Andreas Osiander
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198294511
- eISBN:
- 9780191717048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198294511.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter analyses why the Roman empire — from the 3rd century onwards, decayed and contracted — as well as why the east Roman empire of Constantinople survived until the 15th century. It ...
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This chapter analyses why the Roman empire — from the 3rd century onwards, decayed and contracted — as well as why the east Roman empire of Constantinople survived until the 15th century. It discusses the foundations of the ideology of the Roman empire, valid until the end of the pre-Reformation period (as reflected in authors like Eusébios (Eusebius) of Kaisáreia, Augustine, or Paulus Orosius), and examines the circumstances and meaning of the repeated revival of a western Roman empire (800, 962, 1312). The final section is dedicated to the theory of empire of three important political thinkers of the ‘age of the scholastics’: Engelbert of Admont, Dante Alighieri, and Pierre Dubois. The chapter emphasizes that supralocal political structures in pre-Reformation Latin always remained weak and were based on voluntary adhesion, the perception of a common identity, rather than on forcible submission.Less
This chapter analyses why the Roman empire — from the 3rd century onwards, decayed and contracted — as well as why the east Roman empire of Constantinople survived until the 15th century. It discusses the foundations of the ideology of the Roman empire, valid until the end of the pre-Reformation period (as reflected in authors like Eusébios (Eusebius) of Kaisáreia, Augustine, or Paulus Orosius), and examines the circumstances and meaning of the repeated revival of a western Roman empire (800, 962, 1312). The final section is dedicated to the theory of empire of three important political thinkers of the ‘age of the scholastics’: Engelbert of Admont, Dante Alighieri, and Pierre Dubois. The chapter emphasizes that supralocal political structures in pre-Reformation Latin always remained weak and were based on voluntary adhesion, the perception of a common identity, rather than on forcible submission.
Adiel Schremer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195383775
- eISBN:
- 9780199777280
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383775.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
This book seeks to reconstruct the earliest rabbinic discourse of minut (frequently understood as the Hebrew equivalent of the Christian term “heresy”), and to reassess the place that early ...
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This book seeks to reconstruct the earliest rabbinic discourse of minut (frequently understood as the Hebrew equivalent of the Christian term “heresy”), and to reassess the place that early Christianity occupied in that discourse. It suggests that the emergence of the rabbinic discourse of religious identity was a response to an identity crisis of a post-traumatic society, shattered by the powerful Roman empire. In order to re-affirm its values and distinct Jewish identity Palestinian rabbinic society developed a discourse of “heresy,” in which its religious boundaries were re-established by the labeling of some Jews as minim, and their placement beyond the pale. That discourse emphasized notions of social and communal solidarity and belonging, much more than a strictly defined concept of “correct belief,” and minim, accordingly, were Jews who's fault was seen in their separation from the rest of the Jewish community. The place that Christianity occupied in that discourse was relatively small, and the early Christians, who only gradually were introduced into the category of minim and became to be considered as such, were not its main target. Throughout Late Antiquity, the “significant other” for Palestinian Rabbis remained the Roman Empire, and the religious challenge with which they were mostly occupied was the Empire's power and the challenge it posed to the belief in God's power and His divinity.Less
This book seeks to reconstruct the earliest rabbinic discourse of minut (frequently understood as the Hebrew equivalent of the Christian term “heresy”), and to reassess the place that early Christianity occupied in that discourse. It suggests that the emergence of the rabbinic discourse of religious identity was a response to an identity crisis of a post-traumatic society, shattered by the powerful Roman empire. In order to re-affirm its values and distinct Jewish identity Palestinian rabbinic society developed a discourse of “heresy,” in which its religious boundaries were re-established by the labeling of some Jews as minim, and their placement beyond the pale. That discourse emphasized notions of social and communal solidarity and belonging, much more than a strictly defined concept of “correct belief,” and minim, accordingly, were Jews who's fault was seen in their separation from the rest of the Jewish community. The place that Christianity occupied in that discourse was relatively small, and the early Christians, who only gradually were introduced into the category of minim and became to be considered as such, were not its main target. Throughout Late Antiquity, the “significant other” for Palestinian Rabbis remained the Roman Empire, and the religious challenge with which they were mostly occupied was the Empire's power and the challenge it posed to the belief in God's power and His divinity.
Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230204
- eISBN:
- 9780191710681
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230204.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The works of Ambrosiaster, a Christian writing in Rome in the late 4th century, were influential on at the time and throughout the Middle Ages. This book starts by addressing the problem of the ...
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The works of Ambrosiaster, a Christian writing in Rome in the late 4th century, were influential on at the time and throughout the Middle Ages. This book starts by addressing the problem of the author's mysterious identity (which scholars have puzzled over for centuries) and places him in a broad historical and intellectual context. Later, it addresses Ambrosiaster's political theology, an idea which has been explored in other late Roman Christian writers but which has never been addressed in his works. The book also looks at how Ambrosiaster's attitudes to social and political order were formed on the basis of theological concepts and the interpretation of scripture, and shows that he espoused a rigid hierarchical and monarchical organization in the church, society, and the Roman empire. He also traced close connections between the Devil, characterized as a rebel against God, and the earthly tyrants and usurpers who followed his example.Less
The works of Ambrosiaster, a Christian writing in Rome in the late 4th century, were influential on at the time and throughout the Middle Ages. This book starts by addressing the problem of the author's mysterious identity (which scholars have puzzled over for centuries) and places him in a broad historical and intellectual context. Later, it addresses Ambrosiaster's political theology, an idea which has been explored in other late Roman Christian writers but which has never been addressed in his works. The book also looks at how Ambrosiaster's attitudes to social and political order were formed on the basis of theological concepts and the interpretation of scripture, and shows that he espoused a rigid hierarchical and monarchical organization in the church, society, and the Roman empire. He also traced close connections between the Devil, characterized as a rebel against God, and the earthly tyrants and usurpers who followed his example.
David J. Mattingly
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691160177
- eISBN:
- 9781400848270
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691160177.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter reviews the traditional understandings of the Roman Empire and reflects on how recent developments in the study of imperialism more generally could influence the future of Roman studies. ...
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This chapter reviews the traditional understandings of the Roman Empire and reflects on how recent developments in the study of imperialism more generally could influence the future of Roman studies. It explores problems with the orthodox paradigm of Romanization and highlights the need for alternative interpretative frameworks. It presents a case for applying the concept of creolization to the Roman Empire, despite its connotations primarily with the New World and slave society. Creole language and creole material culture are built up by the integration of the language and traditions of the underclass with elements of language and culture of the dominant colonial society, resulting in a “highly ambiguous material culture, in the sense that it is imbued with different meanings in different contexts.” In principle, these approaches adopted in North American historical archaeology to understand the material culture and social behavior of the slaves and underprivileged classes can also be applied to the archaeological record of the Roman world.Less
This chapter reviews the traditional understandings of the Roman Empire and reflects on how recent developments in the study of imperialism more generally could influence the future of Roman studies. It explores problems with the orthodox paradigm of Romanization and highlights the need for alternative interpretative frameworks. It presents a case for applying the concept of creolization to the Roman Empire, despite its connotations primarily with the New World and slave society. Creole language and creole material culture are built up by the integration of the language and traditions of the underclass with elements of language and culture of the dominant colonial society, resulting in a “highly ambiguous material culture, in the sense that it is imbued with different meanings in different contexts.” In principle, these approaches adopted in North American historical archaeology to understand the material culture and social behavior of the slaves and underprivileged classes can also be applied to the archaeological record of the Roman world.
Alan Bowman and Andrew Wilson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199562596
- eISBN:
- 9780191721458
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562596.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book contains a number of chapters on the Roman economy which discuss methods of analysing the performance of the economy of the Mediterranean world under Roman imperial rule in the period c.100 ...
