ABOLITIO MEMORIAE OF ROMAN SOVEREIGNS AND USURPERS IN THE 1ST - 4TH CENTURIES AD – EXCLUSION FROM THE CITIZEN BODY
ABOLITIO MEMORIAE OF ROMAN SOVEREIGNS AND USURPERS IN THE 1ST - 4TH CENTURIES AD – EXCLUSION FROM THE CITIZEN BODY

Summary/Abstract: Abolitio memoriae of Roman sovereigns and usurpers in the 1st-4th centuries – exclusion from the citizen body. This article examines the phenomenon of abolitio memoriae in the Roman Empire, with a focus on the annulment of the legal status of emperors and usurpers during the 1st to 4th centuries A.D. The study analyzes how Roman legal and narrative sources describe the process through which rulers considered hostes, hostes publici, tyranni, or rebelles were systematically deprived of their citizenship status and expelled from collective civic memory. A central element of this analysis is the identification of legal phrases that highlight this reality. For instance, terms such as hostis publicus, publicus grassator, oppugnator, publicus turbator, perduellis, and proscriptus underscore the intention of the initiators of the act of condemnation, either the Senate or the emperor, to transform certain disgraced figures into non-persons. These expressions reveal the complex dynamics of abolitio memoriae as a means of cultural erasure and political retribution, with the ultimate goal of restoring social and moral order. Through an analysis of narrative, legal, and epigraphic sources, the study examines how abolitio memoriae was used as a tool to control collective memory, stigmatizing emperors, usurpers, and rebels considered threats to social and political stability.

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