Africans In Roman era Europe

[anansi]

I was about to archive an old thread from E/S about the Ivory Bangled lady but too much text with fighting although good points were made I'll just create a new thread for those in the know already recognized this article from 2010


Roman remains in York are 'elite' African woman








This reconstruction shows how the Ivory Bangle Lady may have looked
Archaeologists have revealed the remains of what they say was a "high status" woman of African origin who lived in York during Roman times.

Academics say the discovery goes against the common assumption that all Africans in Roman Britain were low status male slaves.
Remains of the Ivory Bangle Lady, as she has been named, were studied in Reading using forensic techniques.
She was first discovered in the Bootham area of York in August 1901.
Her remains were in a stone coffin near Sycamore Terrace in the city.
Her grave dates back to the second half of the 4th Century. She was buried with items including jet and elephant ivory bracelets, earrings, beads and a blue glass jug.
She also had a rectangular piece of bone, which is thought to have originally been mounted in a wooden box, which was carved to read, "Hail, sister, may you live in God'.

Bracelets of ivory and jet were among the woman's grave goods
The grave goods and skeletal remains of the Ivory Bangle Lady were studied by the archaeology department of the University of Reading.
The university's Dr Hella Eckardt said a study of the skull's size and facial features along with analysis of the chemical signature of the food and drink she had consumed led to their conclusion that she was of high status and of African origin.
Dr Eckardt said: "Multi-cultural Britain is not just a phenomenon of more modern times.


"Analysis of the 'Ivory Bangle Lady' and others like her, contradicts common popular assumptions about the make up of Roman-British populations as well as the view that African immigrants in Roman Britain were of low status, male and likely to have been slaves."
The Ivory Bangle Lady will feature in an exhibition about the diversity of the population of Roman York at the Yorkshire Museum in August.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/8538888.stm

[anansi]

The above Temple Of Isis Pompeii


Temple Of Isis Pompii




Revis has always considered himself a true Yorkshireman who was proud of his ancestry.
But he has been forced to confront an entirely different heritage - after scientists uncovered that he has exactly the same DNA imprint as a tribe of African warriors.
Scientists last week announced the discovery of the first proof that slaves brought to Britain by the Romans left behind a distinct genetic heritage.
This strand was revealed to exist among just seven men with a particular surname hailing from the North of England.
However, the academics refused to disclose the identities of any of those men included in the study.
Now The Mail on Sunday has discovered that all of those with the African lineage have the surname Revis.
Last night, John, 75, a retired surveyor living in Leicester, said: "I started looking into my family history and traced my ancestors back to the mid-1700s.
"One line went to the States and became very successful while my immediate line stayed in the North of England and were mostly bakers. There was nothing to suggest that I was African."
John responded to a newspaper advert by Leicester University asking for people who have traced their ancestry to give DNA samples for a study on world populations.
He said: "The scientists took some of my DNA away for analysis and then one day they called me up and were very excited. They said I had a Y-chromosome that was extremely rare. I was flabbergasted. I had no idea that I was so culturally unique. But I am not going to start eating couscous and riding a camel."
John is attempting to take the discovery in his stride. He added: "It was a shock to find out that, because I was so blond and blue-eyed when I was younger, people thought I was Nordic or German.
"But the researchers said that if my DNA were examined then people would assume they were looking at a North African man.
"I suspect there must have been some big Berber tribesman who came to Britain with the Romans and spread his seed all over Yorkshire."
John is married with three children and six grandchildren. The news shocked his friends at Brookfield Bowls Club in Leicester.
He added: "It is a very white establishment which can be a little awkward in a multi-racial place such as Leicester.
"At least now they can say they have got one more ethnic-minority member but I doubt anyone would be able to pick me out. His wife Marlene was also taken aback."
She said: "I can hardly believe it. John has always seemed very English to me. He likes his roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday. He has never asked me to cook anything unusual. My friends think our news is hilarious.
"The closest John ever came to the traditional Berber life was when he went camping with the Scouts. I don't think we've been in a tent since we got married.'
Scientists from Leicester University made the finding during research sponsored by The Wellcome Trust. They were examining the relationship between the male, or Y, chromosome and surnames.
Like surnames, the Y-chromosome is passed from father to son, virtually unchanged through generations.
Professor Mark Jobling said: "We found John was in the A1 group of Y-chromosomes, which is very rare and highly west African-specific.
"This study has shown what it means to be British is complicated and always has been. Human migration history is very complex, particularly for an island nation such as ours. This study further debunks the idea that there are simple and distinct populations or races."
Over time, the Y-chromosome accumulates small changes in DNA sequence, allowing scientists to study the relationships between different male lineages.
The surname Revis is believed to derive from Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire. Berber comes from the Latin word for Barbarian.
Fellow researcher Turi King said: "Our findings represent the first genetic evidence of Africans among 'indigenous' British people."
She added that Africans were first recorded in northern England 1,800 years ago, brought by the Romans to help defend Hadrian's Wall.
Ms King said: "The slave trade was responsible for the influx of Africans in the 16th and 17th Centuries. By the last third of the 18th Century there were 10,000 black people in Britain.

