Journal articles on the topic 'Aurelio Victor'

The Kaisergeschichte (KG) was a set of short imperial biographies extending from Augustus to the death of Constantine, probably written between 337 and c. 340. It no longer exists but its existence can be deduced from other surviving works. Amongst the histories of the fourth century – Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, Festus, Jerome's Chronici canones, the Historia Augusta, the Epitome de Caesaribus, and, in places, even Ammianus Marcellinus and perhaps the Origo Constantini imperatoris (Anonymi Valesiani pars prior) – there is a common selection of facts and errors, and common wording and phrasing in their narratives between Augustus and the death of Constantine, especially in their accounts of the third century. A natural assumption is that later historians copied earlier ones, yet later historians include information not contained in earlier ones, and historians who could not have known each other's work share similarities. For example, it looks as though Aurelius Victor was copying Eutropius, yet Victor wrote before Eutropius, and Eutropius contains information not in Victor and does not reproduce Victor's peculiar style or personal biases, things which he could hardly have avoided. Therefore Eutropius cannot be copying Victor. Since neither could have copied the other, there must therefore have been a common source. In his Chronici canones Jerome appears at first to be simply copying Eutropius. Yet when he deviates from Eutropius, his deviations usually mirror other histories, such as Suetonius, Victor, Festus, even the Epitome and the Historia Augusta, two works that had not even been written when Jerome compiled his chronicle and that did not use, and would never have used, the Christian chronicle as a source. Jerome was hurriedly dictating to his secretary, he had no time to peruse four or five works at a time for his brief notices. There must have been a single source that contained both the Eutropian material and the deviations common to Jerome and the other works. That source was the KG. It is the purpose of this paper to add to the above list of authors who relied upon the KG two other writers whose work can be shown to have derived, either at first hand or later, from the KG: Polemius Silvius and Ausonius.

Five species of Scyphomedusae were identified from plankton samples collected betwen April 1983 and June 1985 in Port Phillip Bay: Cyanea capillata, Pseudorhiza haeckeli, Aurelia aurita, Pelagia noctiluca and Catostylus mosaicus. Abundances of Scyphomedusae fluctuated seasonally. Cyanea capillata was dominant between May and September with maximum abundances of approximately 100 adults per 1000 m3 (mean 3.5 per 1000 m3) and 200 ephyrae per 1000 m3 (mean 16.5 per 1000 m3). Ephyrae of C. capillata were present throughout the year with a maximum biomass between May and July. Pseudorhiza haeckeli was dominant between November and April with maximum abundances of approximately 100 adults per 1000 m3 (mean 1.8 per 1000 m3). Aurelia aurita was collected throughout the year, P. noctilraca occurred from January to April, and C. mosaicus occurred from September to March.

Ps. Aurelius Victor: De viris illustribus urbis Romae. Die berühmten Männer der Stadt Rom (Ulrich Lambrecht) Palladius: Das Bauernjahr (Ulrich Lambrecht) Peter Winzen (Hg.): Friedrich Wilhelm von Loebell. Erinnerungen an die ausgehende Kaiserzeit und politischer Schriftwechsel (James Stone) Volker Michels (Hg.): „Ich bin ein Mensch des Werdens und der Wandlungen.“ Hermann Hesse (Horst Pütz) Antje Neumann (Hg.): Harry Graf Kessler – Henry van de Velde. Der Briefwechsel (Ulf Morgenstern) Wassili Stepanowitsch Christoforow, Wladimir Gennadjewitsch Makarow, Matthias Uhl (Hg.): Verhört. Die Befragung deutscher Generale und Offiziere durch die sowjetischen Geheimdienste (1945-1952) (Ludger Tewes) Henrik Bispinck (Bearb.): Die DDR im Blick der Stasi 1956. Die geheimen Berichte an die SED-Führung (Helmut Grieser)

The research of this study is dedicated to a unique iconographical scene in the territory of the Central Balkan Roman provinces, of Hercules rescuing Hesione from a sea-monster (ketos), depicted on a funerary monument found in 1931 at the site of Stojnik, in the vicinity of Belgrade, antique Singidunum, and now displayed in the lapidarium of the National Museum in Belgrade. The funerary monument was erected for the deceased, a veteran of cohors II Aurelia nova, Publius Aelius Victorinus, by his wife Aurelia Rufina and their son Publius Aelius Acutianus. The rich iconography of the monument makes it a very important example of funerary art in the period from the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century - the eschatological symbolism of the presented scenes and motifs is more than clear and underlines not only the hope of the deceased?s family for his eternal and blessed life after death, but also the deceased?s victory over death and presents him as a symbol of courage and virtue. The architectural scheme of the monument, along with its iconography, suggests strong artistic influences from Noricum and both the Pannonian provinces, while the the mythical tale of Hercules and Hesione was chosen, it is argued, not only because Hercules was one of the most favoured gods in the Roman army, but also because he was a protector of miners and mines.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the negative characteristics of the Roman emperor Constans I (337-350), according to the earliest preserved information from the late 4th century histories of Aurelius Victor, Eutropius Pseudo-Victor and Eunapius of Sardis. The earliest account of Constans' downfall is around 361 recorded by Aurelius Victor in his short history De Caesaribus. Victor wrote that Constans became more arrogant and aggressive after he defeated his elder brother Constantine II in 340. Also, he was not cautious enough for his young age, was hated due to his bad subordinates and did not respect his soldiers properly. But, the most outrageous fact was according to Victor, that the emperor had homosexual affinity towards his young and attractive barbarian hostages. The record of less moralistic Eutropius in his Breviarium ab Urbe condita, written in 369, is shorter but sharper. In the beginning the reign of Constans was vigorous and righteous but his character deteriorated after his illness. Following that, the young Augustus befriended himself with corrupted companions and turned to severe vices. His reign grew unbearable to his subjects and unpopular among the army ranks. Briefer then Eutropis is the testimony of an anonymous Latin author of Epitome de caesaribus who was contemporary to the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius (395-408). This Pseudo-Victor wrote down that Constans devoted himself to hunting session, thus allowing plotters to dethrone him. Finally the single Greek author in this series, Eunapius (died after 404), whose istoria h meta Dexippon survived in fragments and Zosimus' late fifth century abridgment, called Constans the worst among the most intolerable tyrants. The Lydian sophist, as far as we could conclude from Zosimus', also recorded Constans' inclination towards young barbarians whom he allowed to mistreat his subjects. Because of wretchedness in the provinces of his realm, the courtiers led coup d'etat through Augustus' hunting session. Although vivid and informative, the real weight of these four accounts could be estimated only through comparison with the other, real or traditional, dreadful emperors described by the four authors. For example, the youthful age was important component of the bad reigns of Otho, Domitian and Gallienus, as Victor emphasizes. Eutropius' pattern of the promising start of the Emperor's reign and his later disgrace was similarly used in his assessment of Gallienus and Constantine the Great. According to Pseudo-Victor, Valentinian I could be estimated as the perfect prince if there had not been his poor selection of advisers. Constans' homosexual leaning towards young barbarian hostages could be observed from the two points. The first would be the remark that these barbarians were dubious companions for the Roman emperors, just as some of the rulers were blacklisted for their, real or assumptive, sympathy and meekness for women, eunuchs and courtiers. Gratian and Theodosius I were specially ill-famed for their affinity for Alan mercenaries and Gothic refugees respectively. On the other hand, slandered Licinius was praised for his strength in cultivating his courtiers and eunuchs. In relation to Constans' homosexuality, it is essential to note that one of the fundamental keys to the bad emperor's character was his breach of sexual taboos. In the inaccurate 4th century tradition Caracalla was known for his marriage with his stepmother, or Gallienus for his barter with Marcomanic king, in which he allegedly traded part of Pannonia Superior for the barbarian concubine. Explicitly, homosexuality was ascribed to Domitian, Carinus and Maximian Herculius. Finally, although the remarks on Constans' unpopularity and death were taken from the earliest preserved sources, it is clear that only a decade after his demise, the tradition, framed in already existing negative pattern, was established. This version of the events, probably maintained in lost Kaisergeschichte, was firstly acknowledged and then further supplemented by these four authors. In this context it is attractive to note down old samples of dire regimes and Roman historical tradition, still preserved both by the Latin and Greek authors in later 4th century. Then again, this fact is not very helpful in tracing the real character omissions of the deceased emperor Constans. .

