The article is concerned with the most important element of the powers of Roman magistrates of the Republic-the right to auspices and its application in war. The author shares the opinion that the sources do not provide grounds for recognizing special 'military auspices' ( (auspicia militiae), qualitatively different from magistrates' auspices in the civil sphere ( (auspicia domi). Auspicia militiae should be understood only as a designation of the sphere of their application. However, the lack of special quality of 'military auspices' does not mean that they lacked quite noticeable specific features. Namely, the term auspicia militia is applicable to the auspices under certain conditions, while the military powers of their holder were in effect, and not during the entire term of office, unlike the auspicia domi. In addition, auspicia militiae depended on the correct ( (rite (rite) execution of the auspices that accompanied the commander's departure to war, which, being common in procedure, were unusual in consequences, determining the success of the entire military campaign. Therefore, there is a reason for the term 'auspices of departure' generated by modern historiography, since they are a link between urban and military auspices, between the spheres of domi and militiae. For they were carried out inside the pomerium, i.e. on 'Roman soil', but they were important for actions outside it, on foreign territory. Therefore it was the auspicia domi that were key in the system of magistrates' religious and political powers, which may indicate the priority of the civil sphere of the Roman community, at least in the religious and ideological field.
The paper considers the ancient tradition of the agrarian law of L. Cornelius Sulla. On the basis of a re-examination of the literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources for this law, the author makes an attempt to reconstruct some legal norms contained in a supposed lex Cornelia agraria. His opinion is that a considerable part of land resources used by Sulla for his agrarian program was gained by virtue of legal norms of the epigraphic lex agraria (111 BC). Besides, he puts forward a hypothesis that Sulla both established colonies and assigned indi-vidual land plots to his veterans (viritim).
The iconographic traditions of representing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ date back to the first third of the fifth century AD. One of them shows Christ with the thieves crucified with Him (Lk 23 : 39-43), the other-with a warrior who pierced His body with a spear (Jn 19 : 39). The oldest image of the Crucifixion with the thieves is carved on the doors of the Roman basilica of Santa Sabina (431-432). The oldest depiction of the Crucifixion with the warrior is on an ivory from the British Museum; it dates from the same time as the doors of Santa Sabina (ca. 420-430) and is also probably made in Rome. In each of these cases we see the beginning of an iconographic tradition that becomes widespread thereafter. At the same time, both images reveal something not quite common, different from the later tradition. In both cases this is evident in the composition of the right and left. On the doors of St. Sabina the Good Thief is shown to the left of Christ (on the right from the point of view of the spectator). Subsequent tradition, in accordance with the axiological principle, steadily places him at Christ's right (on the left for the spectator). In the Crucifixion of the British Museum, the warrior is on the left side of Christ (spectator's right). In later depictions of this scene, he is usually placed on Christ's right and the spear is pointed at His right side. From the sixth century onwards, in both cases, the opposition of right and left began to be interpreted not from the point of view of the spectator, but from that of the figure depicted in the image, i.e. in the perspective of Christ. As a result, in both cases the image takes on a new, symbolic meaning open to a theological interpretation. If the initial image can be regarded as an illustration of the Gospel text, then later it becomes an independent work filled with the theological content, i.e. it becomes an icon. Thus, the general direction of the iconographic evolution in both cases boils down to the formula: from illustration to icon. In considering the warrior scene, special attention is paid to the traditional presence of a man with a sponge. His figure indicates that the ancient masters did not illustrate the Gospel of John directly, but a special version of the Gospel of Matthew with an interpolation from the Gospel of John.
In the collection of the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve there are three bronze finger rings with a profile image of a bust of Athena in a Corinthian helmet executed in the intaglio technique. The author analyzes the shapes of the rings, as well as the stamp on one of the hoops. The circumstances of the finds of the rings from the museum's collection are unknown, however, the possibility of their origin from the territory of the Bosporan Kingdom is very high. This is indirectly evidenced by three finds of finger rings of the same shape with similar images on bezels in the Cimmerian Bosporus (Pantikapaion, Gorgippia, necropolis near the settlement named after Voykov). Particular attention is paid to the iconography of the image of the bust of Athena on the finger rings under consideration. The concentration of finds of bronze finger rings with a profile image of a bust of Athena in a Corinthian helmet in the territory of the Bosporan Kingdom suggests their local origin. In this regard, items of jewellery depicting the head of Athena, found in the Bosporus, are also mentioned, as well as massive bronze finger rings with oval bezels with the image of Athena Pro-machos from the necropoleis of Gorgippia, Tiramba and Shirokaya Balka, and an impression of a similar finger ring on an amphora handle from a rural settlement in the Azov Sea region.
The Syriac hagiographic text called 'Julian Romance', compiled in the sixth century by an unknown Miaphysite compiler, contains an interesting episode that allows us to better understand the era of the compilation of the 'Romance' and the eschatological views of the Syrians of the first half of this century. Appearing before his death to Emperor Julian and his commander Jovian, martyr Mar Kur utters a prophecy about the coming 147 years of peace and the payment of tribute by the Roman Empire to the Persian state, which 'inversely corresponds' to the events of the sixth century. An analysis of the text suggests that the author composed the text of the prophecy at the end of the 'Anastasius' war', the last stage of which fell on the reign of Emperor Justin I. At this time, the emperor unleashed a strong persecution against the opponents of the Council of Chalcedon, which the author of the 'Romance' compared with the persecution of Julian the Apostate against Christians in the fourth century. The centre of Syrian resistance to the persecution of Justin was the city of Amid (present-day Diyarbakir), which had a large church in the name of the 40 Martyrs of Sebastia. The new emperor Justinian, who came to power, was able to inspire hopes for the conclusion of 'eternal peace' and the pacification of the internal political situation. The so-called 'eternal peace' between Rome and Persia is presented in the 'Romance' as the peace between Jovian and Shapur II after the death of Julian the Apostate, who is as if sacrificed for this peaceful era.
