Antik Roma Gücünün Vahşi Hayvanlar Üzerindeki Yansıması: Roma Venatioları MÖ 252-MS 523/537

Vahşi hayvanların bir güç gösterisi bağlamında ve bu amaç için belirlenmiş özel alanlarda sergilenmesi ve avlanması hususunda bir ilk teşkil etmemekle birlikte Romalılar, diğer tüm antik uygarlıkları gölgede bırakan bir vahşi hayvan tüketimi ortaya koymuşlardır. Bu tüketim, geride bıraktığı hayvan katliamının çarpıcı boyutları itibarıyla tüm antik uygarlıklardan ayrılmaktadır. Romalıların propaganda amacıyla gerçekleştirdikleri zafer geçitleri bir yana, vahşi hayvanların Roma arenalarındaki temel kullanımı, bunların insanlara ya da başka hayvanlara karşı gerçekleştirdikleri, sıra dışı bir vahşete sahne olan kanlı gösteriler ve mücadeleler olmuştur. Cumhuriyet döneminde Kartaca karşısında kazanılan Birinci Kartaca Savaşı yıllarında ortaya çıkan ve “Venatio” ismiyle anılan bu gösteriler, MÖ I. yüzyılda ve İmparator Octavianus Augustus’un tesis ettiği “Pax Romana” (Roma Barışı) sürecinde muazzam bir yaygınlığa ulaşmıştır. Egzotik hayvanlar Romanın düşmanları karşısında zafer kazanan komutanlar tarafından savaş alanlarında kazanılan zaferi Roma halkının nazarında perçinlemek amacıyla pek çok kez Roma arenalarına çıkarılmışlardır. Bunun yanı sıra venatiolar, Romalı aristokratların siyasi rekabeti çerçevesinde, halkın sempatisini kazanabilmek noktasında önemli birer propaganda aracına dönüşmüş, egzotik hayvanlar ise bu araçların vazgeçilmez unsurları halini almışlardır. Başlı başına ekonomik bir güç göstergesi olan venatiolar, gerek Roma ekonomisinin Pax Romana sürecinde ortaya koyduğu istikrara gerekse MS III. yüzyılda imparatorluğu pençesine alan ekonomik buhrana farklı bir pencereden bakabilmeyi mümkün kılmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Romalıların antik çağdaki yükseliş ve çöküşünü anlayabilmek noktasında en az Roma ordusu ya da Roma diplomasisi kadar geçerli bir ölçüt olarak kabul edilebilecek olan Roma venatiolarını, bu organizasyonlardaki vahşi hayvan etkinliğini ve tüketimini, kronolojik bir düzen içerisinde, antik edebi eserler ve arkeolojik bulgular ışığında ele almayı amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Roma, Venatio, Vahşi Hayvanlar, Gösteri, Propaganda

Reflection on Ancient Roman Power over Wild Animals: Roman Venationes 252 BC - 523/537 AD

Romans, even if they were not the first to exhibit and hunt wild animals as a part of magnificence in specific areas designated for this purpose, practiced a consumption of wild animals which overshadowed all other ancient civilizations. This consumption, with its dramatic extent of animal slaughter, differs from all other ancient civilizations. Apart from the parades, which were organized by the Romans for the purpose of propaganda, the basic use of wild animals in Roman arenas was the bloody shows or struggles in which these animals were forced to fight against humans or other animals. These shows, which emerged during the Republican period, in the years of the First Punnic War won against the Carthaginians and called ‘venatio’, gained a massive prevalence during the first century BC, and the period of Pax Romana, which was constituted by the Emperor Octavianus Augustus. Exotic animals were taken to the Roman arenas many times by Roman generals who had been victorious against the enemies of Rome on the battlefield and who aimed at confirming these victories before the eyes of the Roman public. In addition to this, as part of political competition of Roman aristocrats, ‘venationes’ turned into significant propaganda instruments to gain the favor of the Roman public, and exotic animals became essential factors of these instruments. Venationes, which are indicators of economic power in themselves, make it possible to view both the stability of the Roman economy during the Pax Romana process, and the economic crisis that gripped the empire in the third century AD, from a different perspective. This study aims to examine the Roman venationes, which can be regarded as a standard as valid as the Roman army or Roman diplomacy, in terms of understanding the rise and fall of the Romans in antiquity, the activity and consumption of wild animals in these organizations in a chronological order, and in the light of philological works and archaeological findings.

Keywords:

Rome, Venatio, Wild Animals, Show, Propaganda,

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