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This book contains a number of chapters on the Roman economy which discuss methods of analysing the performance of the economy of the Mediterranean world under Roman imperial rule in the period c.100 BC to AD 350 through quantification. It focuses on the methods and problems involved in identifying and analyzing the characteristics of economic integration, growth, and decline in this period. In particular, it attempts to suggest how a complex and diverse economic world can be better understood by using quantifiable and proxy data to measure these processes in different parts of the Mediterranean world. The data are drawn from both documentary and archaeological sources, and the book emphasizes the need to draw together different kinds of written and artefactual evidence and to describe the ways in which they complement each other. This approach is pursued in a series of analyses of approaches specific economic sectors: demography, urbanization and settlement patterns, the agrarian economy, patterns of trade and commerce, mining, metal supply, and coinage. The book offers a survey of the opportunities for advancing understanding of the economic and technological development of the Roman empire by using the tools and techniques of economic history and statistical analysis.Less
This book contains a number of chapters on the Roman economy which discuss methods of analysing the performance of the economy of the Mediterranean world under Roman imperial rule in the period c.100 BC to AD 350 through quantification. It focuses on the methods and problems involved in identifying and analyzing the characteristics of economic integration, growth, and decline in this period. In particular, it attempts to suggest how a complex and diverse economic world can be better understood by using quantifiable and proxy data to measure these processes in different parts of the Mediterranean world. The data are drawn from both documentary and archaeological sources, and the book emphasizes the need to draw together different kinds of written and artefactual evidence and to describe the ways in which they complement each other. This approach is pursued in a series of analyses of approaches specific economic sectors: demography, urbanization and settlement patterns, the agrarian economy, patterns of trade and commerce, mining, metal supply, and coinage. The book offers a survey of the opportunities for advancing understanding of the economic and technological development of the Roman empire by using the tools and techniques of economic history and statistical analysis.
Alan Bowman and Andrew Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199562596
- eISBN:
- 9780191721458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562596.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter discusses the definitions and characteristics of the economic processes and trends in the Roman Empire, and outlines the methods by which quantification of data in written and ...
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This chapter discusses the definitions and characteristics of the economic processes and trends in the Roman Empire, and outlines the methods by which quantification of data in written and archaeological sources can lead to a better understanding of economic integration, growth, and decline in the period c.100 BC to AD 350. These are then further analyzed in the context of a number of economic institutions and practices, including economic policy, monetization, trade, markets, commerce, investment, industrial production, technology, specialization of the labour force, and education. It suggests how we can identify a series of indicators of trends, which may be different in different regions, that can yield an idea of how the Roman economy compares with earlier and later periods of the classical world and with other cultures and empires.Less
This chapter discusses the definitions and characteristics of the economic processes and trends in the Roman Empire, and outlines the methods by which quantification of data in written and archaeological sources can lead to a better understanding of economic integration, growth, and decline in the period c.100 BC to AD 350. These are then further analyzed in the context of a number of economic institutions and practices, including economic policy, monetization, trade, markets, commerce, investment, industrial production, technology, specialization of the labour force, and education. It suggests how we can identify a series of indicators of trends, which may be different in different regions, that can yield an idea of how the Roman economy compares with earlier and later periods of the classical world and with other cultures and empires.
P. HEATHER
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264027
- eISBN:
- 9780191734908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264027.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
This chapter focuses on four main chronological periods: the era prior to the arrival of the Huns, when the Goths were settled beyond the Danube; a first major phase of Gothic intrusion into the ...
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This chapter focuses on four main chronological periods: the era prior to the arrival of the Huns, when the Goths were settled beyond the Danube; a first major phase of Gothic intrusion into the Balkans from 376 to the definitive departure of Alaric's Goths for Italy (407–408); the Hunnic era down to the late 460s; and, finally, from the arrival of the Amal-led Goths in Macedonia (473) until the departure of Theoderic the Amal for Italy (488–489). In each of these periods, the rhythm of relations between the Goths and the institutions of the Roman Empire as well as the population of the Balkans varied substantially, although some common themes and threads of development emerge. In each of them, it is also important to make a conceptual distinction between the Romanness generated by and for the central Roman state, and the Romanness of the provincial Roman populations of the Balkans.Less
This chapter focuses on four main chronological periods: the era prior to the arrival of the Huns, when the Goths were settled beyond the Danube; a first major phase of Gothic intrusion into the Balkans from 376 to the definitive departure of Alaric's Goths for Italy (407–408); the Hunnic era down to the late 460s; and, finally, from the arrival of the Amal-led Goths in Macedonia (473) until the departure of Theoderic the Amal for Italy (488–489). In each of these periods, the rhythm of relations between the Goths and the institutions of the Roman Empire as well as the population of the Balkans varied substantially, although some common themes and threads of development emerge. In each of them, it is also important to make a conceptual distinction between the Romanness generated by and for the central Roman state, and the Romanness of the provincial Roman populations of the Balkans.
Emma Dench
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198150510
- eISBN:
- 9780191710018
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198150510.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Modern treatments of Rome have projected in highly emotive terms the perceived problems or the aspirations of the present: ‘race-mixture’ has been blamed for the collapse of the Roman empire. More ...
