 | Versluys, Miguel John : Visual Style and Constructing Identity in the Hellenistic World. Nemrud Dağ and Commagene under Antiochos I. Part of Greek Culture in the Roman World, Isbn: 9781107141971, 75 £
(Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2017)
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Compte rendu par Paolo Cimadomo, Università di Napoli Nombre de mots : 1656 mots Publié en ligne le 2018-07-25 Citation: Histara les comptes rendus (ISSN 2100-0700). Lien: http://histara.sorbonne.fr/cr.php?cr=3433 Lien pour commander ce livre
The book is part of a current debate about the issues of ancient identities and the ways in which these identities were connected and were part of a bigger network. In particular, the study by Miguel John Versluys examines a new perspective for understanding the Roman peripherical world, using connectivity as a major point of departure. The book follows a specific line of research that analysed the mixture of "Eastern" and "Western" elements in Late Hellenistic societies. Hellenistic societies were characterized by different attitudes toward the choice of more conservative or more innovative forms in visual art: Ptolemies were, for example, more conservative, because they created a link with their Egyptian past, while the Seleucids were more innovative, using the Greek cultural formula. Taking into account these two different views, Commagene represents an excellent field of analysis, because it is a small nation in an area in the midst of Greek and Persian influences. In particular, the monumental remains exalt the figure of Antiochos I, king of Commagene: he wished to play a leading role within the Hellenistic world, making his kingdom an integral part of this world during the first century BCE, a formative period for many other kingdoms in the same area. As stated by the author himself, the book aims to “(re)locate Commagene and Nemrud Dag in the proper (late) Hellenistic context”. In order to do so, Versluys has focused his study on the debate about identity and style, two concepts that are intertwined and analysed thoroughly: in fact, he dedicates the third and fourth chapters of the book to these themes.
The text is divided into 5 chapters: the first one is a sort of introduction to the principal issues about the role of Commagene between Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch. The chapter clearly explains the ongoing debate about the studies of Global Archeology and connectivity. Globalization has been used as a means of defining processes of the Roman Empire. It describes the formation of one integrated and interconnected society. Its applicability to the study of ancient Rome has already been discussed in a spate of studies, especially during the last two decades. Versluys has been very active in this field, editing and publishing several articles and books on the theme.
The second chapter is devoted to the history of the archaeological research carried out on the site of Nemrud Dag and the surrounding area. While the first chapter is a conceptual introduction, where the author explains theoretical matters, this chapter is a more effective introduction to the following chapters. Here we find, together with the historical background, the archaeology of the region, divided into Dynastic monuments, cities and villages, with a final evaluation of the archaeological sources.
The main chapters, however, as mentioned earlier, are related to the problem of identity (chapter 3) and style (chapter 4). Chapter 3 consists of an attentive analysis of the program made by Antiochos and what he wanted to demonstrate. The program would have some parallels in the attempts of other kings of the same period, like Herod the Great in Judaea and Juba II in Numidia, in order to structure a new identity for their own kingdoms. Chapter 4 focuses on the “style”: it is about the definition of Antiochan style, the problems of the definition of Hellenisation and Hellenism, and the comparisons with Persianism.
The book concludes with a brief chapter of 6 pages (Chapter 5), in which Versluys summarises the main issues that have emerged. At the end of the book, there is an appendix with the English translation of the great cult inscription of Antiochos I, the so-called nomos, written in Greek and found at Nemrud Dag.
The author's approach is devoted to include the policies of the Commagenean kingdom in a broader network, of a panhellenistic nature. It differs from the classical interpretations given to the site: in fact, in the past, Nemrud Dag has been considered as a whim of a magniloquent monarch. This vision has also influenced modern studies, such as that of Andreas Kropp (Images and Monuments of Near Eastern Dynasts, 100 BC – AD 100, 2013), who considered the reign of Antiochos I as eclectic and exotic. Miguel John Versluys, instead, has a different view: he believes, in fact, that a certain cultural unity had been already reached during the Bronze Age, it was reinforced in the Hellenistic period, especially in the first century BCE, after the Roman conquest of the Near East. However, style should not be related to ethnic or cultural identities, since the relationships between objects and subjects are not so clear, on the contrary, human actions are often the result of an interaction between subjects and objects.
