Caelum et terra arserunt — a historiographical and political account on the AD192 fire

Abstract

To analyse and to disentangle the broader context framing a historical event such as the AD 192 fire are key aspects of understanding how the same happening can bear multiple different connotations depending on the intentions of the narrator. Firstly, this paper focuses on discussing how and why the fire was interpreted as an omen announcing emperor Commodus’ impending end especially by the historian Dio Cassius. Later on, we will shift towards a post factum state of events and consider how the damages caused by the flames created the frame for Emperor Severus to implement his visual policies by the means of architectural restoration. The wider spectrum we will scrutinise throughout the article is that of fire as a signifier for both a decaying reign and the start of a new one.