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Modern treatments of Rome have projected in highly emotive terms the perceived problems or the aspirations of the present: ‘race-mixture’ has been blamed for the collapse of the Roman empire. More recently, Rome and Roman society have been depicted as ‘multicultural’. Moving beyond these and beyond more traditional, juridical approaches to Roman identity, this book focuses on ancient modes of thinking about selves and relationships with other peoples, including descent-myths, history, and ethnographies. It explores the relative importance of sometimes closely interconnected categories of blood descent, language, culture and clothes, and territoriality. Rome's creation of a distinctive imperial shape is understood in the context of the broader ancient Mediterranean world within which the Romans self-consciously situated themselves, and whose modes of thought they appropriated and transformed.Less
Modern treatments of Rome have projected in highly emotive terms the perceived problems or the aspirations of the present: ‘race-mixture’ has been blamed for the collapse of the Roman empire. More recently, Rome and Roman society have been depicted as ‘multicultural’. Moving beyond these and beyond more traditional, juridical approaches to Roman identity, this book focuses on ancient modes of thinking about selves and relationships with other peoples, including descent-myths, history, and ethnographies. It explores the relative importance of sometimes closely interconnected categories of blood descent, language, culture and clothes, and territoriality. Rome's creation of a distinctive imperial shape is understood in the context of the broader ancient Mediterranean world within which the Romans self-consciously situated themselves, and whose modes of thought they appropriated and transformed.
Mary Beard
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265413
- eISBN:
- 9780191760464
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265413.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
Starting from a famous address by Francis Haverfield, this chapter reflects on the relationship between Romano-British archaeology and the politics of the British empire, challenging any simple ...
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Starting from a famous address by Francis Haverfield, this chapter reflects on the relationship between Romano-British archaeology and the politics of the British empire, challenging any simple equation between the Roman empire and the modern. It also considers the nineteenth-century history of Hadrian's Wall, and its restoration.Less
Starting from a famous address by Francis Haverfield, this chapter reflects on the relationship between Romano-British archaeology and the politics of the British empire, challenging any simple equation between the Roman empire and the modern. It also considers the nineteenth-century history of Hadrian's Wall, and its restoration.
Andrew Poulter (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264027
- eISBN:
- 9780191734908
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264027.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
This book provides a significant insight into the changes that occurred in the late Roman period and which shaped the emergence of early medieval Europe. The book provides detail regarding the ...
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This book provides a significant insight into the changes that occurred in the late Roman period and which shaped the emergence of early medieval Europe. The book provides detail regarding the changes in the character of urbanism, military organization and the rural landscape which separate the Roman Empire from Late Antiquity (first to early seventh centuries AD). Some chapters focus on the lower Danube, others provide comparative studies which range from northern Italy and Pannonia to Greece, western Asia Minor and as far east as the Euphrates. These chapters compare the results of different international research teams but also contrast approaches and methodology in order to assess the extent to which these differences might account for apparently contradictory conclusions. The volume also demonstrates the uses and pitfalls encountered in attempts to combine evidence provided by ancient historians and archaeologists — a theme which has wider implications beyond this text.Less
This book provides a significant insight into the changes that occurred in the late Roman period and which shaped the emergence of early medieval Europe. The book provides detail regarding the changes in the character of urbanism, military organization and the rural landscape which separate the Roman Empire from Late Antiquity (first to early seventh centuries AD). Some chapters focus on the lower Danube, others provide comparative studies which range from northern Italy and Pannonia to Greece, western Asia Minor and as far east as the Euphrates. These chapters compare the results of different international research teams but also contrast approaches and methodology in order to assess the extent to which these differences might account for apparently contradictory conclusions. The volume also demonstrates the uses and pitfalls encountered in attempts to combine evidence provided by ancient historians and archaeologists — a theme which has wider implications beyond this text.
John R. Patterson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198140887
- eISBN:
- 9780191712166
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198140887.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Engaging with Fergus Millar’s observation that ‘Italy under the Empire has no history’, the introduction outlines the aims of the book, which is envisaged as a contribution to the history of imperial ...
