Un rang impérial nouveau à l’époque de la quatrième tétrarchie : Filius Augustorum 1ère Partie. Inscriptions révisées : problèmes de titulature impériale et de chronologie

Ten Greek and Latin inscriptions which make use of the title Filius Augustorum are here under examination; they invite us to reopen a study of the fourth tetrarchic college which will be continued in a second part. In this first part, most of these epigraphs are reedited with textual emendations and for all of them more precise datings and historical interpretations are proposed. In order to check the previous views that the title Filius Augustorum was instituted on the 11th of November 308, merely as a quite unimportant addition to the title Caesar, it proved necessary, in such a period of deep disagreements, to relate each document to its originating from a specific political area. This approach to the problem allowed us to attach a chronological meaning to some differences attested in Maximinus’ and Constantine’s imperial titulatures. Since most of these inscriptions style those two emperors either as Caesar (n. 1-2) or as Filius Augustorum (n . 3-8), while mainly originating from the regions submitted to Galerius’ direct administration, there is a clear indication that the new title was established in order to supersede that of Caesar and consequently to design a new imperial rank, superior to that of Caesar and closer to that of Augustus. With this new development of the tetrarchic theology, Galerius tried to pacify Maximinus’ violent protest against Licinius’ appointment straight to the rank of Augustus, which is echoed by Lactantius and Eusebius. Nevertheless Maximinus’ opposition went on, taking forms attested by some papyri and coins issued at Antiochia and Alexandria. He even seems to have dictated to Galerius the compromise made visible by the twofold titulature which we restored at Kabyle for Maximinus (n. 9), as well as by the coinage at Nicomedia. In that way, an evolution of Maximinus’ and Constantine’s official titulature in the central and oriental parts of the Empire may be reconstructed, which allows a more precise dating of the inscriptions that style them Caesar (until the end of December 308), Filius Augustorum (from January 309 onwards), or Augustus (from (possibly) May 310) and bears witness to the outstanding crisis between 308 and 311.