[anansi]

NEARLY 2,000 years ago, York was the most important place in the western hemisphere. The Roman Emperor had taken up residence and thousands of social climbers from all corners of the empire flocked to the city to be part of the scene.

The man attracting all the fuss was Septimius Severus, the first black citizen to hold Rome’s highest office. For the final three years of his reign, he made York his home and brought to the city a cosmopolitan period of culture, fashion and importance that has not been matched since.


Before Severus arrived, most residents had not seen anyone from the next province, never mind Syria or Mesopotamia; yet almost overnight, their city was filled with every known nationality.

The emperor’s striking looks, tight curly hair and straggly beard were said to have wowed everyone. Severus was also a dab hand at promoting his wife, Julia Domna, and while most in York had seen their faces on coins, now they were here in person – and everyone wanted to look like them.

Here quite possibly was the birth of celebrity culture, but the greasy lank hair of the Brigantes and Celts was never going match the golden couple’s locks. Alert to the new fashion, however, hairdressers came up with ingenious products, including curlers made from jet.
Friday is the 1800th anniversary of the death of Severus and to celebrate his influence on the city, the Yorkshire Museum is holding an exhibition throughout the month which uses objects and stories from his time as an inspiration for contemporary projects.

Among the events are performances by the Theatre Royal Young Actors and a fashion display by students from York College based on their interpretation of what Severus and Julia Domna might wear today.

The exhibition is in partnership with the Museum’s Precious Cargo Project which is led by Aisha Ali-Sutcliffe.

“When Severus arrived he made a real impact,” she says. “He didn’t look like a traditional Roman Emperor and with his glamorous wife they were a unique couple; York’s first celebrities really, it was a bit like Posh and Becks turning up.

“It was an exciting time. Severus and Julia Domna were style icons who with their huge entourage influenced fashion and culture in the city.

“There were also many different languages being spoken and people began to change their diet because spices and a different way of cooking came over from Africa. Third century York was a very cultured city.”

On February 21, young black authors from Leeds will explore African history and Severus’s life through music, theatre and performance. Aisha says they have drawn deep inspiration from the emperor.

Many of them were surprised to learn that while Barak Obama made history by becoming America’s first black president, two millennia before he took office, the Romans were already leading the way for a more tolerant approach.

Severus belonged to a class of Romanised Africans in what is now Libya. Although his mother was of Italian Roman extract, his father was Punic – a genetic mix of the Phoenicians and Berbers – and an obscure provincial with little or no standing in Rome.

Severus had ambitions from an early age, but he was held back through a lack of connections. However, two cousins, who both served as consuls, fixed it for him to enter the Roman senate where he gained the favour of emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Life as a senator was mainly spent overseas, before Severus became a magistrate. Later he joined the army and became an accomplished general who, having defeated his enemies in a series of civil wars, went on to victories across the empire.

His time came in 193 AD when Pertinax was murdered. Troops loyal to Severus proclaimed him Emperor and he rushed back to Italy. As he arrived, the former Emperor, Didius Julianus, had been condemned to death by the Senate and Severus took Rome without opposition.

But another challenger soon emerged in Clodius Albinus, who was hailed emperor by his own troops. After a short stay in Rome, Severus decided to remove his rival suitor, which he did at the Battle of Lugdunum, and that secured full control of the empire.

He inherited a partly troubled empire. The military campaign in Iraq had failed, borders were leaking badly and the economy was ailing. Gradually though, Severus began to unify an empire which had suffered badly during the turbulent period under Commodus.

He eliminated government corruption and nurtured the legal profession in an 18-year reign which ushered in the golden age of Roman jurisprudence.

“Severus realised if he was to succeed in the empire he needed the army on his side,” says head curator Andrew Morrison. “If you control the legions, you can easily usurp the throne. The soldiers really liked him and he improved their lot considerably.”

One way was by doubling their pay, but that along with Severus’s other policies began to place a severe burden on Roman citizens. The resulting high taxes would eventually play a significant part in the fall of the Roman Empire.

That and keeping huge armies in places like Britain.

