Capturing Difference: Depicting Blackness in the Roman Empire

When analyzing these snapshots of native and North Africans, a few questions start to emerge: If ancient historians discriminated against these individuals, what do their sculptural representations say? Were they depicted similarly to their Italian neighbors? If so, can we say that they were equals? The Romans’ view of their new African subjects is nuanced and paradoxical. I argue that although Roman artists depicted politically powerful North Africans such as Juba II of Mauretania (ca. 50 BCE–24 CE) and Septimius Severus (ca. 145–211 CE) with reverence, common Black Africans were depicted as household items with exaggerated physical characteristics.

Issue XVIIIContent EditorsApril 15, 2024Romanization, Black Roman Art, African depictions in Rome, Juba II, Lucius Septimius Severus