Dr Carsten Lange

Dr Carsten Lange, Assistant Professor in Ancient History at the Department of Culture and Global Studies of the University of Aalborg, Denmark, gave a lecture on Monday 2 February 2015.

Civil War and Triumph. A Newly Discovered Monument of Augustus

Event details

Date: Monday 2 February, 2015, 5.10pm

Venue: David Hume Tower - Lecture Theatre LG.09

Biography

Dr Carsten Hjort Lange is an assistant professor in ancient history at the Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University, Denmark.

He has written a monograph considering the triumviral period and the years surrounding the decisive battle of Actium in 31 BC, and is currently preparing a book on triumphs in the age of civil war for publication.

His current research focuses on the logic of civil war in ancient roman society, including the behaviour of different factions, and the extent to which civil war became a ‘normal’ feature of Roman political and social life.

Lecture abstract

The lecture concerns an important historical frieze, the surviving fragments of which have recently been brought together for the first time. The relief, from Claudian times, reflects central aspects of the life of Augustus: victory, triumph, and deification.

Fascinatingly, it shows both the civil war victory at Actium, with Romans fighting Romans, and the Actian triumph, thus conspicuously stating what Augustus himself was not quite ready to do in his lifetime: that Actium was a civil war and the middle triumph of 29 was a civil war triumph.

This, as this lecture will suggest, is about a semantic confusion, created by Augustus’ refusal to mention his enemy by name.