Integration In The Early Roman West

Römerzeit - Siedlung - Religionsgeschichte.

In this work of sweeping erudition, one of our foremost historians of early Christianity considers a variety of theoretical critiques to examine the problems and opportunities posed by the ways in which history is written. Elizabeth Clark argues forcefully for a renewal of the study of premodern Western history through engagement with the kinds of critical methods that have transformed other humanities disciplines in recent decades. History, Theory, Text provides a user-friendly survey of crucial developments in nineteenth- and twentieth-century debates surrounding history, philosophy, and critical theory. Beginning with the "noble dream" of "history as it really was" in the works of Leopold von Ranke, Clark goes on to review Anglo-American philosophies of history, schools of twentieth-century historiography, structuralism, the debate over narrative history, the changing fate of the history of ideas, and the impact of interpretive anthropology and literary theory on current historical scholarship. In a concluding chapter she offers some practical case studies to illustrate how attending to theoretical considerations can illuminate the study of premodernity. Written with energy and clarity, History, Theory, Text is a clarion call to historians for richer and more imaginative use of contemporary theory.

Digital reprint of this important collection of papers which form the companion to 'Early Roman Empire in the East' (Oxbow 1997). Fourteen contributions examine the interaction of Roman and native peoples in the formative years of the Roman provinces in Italy, Gaul, Spain and Portugal, Germany and Britain. Contents: Introduction (Thomas Blagg and Martin Millett); The creation of provincial landscape: the Roman impact on Cisalpine Gaul (Nicholas Purcell); Romanization: a point of view (Richard Reece); Romanization: historical issues and archaeological interpretation (Martin Millett); The romanization of Belgic Gaul (Colin Haselgrove); Lower Germany: proto-urban settlement developments and the integration of native society (J. H. F. Bloemers); Relations between Roman occupation and the Limesvorland in the province of Germania Inferior (Jurgen Kunow); Early Roman military installations and Ubian settlements in the Lower Rhine (Michael Gechter); Some observations on acculturation process at the edge of the Roman world (S. D. Trow); Processes in the development of the coastal communities of Hispania Citerior in the Republican period (Simon Keay); Romanization and urban development in Lusitania (Jonathan Edmondson); Urban munificence and the growth of urban consciousness in Roman Spain (Nicola Mackie); First-century Roman houses in Gaul and Britain (T. F. C. Blagg); Towards an assessment of the economic and social consequences of the Roman conquest of Gaul (J. F. Drinkwater); The emergence of Romano-Celtic religion (Anthony King)

Analysing the cultural, social, and economic consequences of the Roman occupation of North Africa (c.50 BC-AD 250), this book offers a fresh look at the development and purpose of the north African frontier-system.

Unique in their broad-based coverage the twelve essays in this book provide a fresh look at some central aspects of Roman culture and society.

Communal Dining in in the Roman West explores why the practice of privately sponsored communal dining gained popularity in certain parts of the Western Roman Empire for almost 300 years. This book brings together 350 Latin inscriptions to examine the benefactors and beneficiaries, the geographical and chronological distributions, and the relationship between public and collegial dining practices. It argues that food-related euergetism was a region-specific phenomenon which was rooted in specific social and political cultures in the communities of Italy, Baetica and Africa Proconsularis. The region-specific differences in political cultures and long-term changes in these cultures are key to understanding not only the long persistence of this practice but also its ultimate disappearance.

This book shows how the circulation of ideals associated with the Roman emperor generated ideological unification among aristocracies and reinforced Roman power.

Focusing on the Roman west, this book examines the rituals of cursing, their cultural contexts, and their impact on the lives of those who practised them. A huge number of Roman curse tablets have been discovered, showing their importance for helping ancient people to cope with various aspects of life. Curse tablets have been relatively neglected by archaeologists and historians. This study not only encourages greater understanding of the individual practice of curse rituals but also reveals how these objects can inform ongoing debates surrounding power, agency and social relationships in the Roman provinces. McKie uses new theoretical models to examine the curse tablets and focuses particularly on the concept of 'lived religion'. This framework reconfigures our understanding of religious and magical practices, allowing much greater appreciation of them as creative processes. Our awareness of the lived experiences of individuals is also encouraged by the application of theoretical approaches from sensory and material turns and through the consideration of comparable ritual practices in modern social contexts. These stimulate new questions of the ancient evidence, especially regarding the motives and motivations behind the curses.