Piracy and politics in the Late Republic and Pax Augusta.

<p dir="ltr">This thesis shows how the themes of pirates and piracy develop in their usage in the political rhetoric of the Late Republic and early Augustan period. In the Late Republic there were increasingly frequent efforts to suppress piracy, but the figure who is credited with the suppression of piracy is Pompeius Magnus. The study demonstrates that this is in part due to Cicero’s speech De imperio Cn. Pompei which obscures previous efforts at suppressing piracy. Cicero’s intention was to magnify the importance of the campaign and present Pompeius as the best candidate to take command in the war against Mithridates. Pompeius’ final triumph celebrated his successful campaigns in Asia and ancient sources consistently mention that the spectacle glorified his pirate campaign. While a comparatively less important victory in the triumph, the presentation of pirates was a visual expression of Rome’s dominance over the sea. However, the charges against the former governors of Syria, Flaccus and Gabinius, demonstrate that after Pompeius’ naval campaign, piracy was used in a legal context to either diminish a commander’s authority, or legitimise inappropriate actions as falling within governmental responsibility. Octavian’s campaign against Sextus Pompeius is portrayed as a pirate war and Augustan era sources associate Sextus with the recrudescence of piracy. The visual and literary sources of the Augustan period align to form a unique part of the imperial narrative. The key message was that Augustus' dominance over the seas and the safety it guaranteed helped to legitimise his regime. Ultimately, pirates and piracy only played a small role in this narrative, but references to them underscore the significance of maritime security in Augustan ideology. This thesis illuminates how the theme of piracy in Roman rhetoric was flexible and could be used to justify military action, undermine rivals, and amplify the significance of military victories.</p>