The last ruler of the Severan dynasty, Emperor Severus Alexander had to face an entirely new threat in Mesopotamia, because in 224 AD the Parthian royal house of the Arsacids, which had ruled in the East for nearly half a millennium, was dethroned by the Neo-Persian Sasanian dynasty and the new rulers of Persia were extremely hostile to the Roman Empire. The vast majority of the late antique Latin sources (Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, Festus, Jerome, Orosius, Cassiodorus, Iordanes) call the first Sasanian monarch, Ardashir I (reigned 224–241 AD), who was at war with Rome between 231 and 233 AD, Xerxes, although the Greek equivalent of the Middle Persian name Ardashir is Artaxerxes, as used by the Greek sources. In the Latin textual tradition we can find the correct Greek name of Ardashir only in the Historia Augusta. The paper seeks answers to the question of why Ardashir was usually called Xerxes by late antique Latin sources.

Abstract POxy. 79.5209 presents a contract for one boy wrestler to lose to another at the Great Antinoeia in 267 ce. Details of the contract reveal the financial and professional investments that adult men could have in boy athletes. The contract demonstrates the men's interest in ensuring that the match has the appearance of a hard-fought contest. This chapter argues that a hometown victory in an eiselastic event for one of the athletes, Marcus Aurelius Nicantionous, would give him a fixed-income pension, in a time when Egypt was experiencing significant financial upheaval. Other questions remain, including the enforceability of such a legal instrument, but the papyrus does illuminate details of naming practices in Roman Egypt, popular awareness of currency fluctuations, and aspects of athletic organization for combat sports.

The “Club of Mainz” for Improved Emergency and Disaster Medicine Worldwide was conceived in 1973 and founded in 1976 by about 10 reanimatologists under the leadership of the late Rudolf Frey (Crit Care Med 6:389, 1978). Its objectives are: “(1) to foster optimal resuscitation and life support methodologies worldwide; (2) to concern itself with a range from everyday emergencies to mass disasters, with appropriate consideration for differences in populations, available resources and other factors; and (3) to informally pursue the objectives by combining the resources of scientific, social and related information and experiences, together with international communication and collaboration.”The Club of Mainz recognizes the experiences and contributions of other organizations for public health related disaster relief, which particularly helps uninjured survivors and rehabilitates regions, but wishes to add the potentials of modern resuscitation (emergency and critical care medicine), focusing on the acutely ill or injured individual victim in distress.The Club of Mainz was inspired by the Club of Rome, which was initiated in 1968 by the late Aurelio Peccei and some other concerned non-medical leaders and scientists. The 10 non-medical key problems identified by the Club of Rome have equivalents for disaster medicine: (1) overpopulation (starvation); (2) no long range planning; (3) destruction of the environment (destruction of people); (4) business crises; (5) competitive armament leading to wars; (6) poverty (starvation, epidemics); (7) chaotic development in science and technology; (8) antiquated institutions; (9) schisms between East and West and between North and South; and (10) lacking moral leadership.

Исследование средневековых предпосылок характерного для модерных обществ режима исторической темпоральности определено необходимостью понимания ва-риативности представлений об историческом времени в условиях трансформации исторической культуры. Привнесенные христианством идеи необратимости времени и пророческой устремленности к будущему спасению не обязательно должны были найти выражение в идее исторического развития и тем более прогресса. В историософии Августина главным оказывается не постепенная реализация высшего замысла, а радикальное противопоставление добра и зла и конечная победа высших сил, предпосылки которой готовятся не в истории. Аналогичная темпоральность проявляется и в «Исповеди» Августина. Она содержит развернутое учение о длительности, но духовное прозрение в ней связывается с внезапным озарением. Однако созданные Августином формы описания истории («О Граде Божием») и личного опыта («Исповедь») через несколько столетий привели к обоснованию идеи исторического развития. В качестве предпосылок идеи историзма, содержащихся в философии Августина, рассматриваются не только линейные представления об историческом времени и его периодизация. Существенную роль в продвижении к этой идее имело учение о предопределенности и индивидуальной свободе, которое Августин разработал в полемике с пелагианской ересью. В эпоху Реформации это учение, освобожденное от характерного для Августина пассивного экстатического мистицизма, привело к рационализации понимания исторического развития. The study of the medieval preconditions of the regime of historical temporality characteristic of modern societies is associated with the need to understand the variability of ideas about historical time in the context of the transformation of historical culture. The ideas of the irreversibility of time and the prophetic striving for future salvation, introduced by Christianity, did not necessarily have to find their expression in the idea of historical development, let alone progress. In Augustine's historiosophy, the main thing is not the gradual realization of a higher design, but a radical opposition of good and evil and the final victory of higher forces, the preconditions for which are not prepared in history. A similar temporality is evident in Augustine's “TheConfessions”. It contains a detailed teaching about duration, but spiritual insight in it is associated with a sudden insight. However, the forms of describing history (“The City of God”) and personal experience (“TheConfession”) created by Augustine, after several centuries, led to the substantiation of the idea of historical development. As prerequisites for the idea of historicism, contained in the philosophy of Augustine, not only linear ideas about historical time and its periodization are considered. An essential role in advancing this idea was played by the doctrine of predestination and individual freedom, which Augustine developed in polemics with the Pelagian heresy. In the Reformation, this teaching, freed from the passive ecstatic mysticism characteristic of Augustine, led to a rationalization of the understanding of historical development.

The present article is devoted to the study of the genesis of the “strong woman” type in Latin American prose. It shows that this type, traditionally associated with the modern novel, has appeared in the literature of the continent as early as in the XIX century. The analysis of female images created in the cult novels of leading Latin American writers (an Argentinean José Mármol, a Cuban Cirilo Villaverde and Brazilian Bernardo Guimarães and José de Alencar) during the period of formation of young nations, allows to conclude that they bear the imprint of a chaotic contradiction -based reality. There is a pattern performed by the “strong” female characters of the analyzed novels, marked by the features of social, gender, and racial hybridity; in search of their identity they assert themselves in one way or another in the world of men. The article examines various means via which the characters manage to acquire their own identity, be it dissociation from the civilizing principle, unwillingness or inability to recognize their own “roots”, or “self -actualization” attempts of a talented person. Thus, María Josefa Ezcurra in Amalia by Mármol and Aurelia in Senhora by Alencar – each in her own way – become “men in women’s guise”: the image of the former embodies the “barbaric” essence of young Argentina; the image of the latter embodies “masculine” pragmatism of the transitional era in Brazil. The daring and self -willed Cecilia Valdés from Villaverde's eponymous novel, the “victim” and “executioner” of a white man, painfully realizes her place in the mestizo society of colonial Cuba, passions and vices of which have determined her character. At the bottom of this scale of self -determination in prose of period there is a slave, as it is illustrated in Bernardo Guimarães’s novel Isaura, The Slave Girl.

