Juan Ramón CARBÓ GARCÍA (Universidad Católica de Murcia)
IGNORANTIA DE BARBARIS. COMPLACENCY, BOASTFULNESS AND SECURITY IN THE ROMAN WORLD¬VIEW IN THE FACE OF THE NEW BORDERING PEOPLES IN THE MID-THIRD CENTURY A.D.: FROM CONTEMPT TO BEWILDERMENT
Keywords: Goths, Getae, Dacians, otherness, barbarians, identities, Roman mentality.
Abstract: In the 3rd century AD, new barbarian peoples appeared on the frontiers of the Roman Empire. They pressed to establish themselves within the territories controlled by Rome, thus escaping the pressure they themselves were receiving from other peoples. This was a test of adaptation for the traditionally conservative Roman mentality. We will analyze the case of the Goths in Dacia and the administrative and military abandonment of this province by Emperor Aurelian. Then we will be able to see how the Roman attitude evolved from the complacency, boastfulness and sense of security so common in the Roman worldview to a total sense of bewilderment. To deal with this situation, the Roman sources investigated their origins and, by confusing and assimilating them with those of the ancient Getae and Dacians, they laid the foundations for a phenomenon of confusion and appropriation of long-lasting identities. From the 4th century onwards, this reached different geographical areas and political and cultural realities in the European sphere.