The Romans: From Village to Empire

How did a single village community in the Italian peninsula eventually become one of the most powerful imperial powers the world has ever known? In The Romans: From Village to Empire, Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel Gargola, and Richard J.A. Talbert explore this question as they guide readers through a comprehensive sweep of Roman history, ranging from the prehistoric settlements to the age of Constantine.

Vividly written and accessible, The Romans traces Rome's remarkable evolution from village, to monarchy, to republic, and eventually to one-man rule by an emperor whose power at its peak stretched from Scotland to Iraq and the Nile Valley. Firmly grounded in ancient literary and material sources, the book describes and analyzes major political and military landmarks, from the Punic Wars, to Caesar's conquest of Gaul and his crossing of the Rubicon, to the victory of Octavian over Mark Antony, and to Constantine's adoption of Christianity. It also introduces such captivating individuals as Hannibal, Mithridates, Pompey, Cicero, Cleopatra, Augustus, Livia, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Shapur. The authors cover issues that still confront modern states worldwide, including warfare, empire building, consensus forging, and political fragmentation. They also integrate glimpses of many aspects of everyday Roman life and perspective--such as the role of women, literature, entertainment, town-planning, portraiture, and religion--demonstrating how Rome's growth as a state is inseparable from its social and cultural development.

Ideal for courses in Roman history and Roman civilization, The Romans is enhanced by almost 100 illustrations, more than 30 maps (most produced by the Ancient World Mapping Center), and 22 textual extracts that provide fascinating cultural observations made by ancient Romans themselves.

Vividly written and attractively designed with almost 100 illustrations, this is an authoritative account of one of history's most remarkable peoples.

How did a single village community in the Italian peninsula eventually become one of the mightiest imperial powers the world has ever known? In The Romans, Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel Gargola, and Richard J.A. Talbert tackle this question as they guide readers through a comprehensive sweep of Roman history, ranging from the prehistoric settlements to the age of Constantine.

Vividly written and attractively designed with almost 100 illustrations, The Romans expertly unfolds Rome's remarkable evolution from village, to monarchy and then republic, and finally to one-man rule by an emperor whose power at its peak stretched from Scotland to Iraq and the Nile Valley. Firmly grounded in ancient literary and material sources, the book captures and analyzes the outstanding political and military landmarks--from the Punic Wars, to Caesar's conquest of Gaul and his crossing of the Rubicon, to the victory of Octavian over Mark Antony, to Constantine's adoption of Christianity. Here too are some of the most fascinating individuals ever to walk across the world stage, including Hannibal, Mithridates, Pompey, Cicero, Cleopatra, Augustus, Livia, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Shapur. The authors bring to life many aspects of Rome's cultural and social history, from the role of women, to literature, entertainments, town-planning, portraiture, and religion. The book incorporates more than 30 maps, mostly produced by the Ancient World Mapping Center; in addition, 22 boxes interspersed throughout feature varied excerpts of writings by Romans themselves.

Rome's story is one of history's most remarkable chronicles. The Romans gives marvelous fresh insight into a people's truly monumental achievement--their ambition, glory, and suffering.

Mary T. Boatwright is Professor of Ancient History in the Department of Classical Studies at Duke University. She is the author of Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire and Hadrian and the City of Rome. Daniel Gargola is Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and author of Lands, Laws, and Gods: Magistrates and Ceremony in the Regulation of Public Lands in Republican Rome. Richard J.A. Talbert is Kenan Professor of History and Classics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A past president of the Association of Ancient Historians, he is the author of The Senate of Imperial Rome, and editor of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World.