Abstract Context: Polymerase epsilon (POLE) gene missense hotspot mutations can generate pathogenic (p) proofreading defects resulting in hypermutated genomic profiles. Aim: Determine the prevalence, genomic consequences and immunotherapy sensitivity of advanced POLE mutated tumors according to mutation site, primary tumor and tumor mutational burden (TMB). Results: Pan-Cancer TCGA & MSKCC databases genomic analyses found a prevalence of non-pathogenic POLE mutations (POLEnp) of 3.4% with median TMB of 11 mutations/Megabase (mt/Mb, IQR 3-34). Pathogenic POLE mutations (POLEp) prevalence was 0.4% with median TMB of 215 mt/Mb (IQR 107-324), predominantly in colorectal and endometrial cancers. Prevalence dropped to 0.1% in metastatic cancers. We assessed prospectively the efficacy of PD-1 blockade in mismatch repair proficient advanced solid tumors harboring POLE missense mutations (phase II ASCe Nivolumab trial; NCT03012581). Variants were categorized prospectively by a molecular board as POLEp, POLEnp or Variants with Unknown significance (VUS). The primary endpoint was the Overall Response Rate (ORR) at 12 weeks according to RECIST 1.1, and secondary endpoints included survival analyses according to POLE variants pathogenicity. Among 61 screened patients, 21 were eligible and 20 received Nivolumab and 19 were assessable for response (table 1). The 12-week ORR was 37% for patients harboring POLEp and VUS and resulted in major survival improvement compared to POLEnp patients (HR=0.1 ; CI95% 0.02-0.7); see results in Table 1. Among patients POLEp tumors, while higher TMB was not predictive of response, higher proportion of POLE-related mutational signature correlated with improved benefit. In silico exonucleasic POLE domain analyses confirmed that all POLEp and 2 VUS clustered in the DNA binding or the Catalytic site. Recategorizing the VUS according to the location within the exonucleasic domain improved the prediction of survival outcomes. Impact: This study gives new insights on how DNA repair defects, mutational burden and signatures sensitize to PD-1 blockade and may offer emerging tumor agnostic biomarkers for benefit to checkpoint blockade. POLE variant pathogenicity All(N=21) POLEnp(N=5) VUS(N=4) POLEp(N=12) Age, years ± SD 57 ± 16 64 ± 10 56 ± 16 54 ± 17 Sex, Male (%) 12 (57) 5 (100) 2 (50) 5 (42) PS (ECOG)=1 (%) 16 (75) 4 (80) 2 (50) 10 (83) Primary tumor Colorectal 9 (43) 2 (40) 2 (50) 5 (42) Endometrial 6 (29) 0 (0) 0 (0) 6 (50) Gastric 2 (9) 2 (40) 0 (0) 0 (0) Glial 1 (5) 0 (0) 0 (0) 1 (8) Biliary tract 1 (5) 0 (0) 1 (25) 0 (0) Pancreas 2 (9) 1 (20) 1 (25) 0 (0) Number of previous treatments 2.4 ± 2 5 ± 2 1.8 ± 1 1.5 ± 1 TMB (mt/Mb, Min-Max)(N=16) 36.2 (2-385) 5 (4-9) 3 (2-4) 114 (25-385) ORR at 12 weeks (CR+PR) 37%(N=7/19) 0%(N=0/5) 50%(N=2/4) 46%(5/10) DCR at 12 weeks (CR+PR+SD) 58%(N=11/19) 0%(N=0/5) 75%(N=3/4) 80%(8/10) Median Progresssion-Free survival (months) 5.6 2.3 10.3vs POLEnp: HR=0.2 IC95% 0.1-0.7 Median Overall Survival (months) 9.1 5.0 Not Reachedvs POLEnp:HR=0.1 IC95% 0.02-0.7 Citation Format: Benoît Rousseau, Ivan Bieche, Eric Pasmant, Nadim Hamzaoui, Nicolas Leulliot, Lucas Michon, Aurelien de Reynies, Mike Foote, Julien Masliah-Planchon, Magali Svrcek, Romain Cohen, Victor Simmet, Paule Augereau, David Malka, Antoine Hollebecque, Damien Pouessel, Carlos Gomez-Roca, Rosine Guimbaud, Amandine Bruyas, Marielle Guillet, Muriel Duluc, Sophie Cousin, Christelle de la Fourchardiere, Frederic Rolland, Sandrine Hiret, Esma Saada-Bouzid, Olivier Bouche, Thierry Andre, Diane Pannier, Farid El Hajbi, Stephane Oudard, Christophe Tournigand, Jean-Charles Soria, Drew Gerber, Dennis Stephens, Michelle Lamandola-Essel, Steven B Maron, Bill Diplas, Guillem Argiles, Asha Krishnan, Neil Segal, Andrea Cercek, Nathalie Hoog-Labouret, Frederic Legrand, Clotide Simon, Assia Lamrani-Ghaouti, Luis A. Diaz, Pierre Saintigny, Sylvie Chevret, Aurelien Marabelle. PD-1 blockade in solid tumors with defects in polymerase epsilon [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr CT021.

Constantin cel Mare își inaugurează podul ridicat peste Dunăre dintre Oescus (Ghighen) și Sucidava (Celei) în iulie 328. Acesta este menționat pentru prima dată de Sextus Aurelius Victor, în Liber de Caesaribus, 41.18, iar apoi de cronografi târzii în secolele VII-IX p.Chr. (Chronicon Pascale, I, 526, 16-17 (P 284) și Theophanes Confessor în Chronographia, a. 5820 (328), p. 28, (19-20 De Boor). Importantul moment constructiv apare și în secolul al XI-lea în cronica compilată a călugărului bizantin Georgios Kedrenos, Synopsis historion (Istoria sinoptică sau Compendiu de istorii). Podul apare sugerat sau figurat explicit peste secole în Index Geographicus Celsissimi Principatus Wallachiae - Harta Țării Românești a Stolnicului Constantin Cantacuzino, la sfârșitul secolului al XVII-lea, iar puțin timp după aceea în „Istoria delle moderne rivoluzioni della Valachia” (1718, Veneția), scrisă de fostul secretar al domnitorului Constantin Brâncoveanu, Anton Maria Del Chiaro. Numit de către locuitorii ambelor maluri ale Dunării “podul de aramă”, din convingerea potrivit căreia picioarele sale ar fi fost turnate din metal, podul îi era în vechime atribuit lui Traian. În credința populară, pe puntea sa ar fi trecut în cursul nopții, către Câmpia Romanaților, Domnul de Rouă, îndreptându-se spre curțile lui Ler Împărat de la cetatea Antina (Romula/Reșca). Podul lui Constantin cel Mare reapare menționat în a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea în lucrarea lui Felix Kanitz, pornind de la informațiile localnicilor, ori de la piloții Societății de navigație cu aburi pe Dunăre din Viena (Erste Donau-Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft - DDSG). Unul dintre pilonii din piatră ai podului de pe șenalul navigabil, aproape de malul românesc, este amintit în iulie 1869 de Cezar Bolliac. Același pasionat gazetar și arheolog diletant va dezveli portalul de nord în 1873, după ce îl identificase și îi marcase poziția în plan, patru ani mai devreme. Acoperit rapid cu pământ și gunoaie scurse de pe coasta satului Celei, portalul va fi redezvelit și cercetat într-o campanie intensivă, de către Pamfil Polonic și Grigore Tocilescu, între 16 iunie – 15 august 1898. Celui din urmă îi datorăm publicarea rezultatelor, în 1902, întemeiate pe observațiile riguroase și desenele amănunțite ale inginerului topograf Pamfil Polonic. Abia în vara anului 1968, Dumitru Tudor va coordona săpături ale căror scop precis era redocumentarea portalului de nord și a pilonilor învecinați. Rezultatele acestor cercetări au fost relativ modeste, aducând, totuși, binevenite informații suplimentare. Ele s-au regăsit ulterior într-un articol al lui Octavian Toropu și în câteva studii monografice asupra sitului și a podurilor romane de la Dunărea de Jos, datorate în primul rând lui Dumitru Tudor. Contribuția noastră face o trecere critică în revistă a tuturor datelor istorice și arheologice existente până acum pentru podul lui Constantin cel Mare de la Oescus-Sucidava. Ea introduce ca elemente de noutate absolută pentru literatura de specialitate rezultatele batimetriei realizate în 2017 prin albia Dunării și pe cele de geomagnetometrie (2022) din zona de luncă de pe malul stâng al fluviului, astăzi pășune comunală. Astfel, în cadrul proiectului FAST DANUBE, echipa de specialiști de la Marine Research a realizat măsurători batimetrice cu sonare multibeam, prilej cu care a identificat 27 posibile urme (piloni) ale Podului lui Constantin cel Mare ridicat între Oescus și Sucidava. Urmele pilelor se întind pe un traseu liniar pe 820 m, între ele distanța medie fiind de aproximativ 30 m. Investigații suplimentare de magnetometrie au fost realizate în toamna anului 2022, între portalul de nord, brațul aferent și gârla Bozahuzului sau a Banului, Celeiului. Rezultatul acestora a constat în identificarea altor 7 anomalii (piloni) datorate podului constantinian, pe o lungime de cca 210 m. Respectivele anomalii prezintă o aliniere riguroasă cu portalul de nord și pilele de zidărie puse în evidență de batimetria realizată prin albia Dunării, iar distanța între ele este, iarăși, identică.