“The Mediterranean was the financial heartland of the empire and getting rid of the furthest outposts would have made real economic sense. But like all emperors, Severus had an ego and wanted more to hand over than he inherited. “Heritage was everything to the Romans. Severus shared his emperorship with his sons, but in his later years realised they were not going to make good generals. So he brings them both to Britain, plus his wife and the entire imperial court, with the explicit idea of hardening them up in battle.

“And because the emperor was here, the Roman Empire was run from York for three years. So this triumphal procession arrives and the city became an exotic place, with new religions, new foods and new fashions.”

It was the beginning of a black and Asian presence in the north east of England. Something borne out by the limb proportions of skeletons unearthed in a Roman cemetery outside York, which revealed some of the men were black Africans.

It was again confirmed last year when the Ivory Bangle Lady was discovered, a high-status young black woman buried in York during the period Severus was in town. It was more evidence to contradict popular assumptions that African immigrants in Roman Britain were of low status, male and likely to have been slaves.

“We have Victorian school teachers to blame for the picture of how Romans treated their slaves. They were trying to justify what we were doing at the time.

“Anyway a Roman slave was simply somebody who was owned by someone else. Not all were treated badly and some were very wealthy. Indeed imperial slaves were advisors to the emperor.”

The third century was an enlightened age and in the empire, class held no barrier to high office – as Severus proved.

“During his time here, York would have been a very vibrant and cosmopolitan place. It has to be three of the most exciting years in the city’s history.”

• York’s African Emperor runs at the Yorkshire Museum throughout February and from Friday a bust of Septimius Severus, on loan from the British Museum, will form the centrepiece. For a full programme of events visit yorkshiremuseum.org.uk
www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/exhibitions/8826893.New_exhibition_about_Roman_Emperor_Septimius_Severus_at_the_Yorkshire_Museum/

Pescennius Niger
Niger was the governor of Syria at the time of Pertinax's murder. When he heard what had happened he decided he was the right man for the job. His soldiers quickly fell in line and off they went to Rome. A little kink in their plans cropped up when news reached them that the army of Septimius Severus had the same plans. Niger judiciously figured that his chances of defeating Severus in the open field were not good so he retreated at once back to Syria to await Severus on his own turf. Although this made things a bit more difficult for Severus, however, he was still able to defeat his rival in separate battles and then executed.

Unkown man Roman era






www.jstor.org/pss/4427264

[anansi]

Publius Vergilius Maro
The author of the Aeneid about the refugees from Troy that fathered the Romans.

[anansi]

Harpocrates Found in Garbage Heap in Silchester
So much for the value placed on this Roman misinterpretation of the child-figure god Horus.

Note not the find at the site but a statue of Horus as the silent one
From the Guardian.co.uk
Relic of Harpocrates, the god of secrecy and silence, found at Silchester
Archaeological dig at abandoned Roman city in Hampshire yields earliest representation of an Egyptian deity found in Britain
Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk, Friday 16 July 2010 14.06 BST


A battered and corroded thumb-sized piece of bronze has turned out to be a unique find, the earliest representation of an Egyptian deity from any site in Britain – and appropriately, after almost 2,000 years hidden in the ground, it is Harpocrates, the god of secrecy and silence. (Image: An example of Egyptian Horus-as-child, Late Dynastic Period, 715-332 BCE)

The little figure was found at Silchester, site of an abandoned Roman city in Hampshire, in last summer's excavation, but his identity was only revealed in months of careful conservation work. His Greek and Roman designation as Harpocrates, the god of spymasters, is actually a transcription error.

"In Egyptian mythology the figure is known as Horus, the child of Isis and Osiris," said Professor Mike Fulford of the University of Reading, director of the Silchester excavation. "He is often shown with his finger in his mouth, a gesture that in Egypt represented the hieroglyph for his name, but was misinterpreted by the Greeks and Romans, resulting in his adoption as the god of silence and secrecy."

He was originally an ornament on an object, which is itself unique. "The figurine was attached to part of a charcoal-burning brazier which would have been used to provide heating and lighting. This brazier is the only one found in England so we are doubly excited," Fulford said. "The brazier, the sort of thing you would expect to find in Pompeii, is the first evidence of such a luxurious item from Roman Britain."

The context of the find suggests the brazier was imported, and later thrown out into a rubbish pit, in the first century AD.

Silchester is one of the most enigmatic Roman sites: after it was abandoned in the 7th century, with houses tumbled and the wells filled in, it was never reoccupied. A medieval abbey and manor farm clipped only a corner of the site; today, it remains open farmland surrounded by spectacular ruined Roman walls, still 20ft high in places.

