Savez Jonjana u doba Rimskog carstva

Abstract

Rad je posvećen Savezu Jonjana u prva tri veka nove ere, federalnoj organizaciji koja je u epohu Rimskog carstva kročila sa viševekovnom istorijom. Izvorni materijal na koji se oslanja istraživanje istorije Saveza obuhvata retke napomene antičkih pisaca, manji broj pretežno počasnih natpisa i predstave na novcu. Savez Jonjana je imao zajednički centar u Posejdonovom svetilištu na Mikali, gde je održavan godišnji Panjonski festival. Od saveznih institucija u ovo vreme nailazimo samo na savezno veće a od zvaničnika samo na sveštenička zvanja, u tesnoj vezi sa Panjonskim svetilištem i svetkovinom. U ime Saveza su kovane i neke serije novca i izdavani počasni dekreti. Čini se da je u pitanju bila organizacija srazmerno malog značaja, koju je u životu održavala snažna tradicija, ali koja je ipak opstala bar do sredine III veka nove ere.

One of the oldest Greek koina, the Ionian League, endured nearly three centuries under the Roman imperial rule. This federation was founded probably sometime during the late 8th or early 7th century BC, but its pre-roman history was not one of uninterrupted continuity: it was abolished by the Persians after the collapse of the Ionian revolt (494 BC), restored once more at the end of the 5th century, but it ceased to exist in the early 4th; it was revived again before the end of the century, probably by the Alexander the Great himself. The League continued to exist throughout the Hellenistic and Republican Roman period, with perhaps one intermission in the 1st century BC, after Sulla's punitive settlement of the province of Asia. Available sources on the (boyle ton Ionon) during the period under consideration, are very scarce and often of little value. There are a few useful remarks in the works of Strabo, Josephus Flavius and Flavius Philostratus, together with a dozen inscriptions and a number of coins, struck in order to commemorate common festival. It is impossible to determine the precise list of federal states, but the federation had at least eight or nine members, while a few other are possible. Membership was, as in previous times, restricted to poleis of purely Ionian origin. Official inscriptions and coinage speak without exception, of 'thirteen Ionian cities', but this is most probably a symbolic, canonical figure. Not many certain facts can be established about the federal institutions and magistrates. The League probably had a federal council (boyle ton Ionon), but there was no federal assembly. All known activities of the League at this time can be subsumed under two headings the common Ionian festival (the Panionia), and the voting of honorary decrees. The common festival was perhaps the most important factor of the League's prolonged existence. It was celebrated at a yearly basis in the common Ionian shrine of the Poseidon Helikonios on the Mt. Mycale, in the territory of Priene. There are only two dignitaries that can be positively linked with the League, and they are in both cases cult officials. One is that of the 'priest of the Ionians' (aochieoeyz ton 'Ionon), most probably one of several priest in the common shrine, elected by the federal council or by the city of Priene. The other one is a more obscure title of the 'king of Ionians' (basileyz ton 'Ionon), perhaps another priest at Panionion. What is lacking in this picture, are the non-sacral officials that one would expect to find in a Greek federation: a chairman of the federal council, a federal secretary, one or more federal treasurers. This could either be due to chance survival of the sources, which are scarce indeed; but it can also mean that by this time the League was devoid of any powers, save those concerning the common cult and festival. It is a reasonable conclusion that the Ionian League was not an organization of great importance in the Roman province of Asia, although future findings might alter this picture. Factors such as League's regional character and the general conditions of the Roman province reduced its significance and competence from the onset. Furthermore, it was clearly overshadowed by the much larger federation, the Asian league. This rival league, encompassing all the cities in the province, was a product of Roman rule and had official Roman support; it supervised the Imperial cult in the province, which by itself carried great importance, and often acted as a common voice for all Asian cities before the emperor and the senate. But, in spite of these unfavorable conditions, the Ionian League is attested even in the 3rd century AD. Exact date of its disappearance is unknown, but it certainly did not survive into the 4th century. Its demise was most likely due to the unsettled conditions of the mid-third century Asia Minor, general calamity and economic distress of the time, and especially the Gothic invasions of the province. If the League somehow survived these shocks, it was probably disbanded during Diocletian's reforms, sometime around the turn of the century.