Abstract Background: γ9δ2 T cells are part of the innate-like immune response to malignancies and have the ability to bridge to the adaptive immune response via cytokine release (e.g., IFNγ and TNFα). Butyrophilin 3A is a novel checkpoint molecule required to activate γ9δ2 T cells highly expressed on immune and malignant cells, and the target of a monoclonal antibody ICT01. ICT01 induces activation/migration of γ9δ2 T cells from the blood to induce immune remodeling of the tumor microenvironment at doses ≥700 μg being tested in the ongoing EVICTION clinical trial (NCT04243499) (AACR 2021, CT034). In vitro studies showed that ICT01 induces upregulation of PD-1 on γ9δ2 T cells and that the combination with pembrolizumab leads to enhanced cancer cell killing, providing scientific rationale for evaluating this combination. Methods: EVICTION is an ongoing Phase 1/2a, international, open-label trial with Group C assessing ICT01 (IV Q3W) plus pembrolizumab (200mg IV Q3W) in patients with bladder cancer, HNSCC, melanoma, or NSCLC who failed ≥1 CPI. Pharmacodynamic activity was monitored by immunophenotyping and cytokine level analysis. Tumor biopsies (baseline, Day 28) were used for immunohistochemistry of BTN3A and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and gene expression profiling. Efficacy evaluations by i/RECIST 1.1 were conducted every 8 weeks. Results: Five Group C patient cohorts have been enrolled and treated with ICT01 doses of 700μg, 2mg, 7mg, 20mg or 75mg (n=30) plus pembrolizumab, with the 200mg ICT01 cohort enrolling currently. To date, no DLTs have been observed with the combination. First-dose fever and chills (Grade 1/2) were the most common AEs that increased in frequency up to 75mg (100%, n=6), without any increase in severity, and rarely recur with subsequent dosing. ICT01+pembrolizumab induced trafficking of >95% of circulating γ9δ2 T cells within 30 min post ICT01 (≥700 μg), which was sustained for 21 days at 75mg. Transient, dose-dependent increases in serum cytokines at 30 min (TNFα) or 4h (IFNγ) post-dose were correlated with baseline γ9δ2 T cell counts and returned to baseline by 24 hrs post dose. Baseline γ9δ2 T cell count also correlated with increases in tumor infiltration of γδ, CD3, and CD8 T cells, confirming the ability to remodel the TME, and the potential to select/enrich patients with higher baseline γ9δ2 T cell counts. Sixteen patients (9/16 pembro-experienced, 5/16 received >1 prior CPI) were efficacy-evaluable at ≥Week 8 by RECIST1.1 at ICT01 doses up to 20 mg, with an observed disease control rate of 44% including 3 confirmed PRs beyond 6 months: bladder (2mg), melanoma (2mg), NSCLC (7mg). The Ipi/Nivo-refractory melanoma patient with PR also achieving a CR on their non-target lesion brain metastasis at 6 months. Data from the 75 and 200mg cohorts will be presented. Conclusion: The immune remodeling of the TME by ICT01-activated γ9δ2 T cells is associated with clinical benefit in CPI-experienced patients when used in combination with pembrolizumab. The selection of patients with higher baseline γ9δ2 T cells may improve the response profile to this novel therapeutic combination in CPI-failure patients, which will be tested in the Phase 2a portion of EVICTION starting in Q2 2022. Citation Format: Stephane Champiat, Martin Wermke, Johann de Bono, Aurelien Marabelle, Christiane Jungels, Cécile Vicier, Norbert Vey, Catrin List, Katrin Wetzko, Leo Ruhnke, Elena Garralda, Vladimir Galvão de Aguiar, Patricia LoRusso, Nuria Kotecki, Aude De Gassart, Emmanuel Valentin, Patrick Brune, Marina Iché, Céline Leparquier, Daniel Olive, Paul Frohna. ICT01, an anti-butyrophilin 3A targeted mAb activating g9d2 T cells, induces immune remodeling of the tumor microenvironment and clinical responses in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors who failed prior checkpoint inhibitor therapy: EVICTION Trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr CT188.

