Roman Imperialism Readings And Sources

This broad-ranging reader on Roman imperialism brings together ancient documents in translation and a selection of the best recent scholarly essays, in order to introduce students to the major problems and controversies in studying this central aspect of Roman history. A broad-ranging reader on Roman imperialism, combining ancient documents in translation and a selection of the best recent scholarship on the subject. Introduces students to the major problems and controversies in the study of Roman imperialism. Examines diverse aspects of Roman imperialism, from the Romans’ motivations in acquiring an empire and their ideological justifications for imperial domination, to the complex political, economic, and cultural interactions between the Romans, their allies, and the subjected peoples. An introduction surveys modern work on Roman imperialism and provides the context of recent theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of empires in general. Includes notes with suggestions for further reading.

The transformation of Rome from a small central Italian city-state into the sole Mediterranean superpower has long proved fascinating and controversial. At its height the Roman Empire extended from Britain in the North to Libya in the South and from Spain in the West to Syria in the East. It has impressed not only by its extent but also by its longevity. Andrew Erskine examines the course and nature of Roman expansion, focusing on explanations, ancient and modern, the impact of Roman rule on the subject and the effect of empire on the imperial power. All these topics have created a tremendous amount of discussion among scholars, not least because the study of Roman imperialism has always been informed by contemporary perceptions of international power relations. The book is divided into two halves. Part I treats some of the main issues in modern debates about Roman imperialism, while Part II offers a selection of the most important source material allowing readers to enter these debates themselves

Across 800 years, the Romans established and maintained a Mediterranean-wide empire from Spain to Syria and from the North Sea to North Africa. This study analyzes the debate over Roman imperialism from ancient times to the present.

The papers collected in this volume provide invaluable insights into the results of different interactions between “Romans” and Others. Articles dealing with cultural changes within and outside the borders of Roman Empire highlight the idea that those very changes had different results and outcomes depending on various social, political, economic, geographical and chronological factors. Most of the contributions here focus on the issues of what it means to be Roman in different contexts, and show that the concept and idea of Roman-ness were different for the various populations that interacted with Romans through several means of communication, including political alliances, wars, trade, and diplomacy. The volume also covers a huge geographical area, from Britain, across Europe to the Near East and the Caucasus, but also provides information on the Roman Empire through eyes of foreigners, such as the ancient Chinese.

Excerpt from Roman Imperialism: And Other Lectures and Essays That the revolution was a triumph, not of liber aliam, but of military organization, will become still clearer if we now proceed to examine the new insti tutions which it introduced. Had Cesar lived longer, he would no doubt have stamped a liberal character upon his work. Though he was no champion of the provinces, and though he owed his elevation imme diately to the army, and only remotely to the democ racy, yet his disposition was liberal, and his states manship bold, original, and magnanimous. He might therefore have developed at once and forced into ripeness those germs of good in the new system which, as it was, ripened but slowly. He might have taken away fi'om Italy that unjust precedence in the Empire which she retained for three more centuries, and raised the provinces to citizenship and participation in the honors of the state. This he might have done, but had he done it he would have accomplished another revolution. That the Empire at that time did not require such changes, even if it would have borne them, is plain from the fact that his successor Augustus was able to found a secure and durable im perial system, was able, in fact, to conduct the movement which his uncle had begun to. Its nat ural goal, without appealing to any liberal tendencies. Augustin was in all things aristocratically disposed; his institutions bear the stamp of a conservative, excluf sive, old-roman spirit. This did not prevent him. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.