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Engaging with Fergus Millar’s observation that ‘Italy under the Empire has no history’, the introduction outlines the aims of the book, which is envisaged as a contribution to the history of imperial Italy. It focuses on the paradox that the ‘golden age’ of the Roman Empire has often been thought a time of decline or even crisis for the Italian peninsula. It also emphasizes the multiplicity of local situations emerging from the documentary and archaeological evidence, and outlines the themes of the following chapters.Less
Engaging with Fergus Millar’s observation that ‘Italy under the Empire has no history’, the introduction outlines the aims of the book, which is envisaged as a contribution to the history of imperial Italy. It focuses on the paradox that the ‘golden age’ of the Roman Empire has often been thought a time of decline or even crisis for the Italian peninsula. It also emphasizes the multiplicity of local situations emerging from the documentary and archaeological evidence, and outlines the themes of the following chapters.
Peter Temin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147680
- eISBN:
- 9781400845422
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147680.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter draws together the implications of the previous chapters in order to investigate the size of the Roman economy at its maximum extent. If one takes Roman Italy as being comparable to the ...
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This chapter draws together the implications of the previous chapters in order to investigate the size of the Roman economy at its maximum extent. If one takes Roman Italy as being comparable to the Netherlands in 1600, then the Roman Empire as a whole is comparable to Europe as a whole. The putative advantages of the early modern Netherlands over Roman Italy are less clear than their advantages over the Roman Empire as a whole. Roman Italy was heavily urbanized, and it is probable that the proportion of the labor force in agriculture there was less than 50 percent. Rome did not have a bond market, but it had a more sophisticated financial system than the Netherlands. The comparability is enhanced by noting that neither the Netherlands nor Rome had an industrial revolution.Less
This chapter draws together the implications of the previous chapters in order to investigate the size of the Roman economy at its maximum extent. If one takes Roman Italy as being comparable to the Netherlands in 1600, then the Roman Empire as a whole is comparable to Europe as a whole. The putative advantages of the early modern Netherlands over Roman Italy are less clear than their advantages over the Roman Empire as a whole. Roman Italy was heavily urbanized, and it is probable that the proportion of the labor force in agriculture there was less than 50 percent. Rome did not have a bond market, but it had a more sophisticated financial system than the Netherlands. The comparability is enhanced by noting that neither the Netherlands nor Rome had an industrial revolution.
Margaret Malamud
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199584727
- eISBN:
- 9780191595301
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584727.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter argues that when America completed its continental conquest and embarked on overseas conquests analogies between the ancient Roman and modern American empires—often themselves mediated ...
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This chapter argues that when America completed its continental conquest and embarked on overseas conquests analogies between the ancient Roman and modern American empires—often themselves mediated by British imperial discourses about antiquity—were utilized to articulate and celebrate American empire. Fully aware of Great Britain's claims to being the new Rome, Americans asserted that the United States, not Great Britain, was the modern successor of the ancient Roman Empire. The American ex‐colonies themselves began to stake a claim to the inheritance of classical antiquity, both by employing the same compelling strategies and techniques of cultural ownership that had been so extensively employed by the British, and by forging new independent analogies and connections with Roman civilization and empire. Across the nation, negative references to the decadence, immorality, and imperial overreach of ancient Rome, previously common in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and a defining feature of late Victorian discourses, were now overshadowed by a celebratory linking of the ancient Roman and modern American empires. Visual representations and recreations of Roman imperial prosperity and luxury stimulated consumerism and consumption in the cornucopia of the new American empire.Less
This chapter argues that when America completed its continental conquest and embarked on overseas conquests analogies between the ancient Roman and modern American empires—often themselves mediated by British imperial discourses about antiquity—were utilized to articulate and celebrate American empire. Fully aware of Great Britain's claims to being the new Rome, Americans asserted that the United States, not Great Britain, was the modern successor of the ancient Roman Empire. The American ex‐colonies themselves began to stake a claim to the inheritance of classical antiquity, both by employing the same compelling strategies and techniques of cultural ownership that had been so extensively employed by the British, and by forging new independent analogies and connections with Roman civilization and empire. Across the nation, negative references to the decadence, immorality, and imperial overreach of ancient Rome, previously common in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and a defining feature of late Victorian discourses, were now overshadowed by a celebratory linking of the ancient Roman and modern American empires. Visual representations and recreations of Roman imperial prosperity and luxury stimulated consumerism and consumption in the cornucopia of the new American empire.
