THE LIMES THEORY. HISTORIOGRAPHICAL AND CONCEPTUAL DELIMITATIONS
THE LIMES THEORY. HISTORIOGRAPHICAL AND CONCEPTUAL DELIMITATIONS

Summary/Abstract: In the present paper, we set out to determine the historographical landmarks of the approaches tounderstanding the concept of limes, in order to understand its great semantic complexity, which is thebasis for the construction of limes theory. The theory of limes emerged in the nineteenth century, and themeaning of the term was a fortified defensive barrier surrounding the Empire's territory, defending it fromthe external danger that the Romans identified with the barbarian world. Moreover, Theodore Mommsendefined limes as the space between the wall and the line of defense in the field on the other. The researchspaces for which these meanings were then established were the ancient territories of Germany andRaetia. Overall, the theory emerged amid the analysis of the boundaries of the vast Roman Empire, in thecontext of attempts to redefine the relations between the center (Rome and the Italian Peninsula) and theperiphery (the provincial territories and the barbarians at the edge). One can speak of a cosmology inwhich the territory is not limited, but the power of Rome establishes the reporting space. Paul Chaval,speaking of space and power, notes that the Empire is stopping its expansion on the edge of the civilized /cultivated universe. Charles R. Whittaker notes that the Roman attitude towards the border combines thepractice of divination with the delimitation of the enclosure. It is Rome that creates order in chaos, andthe sacred space, organized is delimited by profane, unorganized space.

• Details
• Contents