This article presents a quantitative analysis of iconographic trends in the depiction of deities in the coinage of the Roman Empire throughout the second and third centuries CE to explore temporal shifts in Roman imperial propaganda in the context of developments and pressures in affluence, prosperity, and political stability. Next to providing deeper insight into the topic of Roman imperial ideology, the article’s main objective is to test the validity of the so-called affluence hypothesis from the debate on cultural evolution. The hypothesis predicts that an increase in affluence and prosperity leads to the emergence of moralizing themes in religion. Based on the comparison of the iconographic trends in Roman coinage, as represented by the Online Coins of the Roman Empire project portal of coin types, with changes in affluence and prosperity indicators for the period of the second and third centuries CE, the results suggest that in times of political stability and prosperity, Roman Empire emphasized moralizing deities on coins more often than in times of crisis. In contrast, martial deities and those oriented on dominating power were promoted on coins more frequently in turbulent times. In this small-scale case study, the results support the arguments of the affluence hypothesis.

中文翻译：

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公元二、三世纪社会变迁背景下罗马帝国铸币的图像趋势：富裕假说的小规模检验

本文对公元二世纪和三世纪罗马帝国铸币中神灵描绘的图像趋势进行了定量分析，以探讨在富裕、繁荣和政治的发展和压力背景下罗马帝国宣传的时间变化。稳定。除了更深入地了解罗马帝国意识形态这一主题之外，本文的主要目的是从文化进化的争论中检验所谓富裕假说的有效性。该假设预测，富裕和繁荣的增加会导致宗教中道德主题的出现。基于对罗马铸币图像趋势的比较，以罗马帝国在线硬币项目门户网站的硬币类型为代表，随着公元二世纪和三世纪富裕和繁荣指标的变化，结果表明，在政治稳定和繁荣时期，罗马帝国比危机时期更强调在硬币上道德化神灵。相比之下，武神和主宰力量的神灵在动荡时期更频繁地在钱币上得到提升。在这个小规模的案例研究中，结果支持了富裕假说的论点。