Constantius, as though the Temple of Janus had been closed and all enemies had been laid low, was longing to visit Rome and, following the death of Magnentius, to hold a triumph, without a victory title and after shedding Roman blood. For he did not himself defeat any belligerent nation or learn that any had been defeated through the courage of his commanders, nor did he add anything to the empire, and in dangerous circumstances he was never seen to lead from the front, nor even to be among the front ranks. But he wanted to display an exaggeratedly long procession, standards stiff with gold and the beauty of his attendants, to a population who were living more peacefully, neither anticipating nor wishing to see this or anything like it. For perhaps he was unaware that some earlier emperors had been content with lictors in peacetime, but when the heat of battle could not allow inactivity, one of them had entrusted himself to a small fishing boat, blasted by raging gales, another had followed the example of the Decii and offered up his life in a vow for the state, and another had himself explored the enemy camp alongside the regular soldiers; that, in short, various of them had won renown for magnificent deeds, and so committed their glories to the distinguished memory of posterity. …When he was approaching the city, observing with a serene expression the respectful attendance of the Senate, and the venerable likenesses of the patrician families, he thought, not like Cineas, the legate of Pyrrhus, that a multitude of kings had been assembled together, but rather that this was the refuge of the whole world [cumque urbi propinquaret, senatus officia, reuerendasque patriciae stirpis effigies, ore sereno contemplans, non ut Cineas ille Pyrrhi legatus, in unum coactam multitudinem regum, sed asylum mundi totius adesse existimabat]. Next, when he turned his gaze to the general populace, he was astonished at the speed with which every type of men from everywhere had flowed into Rome. As though he were trying to terrify the Euphrates or the Rhine with the sight of arms, with the standards in front of him on each side, he sat alone in a golden chariot, glittering with the shimmer of many different precious stones, whose flashes seemed to produce a flickering light. After many others had preceded him, he was surrounded by dragons, woven from purple cloth and affixed to the golden, bejewelled tips of spears, open to the wind with their broad mouths and so hissing as though roused with anger, trailing the coils of their tails in the wind [eumque post antegressos multiplices alios, purpureis subtegminibus texti, circumdedere dracones, hastarum aureis gemmatisque summitatibus illigati, hiatu uasto perflabiles, et ideo uelut ira perciti sibilantes, caudarumque uolumina relinquentes in uentum]. Then there came a twin column of armed men, with shields and plumed helmets, shining with glittering light, clothed in gleaming cuirasses, with armoured horsemen, whom they call clibanarii, arranged among them, masked and protected by breastplates, encircled with iron bands, so that you might have thought them to be statues finished by the hand of Praxiteles, not men [sparsique catafracti equites, quos clibanarios dictitant, personati thoracum muniti tegminibus, et limbis ferreis cincti, ut Praxitelis manu polita crederes simulacra, non uiros]. Slender rings of metal plates, fitted to the curves of the body, clothed them, spread across all their limbs, so that, in whatever direction necessity moved their joints, their clothing moved likewise, since the joins had been made to fit so well.When he was hailed as Augustus with favourable cries, [Constantius] did not shudder at the din that thundered from hills and shores, but showed himself unmoved, as he appeared in his provinces. For, when passing through high gates, he stooped his short body, and, keeping his gaze straight, as though his neck were fixed, he turned his head neither right nor left, as though an image of a man, and he was never seen to nod when the wheel shook, or to spit or wipe or rub his face or nose, or to move his hand [nam et corpus perhumile curuabat portas ingrediens celsas, et uelut collo munito, rectam aciem luminum tendens, nec dextra uultum nec laeua flectebat, tamquam figmentum hominis, nec, cum rota concuteret, nutans, nec spuens, aut os aut nasum tergens uel fricans, manumue agitans uisus est umquam]. Although this behaviour was an affectation, it, and other aspects of his more private life, were however indications of extraordinary endurance, granted to him alone, as it was given to be supposed. This passage, which describes the aduentus of Constantius II into Rome in 357, is one of the best-known episodes in the Res Gestae of Ammianus Marcellinus. This historical work was completed by the retired military officer in around 390, with the surviving books covering the period from 353 to the aftermath of the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Unsurprisingly, this passage is also one of the most debated. Throughout his work, Ammianus regularly criticized Constantius as a weak, vicious ruler, influenced by women and, in particular, eunuchs, and so contrasted him with his cousin and successor Julian, the emperor who receives the most favourable treatment within this text. The degree and nature of criticism within this particular passage has, however, been the subject of a variety of wildly differing interpretations. It is clear that, at the outset, Ammianus is inveighing against the notion of holding a triumph for victory in a civil war, but there has been debate over whether Constantius was actually celebrating a triumph or merely the anniversary of his accession. Similarly, the description of the Senate as ‘the refuge of the whole world’ has been read in contrasting ways, being regarded as derogatory by Johannes Straub, as neutral, or even positive, by Pierre Dufraigne, and as respectful by R.C. Blockley. While this passage as a whole is generally read as an attack on Constantius for his pretentions to ill-deserved military glory, it also raises the question of whether Ammianus was also criticizing Constantius for the way in which he performed his aduentus, emphasizing his pompous and autocratic behaviour in order to contrast him with Julian, who preferred to behave more like a ciuilis princeps in public. Of course, such a reading almost inevitably produces a portrait of Ammianus as an impractically nostalgic figure, harking back to a style of rule which was anachronistic in the post-Diocletianic Later Roman Empire. In addition, Ammianus also presented Julian as performing an aduentus into Constantinople in 361, employing some phrases that were similar to those used to describe Constantius’ procession in 357. Furthermore, as John Matthews has illustrated, Ammianus’ presentations of the occasions when Julian eschewed late-antique imperial protocol are not without tinges of criticism, and his judgement on the propriety of different modes of imperial behaviour varied dependent on the context.