To summarise, Versluys wants to show that the results obtained by Antiochos were on one side innovative and in many ways unique, but, on the other side, they were well integrated into the political atmosphere in which the monarch had to move. The actions of Antiochos are not different from those of the other dynasts of the first century BCE, such as Herod of Judea or Juba II of Numidia. At that time, inventing traditions was a common practice, and material culture surely played a key role in constructing new identities. The figure of Antiochos I almost completely monopolises the documentation of the area, because archaeological data about the daily life of villages or cities are lacking. The monuments of Antiochos I represent the best-preserved remains of the 1st century BCE. In this regard, Versluys tries to flip the previous opinions over: in fact, in the past scholars who studied the archeological remains of Commagene were conscious of the relatively high amount of data for the period, but the author affirms the opposite, namely that there is no information about the region, because we have only hints on what Antiochos wished to communicate. Therefore, the real problem at this point is to understand what Antiochos really meant to show. Miguel John Versluys has no doubts about it. Antiochos was perfectly integrated into an interconnected world - the Hellenistic world - that became much more interrelated after the arrival of Rome. In fact, Rome in the East continued the policy of Hellenistic kings, improving the network of connections between local dynasties and allowing them to feel they were an active part of that world. We can consider the same epithet philorhomaios, taken by Antiochos himself, like a declaration of membership to a wider Hellenistic world. The issues which emerge throughout the reading converge in chapter 4: here the author tries to identify a term that can explain exactly the phenomenon. Versluys explains that we should avoid words like "syncretism", "bilingualism", "hybridism”, and use the concept of “bricolage”, introduced by Levi-Strauss, because it might be useful to analyse the combinations of different mythical motifs. The Greek identity, as well as all other ethnic identities, is constructed discursively and the term "Greek" cannot be used to define the material culture in an ethnic sense. Commagene had to play on two different tables: on one side, it was close to the Parthians, who preferred to present themselves as heirs to the Achaemenids; on the other side, there were the Romans, who considered themselves as the direct descendants of Alexander the Great, who was the conqueror of the Achaemenids. Therefore, as the author outlines clearly, “the visual strategy of Antiochos I was thus not about being Greek and Persian but about doing Greek and Persian ”. The history of the Commagene of the first century BCE is therefore focused entirely on the competition between Hellenism and Persianism. Architectures, especially religious monuments, clearly show that during the first century BCE there was a strong mixture of forms and styles that led to the erection of “eclectic” monuments. Keeping in mind these dynamics and the relationships between different cultures, it is therefore unfair to consider the Antiochene experiment as a unique, peculiar attempt that fails at the death of the dynast. It should rather be considered as a successful experiment of combining Persianism with Hellenism, which received little success later due to the Augustan cultural revolution.
The book of Versluys is a stimulating read and poses questions that have long been incubated and which have driven historical research for at least two decades. Some may argue that those questions may be simply repackaged here and that much of the terminology employed, be it concerning connectivity or networks, may conceal concepts that have long circulated in the discourse of the Graeco-Roman universe. Visual Style and Constructing Identity in the Hellenistic World. Nemrud Dag and Commagene under Antiochos I is a perfectly sensible operation. It is apparent that the variability of the situations during the 1st century BCE and its many facets are what makes this avenue attractive and one that is bound to yield interesting work.
From the local perspective, it has been useful to have explored ideas of intentional and non-intentional participation in the globalized empire. In turn, this book sheds light on another potentially important aspect of globalization theory, which is that individuals and areas have a degree of choice in whether they participate in a bigger network.
This book offers a new point of view to scholarship that still believes in the classical notion of Hellenism. His integration of sophisticated methodological concepts is laudable and will change academic conversations for the better, the writing is fluid and the images and maps are very helpful. The only flaw is the lack of general maps of the sites cited as examples in chapters 3 and 4. These concerns aside, the book is of great importance in both its method and its content for the study of First century BCE Commagene and the surrounding region.
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