RUDN Journal of World History

The relevance of this study is due to the fact that it is based on the analysis of a source that has not been sufficiently studied in Russian historiography - Corpus Agrimensorum Romanorum. Using a comprehensive method of historical research, the author reveals the evolution of legal proceedings in the Roman land registry. The purpose of the author is to trace the allocation of land in the archaic and pre-classical periods of the development of the Ius Civile in Rome, as well as to point out the changes in judicial proceedings that determined the course of its development in Roman agrimensura. The author came to the following conclusions that, starting from the period of Emperor Augustus, the forma plan of land surveying was worked out, which was a scheme of the most perfect system of field division - centuriation; and also that during the entire pre-classical period of the Ius Civile in Rome, elements of archaic judicial procedure were preserved: thus, locus forever retained the category of Publicus, except Moreover, the influence of archaism is manifested in how a compromise outcome of a dispute becomes the preferred solution to land conflicts. The formulary process, which based the evidence on the law of the magistrate, built the category of “segments from the boundary line” into the decision of the process of boundary claims based on the interdictum. Thus, the actiones finium regundorum group of claims was singled out, which completed the formation of Roman land law.

This study is devoted to the problem of the relationship between representatives of the Roman authorities in the provinces. The focus is on the figure of the governor as the main bearer of state power outside Italy. The proconsul, as well as the legate of Augustus, had to solve the tasks facing them on the implementation of the management of the entrusted to them part of the state, cooperating with other officials. A special role here was played by the interaction (for the governors of the senatorial provinces) with the quaestors - relatively independent representatives of the central government. The study examines the ideological and moral-psychological foundations on which the relationship between the proconsuls and quaestors was built. Based on specific material, it is shown that one of the most important mechanisms for ensuring an effective partnership here was the acceptance by the senatorial community as a whole of the idea of necessitudo, that is a mutual moral duty linking the quaestor and the proconsul with bonds of corporate solidarity. The relationship between the governor and his appointees, i.e. the legates, was maintained on somewhat different grounds. In this case, one can find signs of a vertical power structure, but with the patriarchal attitudes characteristic of the Romans, which made the atmosphere almost family-like in this case. The study also examines the relationships between different categories of governors and, on the other hand, procurators as formally private envoys of the princeps. The tendency towards a rivalry of procurators in relation to governors is argued, which may be a reflection of the competition between the equestrian and senatorial ordines. The study examines cases of violation of the normal order of partnership between the governor and other representatives of Rome in the province. As sources show, such conflicts mainly took the form of legal proceedings.

The study is devoted to clarifying the chronology of such significant events of gospel history as the execution of John the Baptist and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The author tries to reconcile the conflicting indications of the sources, primarily the texts of the canonical Gospels and such works of Josephus as “Antiquities of the Jews” and “The Jewish War”, in order to build an internally coherent chronological version of the sequence of events from the beginning of the relationship between Herod Antipas and Herodias until the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that attempts to reconcile the data reported by the evangelists, without criticizing them and accepting as unconditionally true the testimonies about the lives of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, with the calculations of astronomers and the achievements of archaeologists have reached a dead end today. In this regard, there is a pressing need to once again, as impartially as possible, analyze the entire range of sources in order to finally bring clarity to this long-discussed issue. As a result of the undertaken analysis of sources and literature, the author came to the following conclusions: the romance of Herod Antipas and Herodias began in 34 or a little earlier, John the Baptist was executed in 35, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ took place on Friday, March 30, 36 AD. The author proceeds from the fact that Christ was born in September 12 BC, when the biblical wise men could observe Halley’s Comet - the most likely prototype of the Star of Bethlehem. In this case, at the time of the crucifixion, Christ should have been 46 full years old, which is indirectly confirmed in two places by the Evangelist John.

The purpose of the study is to find out the reasons why athletes at the Panhellenic and local games were awarded victory ‘dustlessly’ (ἀκονιτί), an undisputed, unqualified victory. Such victories were a great rarity in the Archaic and Classical periods, very highly valued and always specially noted in the list of athletes’ victories and their inscriptions of honour. Based on written sources and epigraphic data, it is shown that the reasons for the victories of “without dust” could be the formidable reputation of the athlete, pressure during training or the draw of heavyweight athletes of their rivals. There have been cases of winning “without dust” as a result of violating the rules of the games, for example, being late for the start of competitions. Athletes often complained about the unfortunate event that robbed them of victory - that is, the result of the draw, which paired them with a heavyweight wrestler and led to a loss. The shame and humiliation that awaited athletes in this case also forced them to refuse to participate in competitions with a strong opponent, because such a refusal was considered less humiliating than defeat. Statistical analysis of data on the victories of athletes ‘dustlessly’ allows the author to assume that such victories were most often awarded in martial arts at both Panhellenic and local games.

The subject of the study is related to the study of the dynastic history of Uaxactun, one of the most important political centers of the ancient Maya of the Late Formative and Early Classic periods. The relevance of the study is due to a new analysis of hieroglyphic inscriptions, conducted within the framework of a comprehensive program of redocumentation of Uaxactun monuments, carried out by the Regional Archaeological Project under the direction of prof. Milan Kovač (University of Bratislava), which allowed us to propose a new reconstruction of the history of Uaxactun. The study aims to reconstruct the events of the military and political history associated with the Uaxactun dynasty in the 4th cent. AD, based on new epigraphic data. The main part of the study is devoted to the analysis of the hieroglyphic inscriptions of Uaxactun of the 4th cent. AD, based on which previously unknown events of the dynastic history of the city were reconstructed. It was determined that in 323 AD, with the accession of a ruler named “TrophySkull Jaguar“, there was a revival of the Uaxactun dynasty, as indicated on Stela 9. In 356 AD, he was succeeded on the throne by king Tz’akbu-Usiij (356 - c. 375 AD), who undertook a military campaign against El Zotz and other cities in the southwest. Thus, the authors determined that by 370/375 AD, Uaxactun had become one of the most powerful Maya political entities in Central Petén, entering into conflict with Tikal. Around 375 AD, Tzakbu-Usiij was defeated and probably captured by his Tikal rival Chak-Tok-Ich’aak II (360-378 AD). Within the framework of existing concepts, the study’s conclusion is important that the defeat of Uaxactun and the establishment of Tikal’s hegemony in Central Petén could have been one of the main factors that provoked the Teotihuacan invasion of the Central Maya Lowlands in 378 AD.