Almost four decades after its discovery was initially announced, the Celtic necropolis in Karaburma, a suburb of Belgrade, is still one of the most important archaeological sites for the interpretation of the historical, economic, and cultural processes taking place in the central Balkans from the 4th to the end of the 1st centuries B.C. Most of all, it represents a wide-ranging source for explaining the chronology of the oldest Celtic presence in this area, also illustrating cultural exchanges in the network in which they were included. In this necropolis, belonging to the regional military elite, there are several graves in which, in addition to standard offerings relating to the regional material culture, items originating from a wider cultural area were found. Amongst these, grave number 22, the subject of our research, is especially important. In this grave were found objects mainly made of bronze and iron, with a smaller fragment of pottery. The iron items represent the attire of the deceased and his offensive weapons, while bronze items are characteristically imported vessels and a smaller bronze ring (figs. 1, 2). The imported vessels are represented by the well-known situla and cup. According to the basic typological scheme, we can classify the situla within the large group of ovoid situlae with the leaf-shaped or the so-called heart-shaped ornament under the attachment (figs. 1, 9; 2; 3, 7). According to the typological scheme here suggested, the situla found in Karaburma belongs to the first group, namely to its variant b (Ib), which is characterized by situlae with a leaf-shaped ornament on the attachment, separately cast and then pinned down or soldered to the body of the vessel (fig. 3, 7). Also belonging to this group are situlae from Skillountia, Goce Delcev (fig. 3, 8), V?rbica (fig. 3, 9) and from Chirnogi (fig. 3, 10). Situlae from Budva (fig. 3, 11) and Belgrade (fig. 3, 12) should also be included here, probably the one from Bitola as well. According to the analysis here presented, we have attributed the situla to the work of Macedonian workshops of the 4th century, to which other situlae, initially recorded in the contexts of Celtic provenance, have finally been included, and which ended up in the graves of Celtic dignitaries as exclusive imports of particular social conditions and ideological features. The other bronze vessel, considering its size, metric relations, technical and stylistic execution, we interpret as a cup, or at least as some kind of transitional form, since it is somewhat more shallow when compared to actual cups, and significantly taller compared to phiale (figs. 1, 10; 2). The context in which it was found indicates that it must have been used as a drinking cup in a set, together with the ovoid situla. Similar phiale were a very popular form in Thrace in the 4th century (fig. 7, 2-3), but the greatest resemblance can be seen in the phiale from Peretu, from the Thraco-Getian area to the north (fig. 7, 1). Characteristics of the form and style of the cup from Karaburma enabled its classification among the later variants or transitional forms of cups, seen in the context of the bronze production of Northern Greece, i.e. Macedonia. It is important for the period of the midto late 4th century, in other words, it completely matches with the chronological background and location of the ovoid situla with the leaf-shaped ornament under the attachment. In the analysis of weapons belonging to a Celtic warrior buried in grave 22, an iron sword with preserved fragments of a scabbard made of iron sheet (fig. 1, 1-2) stands out. Comparative analysis has characterized the sword as an exceptionally late form of the group Kosd D, attributed to the phase Lt B2. However, the slightly accentuated biconical shape of the scabbard?s end also points to certain elements of the group Kosd C. In the Carpathian basin the group Kosd C represents a rather rare form, which as a cultural innovation spread westwards, thus the Karaburma necropolis in Belgrade represents their southeastern, furthest point of expansion. To this same time frame also belongs the sword belt chain set (fig. 1, 5-6). Typological and spatial analysis has shown that chain belts with single figure-ofeight links, exactly the same as the ones found in grave 22, are relatively rare in that region. Asimilar sword belt set was found in the Benacci necropolis in Bologna, also containing a sword inside a scabbard decorated with a pair of dragons of the II type according to Jose-Maria De Navarro. Alongside it was also found a spear-butt with a spike which by its workmanship, closely resembles precisely the spear-butt with a long spike and the massive conical lower part from grave 22 (fig. 1, 4). Unlike the complete sword belt chain set and the sword, the spear-butt was isolated, but perhaps we can connect the bronze ring with it (fig. 1, 3). Given its size, it was probably the grip which was strengthening the spot at which the spear-butt was inserted into it. Aspecial feature of grave 22 are two highly fragmented remains of fibulae (fig. 1, 7-8). The spring of the larger fibula stands out, with two winders on each side, and with an external arch (fig. 1, 7), which dates from the late Lt B2 phase and the transitional horizon B2/C1. It has long been accepted as fact that the Celts inhabited the area between the rivers Sava and Danube from as early as the second half and towards the end of the 4th century, while the Scordisci, as such, formed only after the defeat at Delphi. However, the process of the Celtic expansion was already happening at the beginning of the 4th century, and it spread along the main communication routes, the rivers, with strategic points first to be settled. Only after several decades of consolidation, or only upon the return from the military expedition to the south of the Balkan peninsula, was the whole area inhabited by the Celts by the end of the 4th century. This historically suggested claim always necessarily led to the question of chronological positioning and the distance between phases Lt B2 and Lt C2. Most authors dealing with this matter have held that phase Lt B2 was supposed to have finished after the Celtic invasion of the southern Balkans, i.e. some time in the 3rd century. However, this assessment does not seem entirely correct, since most objects of La T?ne cultural provenance found in the Aegean region and Asia Minor stem from the initial Lt C horizon, which means that the expedition to Delphi cannot represent an absolute chronological border between the Lt B2 and C1. The absence of indicative elements of the material culture of the Lt B horizon in the Aegean area and Anatolia indicates that they already had to be completely out of fashion by the time of the expedition. In brief - after the dissolution of Lisimachus? kingdom and the murder of Seleucus I in 281 B.C., there was a military and political power vacuum in the region of Macedonia and Thrace. The opportunity was seized by Celts from the region of the lower Danube, who set out towards ?the South?. In 279 B.C. one of the three groups, led by Bolgios (i.e. Belgius), defeated the Macedonian royal army, and Ptolemy Ceraunus himself got killed. In the summer of the same year, Brennus reached central Greece, i.e. Delphi; having suffered a defeat, the larger portion of the army was stationed in the region of Thrace, after a logical retreat. There they received an offer from Nicomedus I of Bythinia who hired 20,000 of them as mercenaries, hence their penetration into Asia Minor in 278 and 277 B.C. On the other hand, the archaeological findings from the mentioned area, connected with these events, indicate that it can and must be classified within the Lt C1 phase. An additional argument in favour of an earlier dating is also offered by a pair of two-part anklets, with eight hollow semispherical bosses with no ornaments, found in the Spanos well in the vicinity of Poseidon?s sanctuary in Isthmia. Previously, Rupert Gebhard had held that these findings should be brought into connection with the incursion of 279 B.C., dating from his horizon 5, i.e. between c. 290 and 260 B.C. However, Isabelle Raubitschek demonstrated the opposite, pointing to several details: firstly, since the remnants of the Celtic army after their defeat withdrew through the Thermopylae, it is unlikely that on the way back anyone would pass through Isthmia; secondly, similar anklets were also found in the Heraion of Perachora, and finally and most importantly, that they were found in an enclosed context, together with the kylix-krater, meaning that they must date from the third quarter of the 4th century. To her conclusions we can now add two other possible perspectives: 1. - regarding the chronology, the most important fact is that the pair of two-part anklets is evidently much older than previously thought. From the historical perspective, the information on the enclosed context, i.e. that similar findings were also found in the complexes of Greek sanctuaries, is of great importance. 