Fulford has been digging at Silchester for half a lifetime and now returns every summer for training digs with his students and volunteers from all over the world. They are gradually peeling back the layers of an extraordinary history.

He now believes it was an iron age city of up to 10,000 people, the oldest and largest in Britain, built on the regular grid pattern which historians had believed arrived with the Romans. The evidence suggests Silchester never regained its wealth and power after the Roman invasion, and may have been burned to the ground and rebuilt in the Boudiccan rebellion of 60AD.

Among its puzzles are the dog skeletons which turned up all over the site, one found carefully buried standing upright, still on guard after 2,000 years. Other skeletons show cut marks from flaying, suggesting the inhabitants had a flourishing craft industry of making puppy-fur cloaks.
goddesschess.blogspot.com/2010/07/harpocrates-found-in-garbage-heap-in.html

[jari]

Nice thread Brada..

When it comes to Severus, its no Afrocentrics who are claiming this man as Rome's first black Emperor, Anyone who studies him in depth knows this man was seen as "Dark Skinned" despite his Italian Blood.



-from Caesars' Wives : Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire
(Read the last line and weep..)
^^^
This is a non Afrocentric, Im assuming white European who is claiming that Severus was Rome's first black emperor. Ive also read in many other sources that Severus was constantly called Dark Skinned and was remembered as a Dark skinned man.

Now you have Euroclowns and Berber Radicals trying to use some unpainted bust as proof that Severus was non black..

[jari]

anansi Posted..

Pescennius Niger
Niger was the governor of Syria at the time of Pertinax's murder. When he heard what had happened he decided he was the right man for the job. His soldiers quickly fell in line and off they went to Rome. A little kink in their plans cropped up when news reached them that the army of Septimius Severus had the same plans. Niger judiciously figured that his chances of defeating Severus in the open field were not good so he retreated at once back to Syria to await Severus on his own turf. Although this made things a bit more difficult for Severus, however, he was still able to defeat his rival in separate battles and then executed.

Unkown man Roman era

Some more info on Niger..

Historia Augusta
p431 The Life of Pescennius Niger

Now when the confusion in the state was at its height, inasmuch as it was made known that there were three several emperors, Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger, and Clodius Albinus, the priest of the Delphic Apollo was asked which of them as emperor would prove of most profit to the state, whereupon, it is said, he gave voice to a Greek verse as follows:

"Best is the Dark One, the African good, but the worst is the White One."

p449 2 And in this response it was clearly understood that Niger was meant by the Dark One, Severus by the African, and Albinus by the White One. 3 Thereupon the curiosity of the questioners was aroused, and they asked who would really win the empire. To this the priest replied with further verses somewhat as follows:

"Both of the Black and the White shall the life-blood be shed all untimely;

Empire over the world shall be held by the native of Carthage."

[jari]

More Africans in Rome..

Caracalla..

Now I dont think Caracalla was Dark Skinned judging from his portrait off of the Berlin Tondo, but he still retained his "Africoid" features from his black father.






Yeah...

[jari]

Caracalla and Severus were responsible for significant projects and important events in Roman history. One of the most Famous, the "Baths of Caracalla" probably the most lavish and best built of All the Roman Baths..

[nebsen]

This is a very fascinating thread indeed ! Anansi, thanks for opening up the topic with the" Ivory Bangled Lady" & to you my brother Jari for extending it into the reign of Caracalla & Severus. They & the period hold great interest for me. To bad that this period is not widely known by others in our community as well as outside. Jari, could you suggest any books to read on this period in Rome's history ? Maybe one day when Black Hollywood awakes from their sleep, & really get's it together, this could make for great cinema & story telling. If I'm not wrong ,I think some time ago, I read that Vin Diesel wanted to portray Septimus Severus ; he could pull it off for his father is African American & mother Italian. I do know he really wants to play Hannibal . Maybe in 10 years or so something like this could really happen. But more Black & non Black historians need to lay the ground work & make this period in Rome's history more accessible to the general public.

[anansi]

Thanks for the contribution Jeri,the thing is I want people to get used to the idea that humans travel for many different reasons and if talented enough with no Bars placed upon them will rise to even the highest positions possible,and that includes outsiders who venture into any of Africa's civilizations folks need to stop freaking out when any outside influence showed up in their societies both genetic or material. will post more later..all this can be done without saying that the native of any of these lands owed their entire culture and civilization to outside influence which happens all too often weather it's Africans in Europe or Asia or Asians and Europeans in Africa.

Nesben like you said there are so many stories needed to be told without making things-up these scripts have virtually written themselves ,but will black Hollywood grab it??