Peter Temin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147680
- eISBN:
- 9781400845422
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147680.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
The quality of life for ordinary Roman citizens at the height of the Roman Empire probably was better than that of any other large group of people living before the Industrial Revolution. This book ...
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The quality of life for ordinary Roman citizens at the height of the Roman Empire probably was better than that of any other large group of people living before the Industrial Revolution. This book uses the tools of modern economics to show how trade, markets, and the Pax Romana were critical to ancient Rome's prosperity. The book argues that markets dominated the Roman economy. It traces how the Pax Romana encouraged trade around the Mediterranean, and how Roman law promoted commerce and banking. It further shows that a reasonably vibrant market for wheat extended throughout the empire, and suggests that the Antonine Plague may have been responsible for turning the stable prices of the early empire into the persistent inflation of the late. The book vividly describes how various markets operated in Roman times, from commodities and slaves to the buying and selling of land. Applying modern methods for evaluating economic growth to data culled from historical sources, the book argues that Roman Italy in the second century was as prosperous as the Dutch Republic in its golden age of the seventeenth century. The book reveals how economics can help us understand how the Roman Empire could have ruled seventy million people and endured for centuries.Less
The quality of life for ordinary Roman citizens at the height of the Roman Empire probably was better than that of any other large group of people living before the Industrial Revolution. This book uses the tools of modern economics to show how trade, markets, and the Pax Romana were critical to ancient Rome's prosperity. The book argues that markets dominated the Roman economy. It traces how the Pax Romana encouraged trade around the Mediterranean, and how Roman law promoted commerce and banking. It further shows that a reasonably vibrant market for wheat extended throughout the empire, and suggests that the Antonine Plague may have been responsible for turning the stable prices of the early empire into the persistent inflation of the late. The book vividly describes how various markets operated in Roman times, from commodities and slaves to the buying and selling of land. Applying modern methods for evaluating economic growth to data culled from historical sources, the book argues that Roman Italy in the second century was as prosperous as the Dutch Republic in its golden age of the seventeenth century. The book reveals how economics can help us understand how the Roman Empire could have ruled seventy million people and endured for centuries.
Henry Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246953
- eISBN:
- 9780191600463
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246955.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This book provides a detailed narrative history of the first six centuries of the Christian Church, from the first followers of Jesus to the papacy of Gregory the Great (590–604). It describes how ...
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This book provides a detailed narrative history of the first six centuries of the Christian Church, from the first followers of Jesus to the papacy of Gregory the Great (590–604). It describes how Christianity, initially a persecuted sect, developed the ideas and organization to fulfil its ambition of being a universal faith, not tied to any particular people. The new religion had to separate itself completely from Judaism and set about the capture of the society and state of the Roman Empire during the centuries when the Empire divided into a Latin west and a Greek east and was beset by invasions by Christian and pagan barbarians, resulting in the disintegration of the western empire. Debates within Christianity, most fundamentally about the divine or human nature of Christ, are discussed in detail and in relation to both the politics and power struggles of the Empire and to the all‐important question of authority within the Church. The origins and fate of schismatic movements are considered in the context of the struggle for authority among the rival sees of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. Christianity is discussed, therefore, in relation to its internal growth and divisions and also to how it was viewed by Jews and pagans, showing its debts to and division from both its Jewish origins and Graeco‐Roman philosophy. The major theological and ecclesiastical texts and debates are considered in relation to the diverse beliefs and practices of the people who attended churches and the local and regional conditions that profoundly affected the outcome of events. The major Christian thinkers and their contributions to the success of Christianity are examined in detail. The importance of theological, personal, and political factors is demonstrated in showing how they fostered divisions in the Church and prevented reconciliation and balanced against the desire of successive emperors to foster unity for political reasons. The Church captured society, east and west, but at the cost of long‐lasting divisions and conflicts.Less
This book provides a detailed narrative history of the first six centuries of the Christian Church, from the first followers of Jesus to the papacy of Gregory the Great (590–604). It describes how Christianity, initially a persecuted sect, developed the ideas and organization to fulfil its ambition of being a universal faith, not tied to any particular people. The new religion had to separate itself completely from Judaism and set about the capture of the society and state of the Roman Empire during the centuries when the Empire divided into a Latin west and a Greek east and was beset by invasions by Christian and pagan barbarians, resulting in the disintegration of the western empire. Debates within Christianity, most fundamentally about the divine or human nature of Christ, are discussed in detail and in relation to both the politics and power struggles of the Empire and to the all‐important question of authority within the Church. The origins and fate of schismatic movements are considered in the context of the struggle for authority among the rival sees of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. Christianity is discussed, therefore, in relation to its internal growth and divisions and also to how it was viewed by Jews and pagans, showing its debts to and division from both its Jewish origins and Graeco‐Roman philosophy. The major theological and ecclesiastical texts and debates are considered in relation to the diverse beliefs and practices of the people who attended churches and the local and regional conditions that profoundly affected the outcome of events. The major Christian thinkers and their contributions to the success of Christianity are examined in detail. The importance of theological, personal, and political factors is demonstrated in showing how they fostered divisions in the Church and prevented reconciliation and balanced against the desire of successive emperors to foster unity for political reasons. The Church captured society, east and west, but at the cost of long‐lasting divisions and conflicts.