2. - dating clearly shows that these anklets cannot be connected with war or looting, i.e. cannot be seen as spoil from the expedition to Delphi to be sacrificed by the victors. In fact, that context points to a small, but recognizable segment from the range of diplomatic gifts which circulated between the Greek world and the Celtic aristocrats from the region of the middle course of Danube. On the other hand, among the graves of the La T?ne cultural provenance containing findings which originated from Greek, i.e. Macedonian workshops, and which predate the time of the military expedition to the south of the Balkan peninsula, apart from the finding of a bronze cup from the end of the 4th century found in Szabolc in Hungary, only Karaburma grave 22 stands out. Both findings were included by Miklos Szab? among those which preceded the expedition to Delphi, although it is possible that they reached the Celtic world after that event. He also mentioned that it was becoming increasingly evident that this was more than just a case of military spoil or loot, which he concluded on the basis of the presence of less valuable items. This claim led M. Szab? into a trap: if the items, mostly from the 4th century, presupposed contacts of the Celtic inhabitants with the Aegean world, it would be necessary to date their settlement, i.e. the phase Lt B2, in the 4th century, and thus in the period significantly earlier than the expedition to Delphi. Furthermore, a bronze lekythos was found in a slightly younger grave 18/64 on the Hurbanovo site, in the same cultural and historical context. This is a lekythos of the Talcot type, frequently found in Greece, Thrace and Macedonia, dating back to the end of the 4th and the first half of the 3rd century. On the mentioned site it was chronologically classified in the transitional horizon Lt B2/C1, which according to Jozef Bujna was the period after the military expedition to the Balkans. The same researcher held that the grave 22 from Karaburma should also be included in that time frame. However, what if J. Bujna was wrong on this matter, given that he opted for a conservative dating of the set of vessels? Based on the above, we might actually consider placing the absolute dating of the Lt C1 phase in the 4th century - the century during which the production of such lekythoi flourished, as did their laying in Macedonian graves. Implicitly, such dating is also confirmed by the items of the La T?ne provenance, found in the region of the southern Balkans, i.e. the Aegean area. They all exhibit formal characteristics typical of the Lt C. Consequently, it can be concluded that the beginning of the Lt C horizon must be sought in the period immediately preceding the expedition to ?the South?. In connection with that, it was precisely J. Bujna who demonstrated that certain graves in the necropolises of the Lt C were found on the periphery, which he interpreted as a possible clue for recognizing the newcomers, i.e. those who returned from the Balkan expedition. Aurel Rustoiu also came to a similar conclusion, having systematically analyzed the equipment of the warrior elites, the socalled mercenaries from the Aegean world. The declining number of male graves in the period between Lt B1 and Lt C1, among other things, also led Peter Ramsl to hypothesize that numerous warriors hired as mercenaries never returned to their homes. Related to this, significant data in the analysis of the share of warrior graves in the necropolises of the Carpathian basin was provided by A. Rustoiu. He showed that the share of warrior graves, i.e. graves with weapons in Lt B2 phase, is higher than of those in the Lt C1. However, the Karaburma necropolis is an exception also in this respect, since the share of the warrior graves is significantly higher than in the other necropolises belonging to both phases. Thus in the Lt C1 it is 48%, while in the Lt B2 it is as high as 70%. On the basis of the collected data, he hypothesized that there were two types of societies in the Carpathian basin: agricultural communities with reduced military elites, and military communities which represented social aristocracy and which formed the core for military and war expeditions, and also constituted the basis for the recruitment of mercenaries. The latter transcended ethnic bounds, given that they were selected on an individual basis, which is clearly reflected in the changeability and different origin of the equipment of warriors. Findings of bronze vessels tie in with this neatly, if we interpret them as a result of contacts and a substitute for the traditional late La T?ne pottery set, consisting of a ceramic bowl (phiale), and a vessel for liquids (situla-like pot or lenticular bottle). Both situla and phiale are standard items, frequent, widespread, and the most indicative parts of solemn ritual banquets and feasts, as shown by numerous and explicit findings from the rich graves of Thracia and Anatolia. However, they were still an essential part of the Greek culture, commonly used in religious, mystical ceremonies. Although we frequently encounter them in hoards and, of course, temples, with rare exceptions mostly due to insufficient knowledge on the item?s context of finding, those situlae and phiale were, almost as a rule, part of luxury sets, indicating rich graves of those belonging to the highest social and political strata of the society. This is the reason why they were often interpreted as burial insignia, used to sanctify the burial space and to encourage eternal deification, divine vitality and the rebirth of a deceased dignitary; in other words, it is thought that they exhibited power and authority in both Thracian and Getian graves. However, the Celts could also have used these vessels at funeral feasts and banquets, just as they were used in their country of origin, since we know that in the graves of the Celtic dignitaries everything was laid that they possessed in their lifetime, especially sets of dishes, for the purpose of ensuring an unbroken cycle of rebirth. It has been further suggested that the bronze vessels were used for the ceremonies of libation, but also for trade and exchange, while the silver drinking cups and luxury sets made of precious metals were used for burial feasts and diplomatic banquets during negotiations and/or when concluding agreements, simply as keimelia or as a ritual device for expressing deeply held and widely accepted eschatological practices and new trends. However, both could have been quite practically used for bribing - both people and gods! Finally, the imported vessels from Karaburma, classified as Macedonian products from the 4th century, should now be viewed as the northernmost findings of a complete symposiastic set, but also in the context of other vessels imported from Macedonia found in the graves with the features of the La T?ne culture. It is unlikely that they represent war spoils from Greece or other parts. The idea that the situla and phiale from the grave 22 of the Karaburma necropolis inaugurated direct contact between the Celts and Macedonians seems more likely. The items could have reached the 4th century Celtic dignitaries of the Danube region as keimelia - diplomatic gifts, or could have simply arrived by a trade route from the northern parts of Macedonia. In that sense, we should also remember those modest, but for this case invaluable records found in the historical sources connected with this period. It has been thought that the Celtic presence dates back to as early as the time of the defeat and expulsion of the Ardiaei in 359/358 B.C., as recorded by Theopompus. However, there are reliable records of their embassy to Alexander the Great while he was engaged with the Tribali in 335 B.C., as reported by Arrian. Precisely those could have been the points of direct contact between the highest ranking military and political dignitaries of the Celts and the aristocrats and diplomats of the Macedonian state. From all this it can be concluded that the Karaburma necropolis is truly an exception, representing the southernmost point of Celtic militarized expansion, where the military social aristocracy was stationed. The region where the Sava and Danube meet thus became an area where technological innovations concentrated and developed, and also the space where the political, military and economic contacts filtered. All this is vividly illustrated by grave 22 in the necropolis, chosen precisely because of those features. Weapons, i.e. the sword of the Celtic dignitary who was buried there, indicate the technological tradition of the early La T?ne. In the same tradition were fashioned the fibulae which, in an unchanged form, remain in the repertoire of accessories at the beginning of the middle La T?ne period, just as, on the other hand, the sword and the shape of its scabbard indicate the beginning of re-fashioning of that same conservative tradition. The sword belt chain set and the spear-butt with its spike indicate the innovations which were yet to become the characteristic features of the middle La T?ne soldiers? equipment. Furthermore, the intertwining of traditions and innovations is also evident from the symbolic and semantic processes which were connected with the ritual of this burial. At the time when the cremation became the predominant type of burial in the Celtic world, the ritual of laying gifts in graves also changed. Instead of the complete equipment which the deceased used during life, only select items are found to represent the totality, which in our example can be seen in the deposited spear-butt. Thus the suum cuique principle was replaced by the pars pro toto principle. Based on the above, the famous warrior from the Karaburma grave 22 both in an abstract and also direct sense, confirms the intertwining of traditions and the circulation of cultural elements, and thus shows that he himself was one of the carriers of the avant-garde of the time, the forerunner of a new period in political and economic relations in the central Balkans of the third quarter of the 4th century.