Maps

Figures

Preface

Acknowledgments

Notes to the Reader

1. Early Italy

Italy and the Mediterranean World

The Evidence

Italy Before the City

The Iron Age in Etruria, Latium, and Campania

Greeks and Phoenicians in the Central Mediterranean

The Rise of Cities

Beginning of Writing

Appearance of an Elite

Cities and Monumental Architecture

Warfare in the Orientalizing and Archaic Periods

Social and Economic Organization

Greeks and Etruscans

Greek Cities of Southern Italy and Sicily

Etruscans

2. Rome's First Centuries

Emergence of an Urban Community

The Romans and Their Early History

Table 2.1 Dates of Rome's Kings According to Varro

Box 2.1 Plutarch, Romulus 11

Rome Under the Kings

Rome and the Latins

The Early Republic

Beginning of the Republic

Rome and Its Neighbors in the Fifth Century

Struggle of the Orders

3. Rome and Italy in the Fourth Century

Fall of Veii and the Sack of Rome

The City and Its Institutions in the Fourth Century

Officials

Senate

Assemblies of Citizens

Box 3.1 Servius Tullius' Creation of the Census (Livy)

Table 3.1 Roman Assemblies

The City, Its Gods, and Its Priests

Box 3.2 The Roman Games (Dionysius of Halicarnassus)

Rome and Central Italy

Warfare and the Civic Order

Rome in Latium and Campania

Samnite Wars

Expansion of Roman Hegemony in Italy

Wars in Central and Northern Italy

Conquest of the South

War and the Roman State

4. The Beginnings of a Mediterranean Empire

Sources

The Nobility and the City of Rome

Box 4.1 Triumph of Scipio Africanus (Appian)

Wars with Carthage

First Punic War (264-241)

Second Punic War (218-201)

Box 4.2 Romans' Vow of 217 (Livy)

A Mediterranean Empire

Governors, Provinces, and Empire

Spain

Greece and Asia Minor

Box 4.3 Slave Trade on Delos (Strabo)

North Africa

5. Italy and Empire

Senators, Officials, and Citizen Assemblies

Italy and the Consequences of Empire

Changing Relations Between Rome, Its Municipia, and Allies

Roman and Italian Elites

Box 5.1 Scipio Africanus' Army Loots Carthago Nova (Polybius and Livy)

Demographic and Economic Changes

Roman Politics from the Mid-Second Century

Scipio Aemilianus

Tiberius Gracchus

Box 5.2 The Background to Tiberius Gracchus' Land Proposal (Appian)

Gaius Gracchus

6. Italy Threatened, Enfranchised, Divided

War with Jugurtha (112-105)

Italy Threatened from the North (113-101)

Changes in the Roman Army

Marius' Career in Roman Politics

Box 6.1 Marius' Bid for the Consulship (Sallust)

Sixth Consulship of Marius and Second Tribunate of Saturninus (100)

Administration of the Provinces

Tribunate of Livius Drusus (91)

Social War (91-87)

Tribunate of Sulpicius Rufus (88)

Sulla's First March on Rome (88)

Cinna's Rule (87-84)

Sulla's Second March on Rome (83-82)

7. The Domination of Sulla and Its Legacy

Sulla's Proscriptions (82-81)

Sulla the Dictator and His Program (82-81)

Senate

Tribunate

Equites, Courts

Citizens

Governors

Verdicts on Sulla's Program

Box 7.1 Cicero's Defense of Sextus Roscius

Lepidus' Rising and Its Aftermath (78-77)

Challenge from Sertorius in Spain (80-73)

Box 7.2 Pompey's Letter from Spain (Sallust)

Spartacus' Slave Revolt (73-71)

Consulship of Crassus and Pompey (70)

Roman Women

Pompey Frees the Mediterranean of Pirates (67)

Threat from King Mithridates VI of Pontus

Sulla's Campaign Against Mithridates (87-85)

Lucullus' Struggle with Mithridates (74-67)

Pompey's Defeat of Mithridates (66-63)

Roles of Crassus and Cicero in Rome (65-63)

Catiline's Rising (63-62)

8. End of the Republic: Caesar's Dictatorship

Sources

Pompey's Return from the East (62)

Pompey and Political Stalemate in Rome

Partnership of Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar

Caesar's First Consulship (59)

Clodius' Tribunate (58)

Cicero's Recall and the Renewal of the Triumvirate (57-56)

Caesar's Campaigns in Gaul (58-51)