W. V. Harris
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233359
- eISBN:
- 9780191716348
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233359.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Scholars have generally agreed that all Roman money consisted of coins. This chapter argues that this consensus view is badly mistaken. Specifically, it is argued that that bullion was very seldom ...
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Scholars have generally agreed that all Roman money consisted of coins. This chapter argues that this consensus view is badly mistaken. Specifically, it is argued that that bullion was very seldom used for making payments during high classical times, except in emergencies and across the borders of the Roman Empire.Less
Scholars have generally agreed that all Roman money consisted of coins. This chapter argues that this consensus view is badly mistaken. Specifically, it is argued that that bullion was very seldom used for making payments during high classical times, except in emergencies and across the borders of the Roman Empire.
Alan Bowman and Andrew Wilson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199602353
- eISBN:
- 9780191731570
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602353.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE, Archaeology: Classical
This volume is a collection of studies focusing on population and settlement patterns in the Roman empire in the perspective of the economic development of the Mediterranean world c. 100 BC to AD ...
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This volume is a collection of studies focusing on population and settlement patterns in the Roman empire in the perspective of the economic development of the Mediterranean world c. 100 BC to AD 350. The analyses offered here highlight the issues of regional and temporal variation: Italy, Spain, Britain, Egypt, Crete, Asia Minor from the Roman republic to the early Byzantine period. Although they are by no means exhaustive, the contributions to this volume sketch out the varied landscapes in which the many general issues raised need to be further analysed. The relationship between urban settlements and their environs and the economy of rural settlements in or beyond those environs is crucial, and the authors suggest particular aspects that might repay analysis: the physical size of settlements and the relationship between size, location, and distribution. The chapters fall into two main groups, the first dealing with the evidence for rural settlement as revealed by archaeological field surveys, and the attendant methodological problems of extrapolating from that evidence to a view of population; and the second with city populations and the phenomenon of urbanization. They proceed to consider hierarchies of settlement in the characteristic classical pattern of city plus territory, the way in which those entities are defined, from the highest to the lowest level: the empire as ‘city of Rome plus territory‘, then regional and local hierarchies, and, more precisely, the identity and the nature of the ‘instruments‘ that enable them to function in economic cohesion.Less
This volume is a collection of studies focusing on population and settlement patterns in the Roman empire in the perspective of the economic development of the Mediterranean world c. 100 BC to AD 350. The analyses offered here highlight the issues of regional and temporal variation: Italy, Spain, Britain, Egypt, Crete, Asia Minor from the Roman republic to the early Byzantine period. Although they are by no means exhaustive, the contributions to this volume sketch out the varied landscapes in which the many general issues raised need to be further analysed. The relationship between urban settlements and their environs and the economy of rural settlements in or beyond those environs is crucial, and the authors suggest particular aspects that might repay analysis: the physical size of settlements and the relationship between size, location, and distribution. The chapters fall into two main groups, the first dealing with the evidence for rural settlement as revealed by archaeological field surveys, and the attendant methodological problems of extrapolating from that evidence to a view of population; and the second with city populations and the phenomenon of urbanization. They proceed to consider hierarchies of settlement in the characteristic classical pattern of city plus territory, the way in which those entities are defined, from the highest to the lowest level: the empire as ‘city of Rome plus territory‘, then regional and local hierarchies, and, more precisely, the identity and the nature of the ‘instruments‘ that enable them to function in economic cohesion.
