The Study On Oriental Cults In The Impiral Roman Army From The Second To The Fourth Century

Oriental Cults are religions which originated from the eastern part of the Roman Empire such as Syria,Asia Minor and Egypt.In the 2nd and the 4th centuries A.D.,the worship of Oriental Cults flourished not only in the Roman Empire but also penetrated into the Roman Army and gained a wide range of believers.The Roman Army also became an important medium for the dissemination of Oriental Cults.This thesis can hardly cover all the Oriental Cults because they have complex forms and different characteristics.Therefore,I choose to study several Oriental Cults which had great influences in the Roman Army such as Mithraism,the worship for Jupiter Dolichenus and Sol Invictus.The paper explores the historical process and causes of the rise,prosperity and decline of the worship of Oriental Cults in the Roman army from the 2nd to the 4th centuries A.D.This Thesis consists of the following parts.In the introduction,I introduce the present research at home and abroad,the significance and innovation of this article and research methods.The first part is about a brief survey of the general situation of the religions of the imperial roman army in early Roman Empire,as well as a introduction of the religions prevailing in the roman army,such as the traditional religions of Rome,emperor worship and the Oriental Cults.The second part discusses the manifestations and reasons of the rise of Mithraism and the worship of Dolichenus and other oriental cults in the roman army in the 2nd century A.D.The third part analyses the worship of Oriental cults in roman army after the middle of the 2nd century A.D.which represented by Sol Invictus.The fourth part deals with the decline of the Oriental Cults in the Roman army,especially the relationship between the rise of Christianity and the decline of the of Oriental Cults,as well as the influences of the Oriental Cults in the Roman army.