Death of Clodius and Pompey's Sole Consulship (52)

Prospect of Civil War (51-49)

Causes and Consequences of Caesar Crossing the Rubicon (January 49)

Cicero's Governorship of Cilicia (51-50)

Civil War Campaigns (49-45)

Caesar's Activity as Dictator (49-44)

Caesar's Impact upon the City of Rome

Political Prospects for Rome, and for Caesar

9. Augustus and the Transformation of the Roman World

Reactions to the Assassination of Caesar (44-43)

Emergence of a Second Triumvirate (43)

Battle of Philippi (42)

Box 9.1 Laudatio Turiae

Perusine War (41-40)

Elimination of Sextus Pompey and Lepidus (39-36)

Antony in the East (42 onwards)

Clash Between Antony and Octavian (36-30)

Octavian as Sole Ruler (30 Onwards)

"The Republic Restored"

Second Settlement (23)

Latin Literature in the Late Republic and Augustan Age

Succession

Table 9.1 The Julio-Claudian Family

Senate and Equites

Army

The Empire and Its Expansion

Box 9.2 Oath of Loyalty

City of Rome

Attitudes Outside Rome

Res Gestae of Augustus

Augustus: Final Assessment

10. The Early Principate (A.D. 14-69): The Julio-Claudians, the Civil War of 68-69, and Life in the Early Empire

Sources

The Julio-Claudian Emperors: Civil Government and Military Concerns

Tiberius (14-37)

Box 10.1 Senatorial Decree Concerning the Elder Gnaeus Piso

Gaius (Caligula) 37-41

Claudius (41-54)

Box 10.2 Claudius' Speech on the Admission of Gauls to the Senate

Nero (54-68)

Civil War in 68-69

Economic and Social Change

Army

Economy

Intellectual Life

"Beneficial Ideology"

Cities and Provinces

Diversity: Women, Local Languages, and Culture

Religious Practices and Principles

Imperial Cult

11. Institutionalization of the Principate: Military Expansion and Its Limits, the Empire and the Provinces (69-138)

Sources

Institutionalization of the Principate

Vespasian (69-79)

Titus (79-81)

Domitian (81-96)

A New, Better Era?

Nerva (96-98)

Trajan (98-117)

Hadrian (117-138)

Table 11.1 The Antonine Family

Box 11.1 Hadrian Inspects Troops at Lambaesis, Numidia

Roman Cities and the Empire's Peoples

Theaters and Processions

Circuses and Chariot Racing

The Amphitheater, and Gladiatorial Games

Other Urban Amenities

Education

State Religion and Imperial Cult

12. Italy and the Provinces: Civil and Military Affairs (138-235)

Sources

Antoninus Pius (138-161)

Marcus Aurelius (161-180) and Lucius Verus (161-169)

Box 12.1 A Greek Provincial Praises Roman Citizenship

Box 12.2 Morbidity and Mortality in the Roman Empire

Commodus (176-192, Sole Augustus after 180)

Septimius Severus (193-211)

Table 12.1 The Severan Family

Box 12.3 Deification Ceremonies for Pertinax in Septimius Severus' Rome

Caracalla (198-217, Sole Augustus after 211)

Macrinus (217-218)

Elagabalus (218-222)

Severus Alexander (222-235)

Roman Law

Roman Citizenship

Box 12.4 Grant of Roman Citizenship (Tabula Banasitana)

Rome and Christianity

Box 12.5 Pliny, Trajan, and Christians

13. The Third Century, the Dominate, and Constantine

Sources

Mid-Third Century

Aurelian (270-275)

Dicoletian, the Tetrarchy, and the Dominate (284-305)

Box 13.1 The Tetrarchs Introduce their Edict on Maximum Prices

Dissolution of the Tetrarchy (305-313), and the Rise of Constantine (306-324)

Box 13.2 Galerius' Edict of Toleration (Lactantius)

Constantine and the Empire

Timeline

Glossary

Principal Ancient Authors

Art Credits

Index

Gazetteer