A. G. POULTER
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264027
- eISBN:
- 9780191734908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264027.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in Late Antiquity and especially in observing — and trying to account for — the changes and evolutions which separate the Roman world from the ...
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In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in Late Antiquity and especially in observing — and trying to account for — the changes and evolutions which separate the Roman world from the early medieval successor states in the West, and the Byzantine Empire in the East. Most historians, once mistrustful of archaeology's potential role, now accept that this relatively new discipline can contribute substantially to the study of the ancient past. However, archaeology, like history, is constrained by its own limitations: excavation can provide no answers to questions not rooted in the data it extracts from the ground. This chapter, and the chapters which follow, cover a wide spectrum of issues, going beyond the problem of continuity or collapse on the lower Danube. Modern research programmes operating within the region and further afield, both in the northern Balkans and in Asia Minor, are analyzed. Cities and urbanism in the Roman Empire are discussed.Less
In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in Late Antiquity and especially in observing — and trying to account for — the changes and evolutions which separate the Roman world from the early medieval successor states in the West, and the Byzantine Empire in the East. Most historians, once mistrustful of archaeology's potential role, now accept that this relatively new discipline can contribute substantially to the study of the ancient past. However, archaeology, like history, is constrained by its own limitations: excavation can provide no answers to questions not rooted in the data it extracts from the ground. This chapter, and the chapters which follow, cover a wide spectrum of issues, going beyond the problem of continuity or collapse on the lower Danube. Modern research programmes operating within the region and further afield, both in the northern Balkans and in Asia Minor, are analyzed. Cities and urbanism in the Roman Empire are discussed.
MICHAEL WHITBY
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264027
- eISBN:
- 9780191734908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264027.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
In Late Antiquity, the Balkans were transformed from a relatively prosperous region to one of great insecurity, with emperors increasingly inclined to ignore problems as long as they did not threaten ...
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In Late Antiquity, the Balkans were transformed from a relatively prosperous region to one of great insecurity, with emperors increasingly inclined to ignore problems as long as they did not threaten the security of Constantinople itself; the Roman troops in the Balkans might appear inadequate in both quality and quantity for dealing with the challenges from beyond the Danube, particularly those posed by the great federations of Huns and Avars. Huns and Avars both shattered the Roman Empire's defences, but the process took time. Overall, the performance of the Roman army in the defence of the Balkans might seem mixed for such a significant area, although periods of considerable success should be recognized. Logistics as well as strategic and tactical thinking were powerful advantages for the Romans, and were exploited right through until the early seventh century.Less
In Late Antiquity, the Balkans were transformed from a relatively prosperous region to one of great insecurity, with emperors increasingly inclined to ignore problems as long as they did not threaten the security of Constantinople itself; the Roman troops in the Balkans might appear inadequate in both quality and quantity for dealing with the challenges from beyond the Danube, particularly those posed by the great federations of Huns and Avars. Huns and Avars both shattered the Roman Empire's defences, but the process took time. Overall, the performance of the Roman army in the defence of the Balkans might seem mixed for such a significant area, although periods of considerable success should be recognized. Logistics as well as strategic and tactical thinking were powerful advantages for the Romans, and were exploited right through until the early seventh century.
Averil Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263235
- eISBN:
- 9780191734328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263235.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The last generation has seen an ‘explosion’ in the study of late antiquity. Whether people call it ‘the later Roman empire’ or ‘late antiquity’, the term now in much more common use in English. ...
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The last generation has seen an ‘explosion’ in the study of late antiquity. Whether people call it ‘the later Roman empire’ or ‘late antiquity’, the term now in much more common use in English. Handbooks are rapidly appearing to help their teachers meet this demand and they too express the current understanding of what is to be included. This chapter argues that a particular model for the study of this period has come to have a strong influence on students and scholars alike, and it asks how and why this is so, and what implications there are for the future study of the subject. Andrea Giardina has called this a particularly Anglo-centric phenomenon.Less
The last generation has seen an ‘explosion’ in the study of late antiquity. Whether people call it ‘the later Roman empire’ or ‘late antiquity’, the term now in much more common use in English. Handbooks are rapidly appearing to help their teachers meet this demand and they too express the current understanding of what is to be included. This chapter argues that a particular model for the study of this period has come to have a strong influence on students and scholars alike, and it asks how and why this is so, and what implications there are for the future study of the subject. Andrea Giardina has called this a particularly Anglo-centric phenomenon.