[anansi]

Pescennius Niger,Septimius Severus. ,Decimus Clodius Albinus
The last names of both Pescennius Niger and Decimus Clodius Albinus are interesting in that they suggest a connection to complexion as Niger is Latin for black hence the later formation of the term Negro or people of the Niger river in Africa,and Albinus suggest a very white skinned person.
Think of today's political scene in America where you have Herman Cain who was for a little while a true contender going up against Obama,with Newt Gingrich or Mit Romney playing Albinus.
Now when the confusion in the state was at its height, inasmuch as it was made known that there were three several emperors, Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger, and Clodius Albinus, the priest of the Delphic Apollo was asked which of them as emperor would prove of most profit to the state, whereupon, it is said, he gave voice to a Greek verse as follows:

"Best is the Dark One, the African good, but the worst is the White One."
p4492 And in this response it was clearly understood that Niger was meant by the Dark One, Severus by the African, and Albinus by the White One. 3 Thereupon the curiosity of the questioners was aroused, and they asked who would really win the empire. To this the priest replied with further verses somewhat as follows:

"Both of the Black and the White shall the life-blood be shed all untimely;
Empire over the world shall be held by the native of Carthage."
4 And then when the priest was asked who should succeed this man, he gave answer, it is said, with another Greek verse:

"He whom the dwellers above have called by the surname of Pius."
5 But this was altogether unintelligible until Bassianus took the name Antoninus,36 which was Pius' true surname. 6 And when finally they asked how long he should rule, the priest is said to have replied in Greek as follows:

"Surely with twice ten ships he will cleave the Italian waters,37
Only let one of his barques bound o'er the plain of the sea."
From this they perceived that Severus would round out twenty years.

You beat me to the highlighted portions Jeri I think this is very telling a three way conflict between three generals two of them African and one European,some folks tend to forget that the Roman empire expanded to include a lot more people than just original Roman tribe.
penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Pescennius_Niger*.html

Saint Maurice
The sculpture off course is wrong in the depiction of his armament not of his era.
This sculpture was created in about 1250,this was what the Germans thought he looked like,interesting is his sir name Maurice which is a derivative of Moor which many associate with the people of north west Africa,the thing is he was supposedly born in upper Egypt in Thebes,so in this case the word moor was just used as a stand in for black.

In the year of Christ 286, a most remarkable affair occurred; a legion of soldiers, consisting of six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men, contained none but Christians. This legion was called the Theban Legion, because the men were Egyptian Christian Copts who had been recruited from and stationed in Thebias in Upper Egypt. The Theban Legion were quartered in the east until the emperor Maximian ordered them to march to Gaul, to assist him against the rebels of Burgundy. It was the custom of the Romans to move troops from extreme parts of the empire to avoid the problem of Roman-trained soldiers participating in uprisings to free their native lands.
It should be noted here that the Egyptians or the Copts accepted Christianity so very rapidly to the extent that the Romans had to exercise a series of persecutions in an attempt to suppress the growth of a religion which openly defied the divinity of the Emperor. The Roman Edict of 202 A.D. decreed that Christian conversion should be stopped at all costs. The edict of 250 A.D. decreed that every citizen should carry at all times a certificate issued by the local authorities testifying that he had offered sacrifice to the gods. Those who refused to conform were tortured with unprecedented ferocity. Some were beheaded, others were thrown to the lions and others were burnt alive. All were subjected to even innovated veracious torture regardless of age or sex. The Catechetical School of Alexandria was closed by order of the authorities, though its members continued to meet in other secret places. At one time, the number of bishops was restricted by the State to three. The consummation of the age of persecution is considered by the Copts to be during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305). So severe was the mass execution and the savage torture of the Copts that they took the day of DiocIetian's military election as Emperor to mark the beginning of the era of the Coptic martyrs. That very day marked the start of the Coptic Calendar known in the Western world as Anno Martyrum (A.M.) or the year of the Martyrs.

The area around Thebes has always enjoyed a reputation for its strong, almost fanatical, Christianity. The first monks in the Christian tradition, known as "The Desert Fathers," contained a majority of Thebans, and Theban Christians celebrate many martyrs who have refused to yield their faith to the many persecutions in the first centuries of the church.
www.bibleprobe.com/theban.html

[blackuhuru420]

Roman Glass cup of African 1st century A.D
www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/130005849?img=1




2nd century roman Mosaic


2nd century roman mosaic

Attachments:

[blackuhuru420]

Roman sculpture of African boy 150 a.d

[ironlion]

African Emperor Macrinus


Aha, my fav topic