and the spectacle had changed significantly. Meanwhile the audience was no longer interested in the speed of a horse or the skill of a charioteer, but in the color of the team, the pannus (the rag, the jersey). They did not decide objectively about their affiliation to a color, but based on their feelings. At the time of Pliny, favor was probably still fairly evenly distributed among the colors. This later changed, and blue and green became the predominant colors, probably due to an accidental preference of the emperors. For example, as a charioteer, Nero wore a malachite green tunic. The colors white and red, which had receded into the background, initially changed freely in their assignment to blue and green, but in Constantinople at the latest the further successor - red to green and white to blue - was finally determined. During this time, the organization was transformed from the independent factiones to imperial state companies and ultimately service providers. This development was completed in the 4th century. By this time at the latest it was no longer possible for such an important element of the state as the games to be in the hands of private individuals.

The Codex Theodosianus shows that the regulations after the transformation into state-owned enterprises were very strict, for example in dealing with retired horses, naming or delivering feed. Since the late third century, victorious charioteers were able to pursue a career in the factiones , up to the dominus factionis . As a service provider for the state, the factiones are no longer mentioned so often in the sources. The stabula , the “racing stables” operated by the factiones , are more often called. The smaller of them were located in regio IX at the Circus Flaminius . Since Constantine I , the system of colors was adopted in the new capital, Constantinople . Two stables, the dihippion in the north of the hippodrome , were also built for both colors . However, the term factiones no longer appears in the Byzantine sources because they no longer existed. While the system of circus parties survived, the form of organization and operation of the races and the associated infrastructure had completely changed.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Gaius Iulius Caesar : The Civil War 3, 82-83.
  2. ↑ Sallust : The Jugurthinian War 31, 15.
  3. ↑ Cicero: On the Republic 3, 23.
  4. ↑ Pliny: Natural History 8, 160.
  5. ↑ Codex Theodosianus 15, 10, 1-2.