Histoire de la province romaine de Crete-Cyrenaique, de Pompee a Diocletien

Alors que les recherches sur la Crete romaine connaissent depuis une vingtaine d'annees un important renouveau, que les fouilles conduites jusqu'a peu en Cyrenaique fournissent de plus en plus d'informations sur la periode du Haut-Empire, et que le corpus des Inscriptions of Roman Cyrenaica est recemment paru, le cadre administratif dans lequel vivaient ces deux regions de la pars Graeca entre l'epoque de Pompee et la Tetrarchie a paradoxalement peu suscite l'attention des historiens, en raison de leur caractere peripherique et de leur marginalite supposee. La province de Crete-Cyrenaique est ici etudiee du point de vue de son histoire administrative, depuis sa formation dans le courant du Ier siecle av. J.-C. jusqu'a sa separation apres les reformes de Diocletien. L'organisation interne de la province, le statut des poleis, entre cites libres et coloniae, ainsi que les enjeux militaires d'un espace a la fois maritime et desertique, sont decrits. Est egalement etablie la prosopographie complete des magistrats romains (proconsuls, legats, questeurs, procurateurs) dont les carrieres sont analysees. Cette synthese sur l'une des rares doubles provinces de l'Empire a pour objectif de montrer ce que les sources cretoises et cyreneennes s'apportent mutuellement, de repondre a certains questionnements relatifs a la gestion des prouinciae romaines et de contribuer plus generalement a l'histoire de l'Orient hellenophone a l'epoque imperiale. Over the last twenty years, major advances have been made in research on Roman Crete, while excavations in Cyrenaica have provided new information on the Early Imperial period. More recently, the corpus of the Inscriptions of Roman Cyrenaica has been published. However, the administrative framework in which these two regions of the pars Graeca flourished between Pompey and the Tetrarchy has paradoxically received little attention from historians, due to their peripheral location and supposed marginality. The administrative evolution of the province of Crete and Cyrene, from its formation during the1st century BCE to its separation after the reforms of Diocletian, is first studied. The internal organization of the province, the status of the poleis - between free cities and coloniae - as well as the challenges of defending an area that was both maritime and on the edge of the desert, are described. A complete prosopography of the Roman officials (proconsuls, legates, quaestors, procurators) as well as an analysis of their careers are also included. This synthesis of one of the Empire's few dual provinces aims to demonstrate what Cretan and Cyrenaican sources contribute to each other, to answer certain questions on the management of the Roman prouinciae, and to offer a more general contribution to the history of the Greek East during the Imperial period.