The emperor and the plough: (re)founding the city and extending the empire

This contribution focuses on the Roman urban foundation ritual, the sulcus primigenius, and its related boundary, the pomerium. Rather than studying actual city foundations, such as the city of Rome itself and later Roman colonies, it addresses the metaphorical use of the sulcus primigenius and the pomerium in various media. By looking at inscriptions, bas-reliefs and coins, the paper argues that the image of the city founder and the plough was used in the imperial period to signpost a close connection to Rome, announce periods of political transformation or renewal, and advertise an extension of Rome’s spheres of influence.