De incendiis urbis Romae: The fires of Rome in their urban context

This dissertation provides an analysis of the variegated impact of repeated fires on the urban matrix of ancient Rome. Weaving together the fragmentary pieces of evidence for the incidences of fire, the dissertation is shaped around a chronological investigation of urban conflagrations from the city's origins to the Visigothic sack of AD 410. Chapter 1 (Fires in the Republic) offers a methodological and research background to the topic, before turning to looking at the mythological and psychological foundations of the city in the ashes of Troy. The chapter concludes with an examination of the fire of 52 BC in the Forum Romanum, a conflagration that provided the template for one important aspect of intramural fires: they often made available large areas of land that, when coupled with financial resources and strong autocratic interest, provided a unique opportunity for large-scale construction projects. The second chapter (Fires in the Julio-Claudian Period [31 BC--AD 62]) places particular emphasis on Augustus' appreciation of the dangers---and possibilities---raised by fire. Chapter 3 (AD 64: The Inauspicious Year) provides a thorough analysis of the great Neronian fire, incorporating both early and recent scholarship on the subject. The fourth chapter (Fires in the Imperial Period [AD 68--AD 410]) covers a number of significant and catastrophic fires of the imperial age, including those of AD 80, 188, 191, 283, and 305. It also argues that a catastrophic fire in AD 110 centered around the Pantheon provided an impetus for Hadrianic building in the Campus Martius. The concluding chapter (the Social, Economic, and Urban Consequences of Fires in Rome) offers analyses of fire not only as a destructive event (and catalyst of urban construction) but also as an administrative concern, a social phenomenon, and as a literary topos. Special emphasis is given to the methods of prophylaxis that the Romans applied (including religious, legal, organizational, and technological) in an effort to reduce the quantity and severity of urban fire.