The curtain rose. The howling of desert wind filled the performance hall in the Shanghai Grand Theatre. Into the center stage, where a scenic construction of a mountain cliff and a desert landscape was dimly lit, entered the character of the Daoist priest Wang Yuanlu (1849–1931), performed by Chen Yizong. Dressed in a worn and dusty outfit of dark blue cotton, characteristic of Daoist priests, Wang began to sweep the floor. After a few moments, he discovered a hidden chambre sealed inside one of the rock sanctuaries carved into the cliff.Signaled by the quick, crystalline, stirring wave of sound from the chimes, a melodious Chinese ocarina solo joined in slowly from the background. Astonished by thousands of Buddhist sūtra scrolls, wall paintings, and sculptures he had just accidentally discovered in the caves, Priest Wang set his broom aside and began to examine these treasures. Dawn had not yet arrived, and the desert sky was pitch-black. Priest Wang held his oil lamp high, strode rhythmically in excitement, sat crossed-legged in a meditative pose, and unfolded a scroll. The sound of the ocarina became fuller and richer and the texture of the music more complex, as several other instruments joined in.Below is the opening scene of the award-winning, theatrical dance-drama Dunhuang, My Dreamland, created by China’s state-sponsored Lanzhou Song and Dance Theatre in 2000. Figure 1a: Poster Side A of Dunhuang, My Dreamland Figure 1b: Poster Side B of Dunhuang, My DreamlandThe scene locates the dance-drama in the rock sanctuaries that today are known as the Dunhuang Mogao Caves, housing Buddhist art accumulated over a period of a thousand years, one of the best well-known UNESCO heritages on the Silk Road. Historically a frontier metropolis, Dunhuang was a strategic site along the Silk Road in northwestern China, a crossroads of trade, and a locus for religious, cultural, and intellectual influences since the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.). Travellers, especially Buddhist monks from India and central Asia, passing through Dunhuang on their way to Chang’an (present day Xi’an), China’s ancient capital, would stop to meditate in the Mogao Caves and consult manuscripts in the monastery's library. At the same time, Chinese pilgrims would travel by foot from China through central Asia to Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, playing a key role in the exchanges between ancient China and the outside world. Travellers from China would stop to acquire provisions at Dunhuang before crossing the Gobi Desert to continue on their long journey abroad. Figure 2: Dunhuang Mogao CavesThis article approaches the idea of “abroad” by examining the present-day imagination of journeys along the Silk Road—specifically, staged performances of the various Silk Road journey-themed dance-dramas sponsored by the Chinese state for enhancing its cultural and foreign policies since the 1970s (Kuang).As ethnomusicologists have demonstrated, musicians, choreographers, and playwrights often utilise historical materials in their performances to construct connections between the past and the present (Bohlman; Herzfeld; Lam; Rees; Shelemay; Tuohy; Wade; Yung: Rawski; Watson). The ancient Silk Road, which linked the Mediterranean coast with central China and beyond, via oasis towns such as Samarkand, has long been associated with the concept of “journeying abroad.” Journeys to distant, foreign lands and encounters of unknown, mysterious cultures along the Silk Road have been documented in historical records, such as A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms (Faxian) and The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (Xuanzang), and illustrated in classical literature, such as The Travels of Marco Polo (Polo) and the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West (Wu). These journeys—coming and going from multiple directions and to different destinations—have inspired contemporary staged performance for audiences around the globe.Home and Abroad: Dunhuang and the Silk RoadDunhuang, My Dreamland (2000), the contemporary dance-drama, staged the journey of a young pilgrim painter travelling from Chang’an to a land of the unfamiliar and beyond borders, in search for the arts that have inspired him. Figure 3: A scene from Dunhuang, My Dreamland showing the young pilgrim painter in the Gobi Desert on the ancient Silk RoadFar from his home, he ended his journey in Dunhuang, historically considered the northwestern periphery of China, well beyond Yangguan and Yumenguan, the bordering passes that separate China and foreign lands. Later scenes in Dunhuang, My Dreamland, portrayed through multiethnic music and dances, the dynamic interactions among merchants, cultural and religious envoys, warriors, and politicians that were making their own journey from abroad to China. The theatrical dance-drama presents a historically inspired, re-imagined vision of both “home” and “abroad” to its audiences as they watch the young painter travel along the Silk Road, across the Gobi Desert, arriving at his own ideal, artistic “homeland”, the Dunhuang Mogao Caves. Since his journey is ultimately a spiritual one, the conceptualisation of travelling “abroad” could also be perceived as “a journey home.”Staged more than four hundred times since it premiered in Beijing in April 2000, Dunhuang, My Dreamland is one of the top ten titles in China’s National Stage Project and one of the most successful theatrical dance-dramas ever produced in China. With revenue of more than thirty million renminbi (RMB), it ranks as the most profitable theatrical dance-drama ever produced in China, with a preproduction cost of six million RMB. The production team receives financial support from China’s Ministry of Culture for its “distinctive ethnic features,” and its “aim to promote traditional Chinese culture,” according to Xu Rong, an official in the Cultural Industry Department of the Ministry. Labeled an outstanding dance-drama of the Chinese nation, it aims to present domestic and international audiences with a vision of China as a historically multifaceted and cosmopolitan nation that has been in close contact with the outside world through the ancient Silk Road. Its production company has been on tour in selected cities throughout China and in countries abroad, including Austria, Spain, and France, literarily making the young pilgrim painter’s “journey along the Silk Road” a new journey abroad, off stage and in reality.Dunhuang, My Dreamland was not the first, nor is it the last, staged performances that portrays the Chinese re-imagination of “journeying abroad” along the ancient Silk Road. It was created as one of many versions of Dunhuang bihua yuewu, a genre of music, dance, and dramatic performances created in the early twentieth century and based primarily on artifacts excavated from the Mogao Caves (Kuang). “The Mogao Caves are the greatest repository of early Chinese art,” states Mimi Gates, who works to increase public awareness of the UNESCO site and raise funds toward its conservation. “Located on the Chinese end of the Silk Road, it also is the place where many cultures of the world intersected with one another, so you have Greek and Roman, Persian and Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese cultures, all interacting. Given the nature of our world today, it is all very relevant” (Pollack). As an expressive art form, this genre has been thriving since the late 1970s contributing to the global imagination of China’s “Silk Road journeys abroad” long before Dunhuang, My Dreamland achieved its domestic and international fame. For instance, in 2004, The Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara—one of the most representative (and well-known) Dunhuang bihua yuewu programs—was staged as a part of the cultural program during the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. This performance, as well as other Dunhuang bihua yuewu dance programs was the perfect embodiment of a foreign religion that arrived in China from abroad and became Sinicized (Kuang). Figure 4: Mural from Dunhuang Mogao Cave No. 45A Brief History of Staging the Silk Road JourneysThe staging of the Silk Road journeys abroad began in the late 1970s. Historically, the Silk Road signifies a multiethnic, cosmopolitan frontier, which underwent incessant conflicts between Chinese sovereigns and nomadic peoples (as well as between other groups), but was strongly imbued with the customs and institutions of central China (Duan, Mair, Shi, Sima). In the twentieth century, when China was no longer an empire, but had become what the early 20th-century reformer Liang Qichao (1873–1929) called “a nation among nations,” the long history of the Silk Road and the colourful, legendary journeys abroad became instrumental in the formation of a modern Chinese nation of unified diversity rooted in an ancient cosmopolitan past. The staged Silk Road theme dance-dramas thus participate in this formation of the Chinese imagination of “nation” and “abroad,” as they aestheticise Chinese history and geography. History and geography—aspects commonly considered constituents of a nation as well as our conceptualisations of “abroad”—are “invariably aestheticized to a certain degree” (Bakhtin 208). Diverse historical and cultural elements from along the Silk Road come together in this performance genre, which can be considered the most representative of various possible stagings of the history and culture of the Silk Road journeys.In 1979, the Chinese state officials in Gansu Province commissioned the benchmark dance-drama Rain of Flowers along the Silk Road, a spectacular theatrical dance-drama praising the pure and noble friendship which existed between the peoples of China and other countries in the Tang dynasty (618-907 C.E.). While its plot also revolves around the Dunhuang Caves and the life of a painter, staged at one of the most critical turning points in modern Chinese history, the work as a whole aims to present the state’s intention of re-establishing diplomatic ties with the outside world after the Cultural Revolution. Unlike Dunhuang, My Dreamland, it presents a nation’s journey abroad and home. To accomplish this goal, Rain of Flowers along the Silk Road introduces the fictional character Yunus, a wealthy Persian merchant who provides the audiences a vision of the historical figure of Peroz III, the last Sassanian prince, who after the Arab conquest of Iran in 651 C.E., found refuge in China. By incorporating scenes of ethnic and folk dances, the drama then stages the journey of painter Zhang’s daughter Yingniang to Persia (present-day Iran) and later, Yunus’s journey abroad to the Tang dynasty imperial court as the Persian Empire’s envoy.Rain of Flowers along the Silk Road, since its debut at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the first of October 1979 and shortly after at the Theatre La Scala in Milan, has been staged in more than twenty countries and districts, including France, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Latvia, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and recently, in 2013, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.“The Road”: Staging the Journey TodayWithin the contemporary context of global interdependencies, performing arts have been used as strategic devices for social mobilisation and as a means to represent and perform modern national histories and foreign policies (Davis, Rees, Tian, Tuohy, Wong, David Y. H. Wu). The Silk Road has been chosen as the basis for these state-sponsored, extravagantly produced, and internationally staged contemporary dance programs. In 2008, the welcoming ceremony and artistic presentation at the Olympic Games in Beijing featured twenty apsara dancers and a Dunhuang bihua yuewu dancer with long ribbons, whose body was suspended in mid-air on a rectangular LED extension held by hundreds of performers; on the giant LED screen was a depiction of the ancient Silk Road.In March 2013, Chinese president Xi Jinping introduced the initiatives “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” during his journeys abroad in Kazakhstan and Indonesia. These initiatives are now referred to as “One Belt, One Road.” The State Council lists in details the policies and implementation plans for this initiative on its official web page, www.gov.cn. In April 2013, the China Institute in New York launched a yearlong celebration, starting with "Dunhuang: Buddhist Art and the Gateway of the Silk Road" with a re-creation of one of the caves and a selection of artifacts from the site. In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planning agency, released a new action plan outlining key details of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Xi Jinping has made the program a centrepiece of both his foreign and domestic economic policies. One of the central economic strategies is to promote cultural industry that could enhance trades along the Silk Road.Encouraged by the “One Belt, One Road” policies, in March 2016, The Silk Princess premiered in Xi’an and was staged at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing the following July. While Dunhuang, My Dreamland and Rain of Flowers along the Silk Road were inspired by the Buddhist art found in Dunhuang, The Silk Princess, based on a story about a princess bringing silk and silkworm-breeding skills to the western regions of China in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) has a different historical origin. The princess's story was portrayed in a woodblock from the Tang Dynasty discovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein, a British archaeologist during his expedition to Xinjiang (now Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region) in the early 19th century, and in a temple mural discovered during a 2002 Chinese-Japanese expedition in the Dandanwulike region. Figure 5: Poster of The Silk PrincessIn January 2016, the Shannxi Provincial Song and Dance Troupe staged The Silk Road, a new theatrical dance-drama. Unlike Dunhuang, My Dreamland, the newly staged dance-drama “centers around the ‘road’ and the deepening relationship merchants and travellers developed with it as they traveled along its course,” said Director Yang Wei during an interview with the author. According to her, the show uses seven archetypes—a traveler, a guard, a messenger, and so on—to present the stories that took place along this historic route. Unbounded by specific space or time, each of these archetypes embodies the foreign-travel experience of a different group of individuals, in a manner that may well be related to the social actors of globalised culture and of transnationalism today. Figure 6: Poster of The Silk RoadConclusionAs seen in Rain of Flowers along the Silk Road and Dunhuang, My Dreamland, staging the processes of Silk Road journeys has become a way of connecting the Chinese imagination of “home” with the Chinese imagination of “abroad.” Staging a nation’s heritage abroad on contemporary stages invites a new imagination of homeland, borders, and transnationalism. Once aestheticised through staged performances, such as that of the Dunhuang bihua yuewu, the historical and topological landscape of Dunhuang becomes a performed narrative, embodying the national heritage.The staging of Silk Road journeys continues, and is being developed into various forms, from theatrical dance-drama to digital exhibitions such as the Smithsonian’s Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottes at Dunhuang (Stromberg) and the Getty’s Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China's Silk Road (Sivak and Hood). 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