Ancient Roman Civilization: History and Sources 753 BCE to 640 CE

by Mathisen, Ralph W.

• ISBN13: 9780190849603
• ISBN10: 0190849606
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2018-09-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Ancient Roman Civilization: History and Sources: 753 BCE to 640 CE integrates in a single volume both a historical narrative and parallel translated primary sources. The book's unifying theme of cultural confrontation--how the Romans interacted or engaged with a multitude of other Mediterranean, Asiatic, and African cultures--is interwoven throughout.

Author Biography

Ralph W. Mathisen is Professor of History, Classics, and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has authored, edited, or coedited thirteen books and has published 100 scholarly articles.

Table of Contents

List of Maps
Preface
Note on Spelling and Pronunciation
Timeline
About the Author
PART I. THE ORIGINS OF ROME
Chapter 1. The Wider World of Early Rome: Cultural Encounters
The Peoples of Western Europe
The Iberian Culture of Spain
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Dama de Elche
The Celts
Northern Europe
The Peoples of North Africa
The Saharan World
The History Laboratory: Ancient Civilizations from Above
Carthage
Digging Antiquity: Carthage
The Greeks
The Wars of the Successors
The Hellenistic Greek Kingdoms
The Peoples of Western Asia
The Jews
The Nabataean Arabs
Steppe Nomads: Scythians and Sarmatians
The Parthians
SOURCES
Source 1.1: The Expansion of the Celts into Greece and Anatolia (279-277 BCE)
Justin, Philippic Histories, Books 24-28
Source 1.2: The Constitution of Carthage (ca. 340 BCE)
Aristotle, Politics, Book 2, Chapter 11
Source 1.3: The Wars of the Successors (323-301 BCE)
Justin, Philippic Histories, Book 13
Source 1.4: Revolt of the Maccabees (167 BCE)
The Book of Maccabees
Source 1.5: The Scythians (513 BCE)
Herodotus, The Histories, Book 4
Source 1.6: The Parthians (ca. 250-100 BCE)
Justin, Philippic Histories, Book 41
CHAPTER 2. ROME OF THE KINGS (753-509 BCE)
Cultural Encounters of the Early Romans
The Peoples of Italy
The Etruscans
Mysteries of History: The Origin of the Etruscans
The Western Greeks
Rome of the Kings (753-509 BCE)
The Founding of Rome
Rome Becomes a City
Early Roman Society
The History Laboratory: Reconstructing Early Rome
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: The Lapis Niger
The Fall of the Monarchy
SOURCES
Source 2.1: The Founding of Rome (753 BCE)
Plutarch, Life of Romulus
Source 2.2: Rome of the Kings (ca. 550 BCE)
The Lapis Niger
Source 2.3: The Violation of Lucretia and the Founding of the Roman Republic (509 BCE)
Livy, From The Founding of the City, Book 1, Chapters 57-60
PART II. THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
CHAPTER 3. THE EARLY ROMAN REPUBLIC (509-350 BCE)
The Creation of the Roman Republic (509-246 BCE)
Roman Republican Government
Historical Controversy: The Origins of Roman Social Relations
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Denarius of Marcus Junius Brutus
Citizenship and Social Organization
The Conflict of the Orders (500-287 BCE)
Strength in Numbers
Social and Political Reforms
Consolidation of Senate Authority
Roman Law
Struggling to Survive (509-350 BCE)
Early Conflicts
The Gallic Sack of Rome
Digging Antiquity: The Servian Wall
SOURCES
Source 3.1: The Origins of Roman Law (451-450 BCE)
The "Twelve Tables"
Source 3.2: The Sack of Rome by the Gauls (390 BCE)
Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 5, Chapters 32-42
CHAPTER 4. THE EXPANSION OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (350-120 BCE)
Wars in Italy (350-268 BCE)
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Denarius of Marcus Sergius Silus
The Nature of Roman Warfare in the Middle Republic
The First Samnite War (343-341 BCE)
The Great Latin Revolt (340-338 BCE)
The Second Samnite War (326-304 BCE)
The Third Samnite War (298-290 BCE)
The Pyrrhic War (280-275 BCE)
Historical Controversy: The Nature of Roman Imperialism
Wars in the Western Mediterranean (264-201 BCE)
The First Punic War (264-241 BCE)
The Illyrian and Celtic Wars (229-219 BCE)
The Second Punic War (218-201 BCE)
Warfare Spreads to the East (200-146 BCE)
The Second Macedonian War (200-197 BCE)
The Syrian War (192-188 BCE)
The Third Macedonian War (170-168 BCE)
The Third Punic War (149-146 BCE)
The Fourth Macedonian War and Achaean Revolt (149-146 BCE)
The Wars in Spain (181-133 BCE)
SOURCES
Source 4.1: The Devotion of Decius Mus (295 BCE)
Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 10, Chapters 27-29
Source 4.2: The Battle of Cannae (216 BCE)
Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 22, Chapters 34-57
CHAPTER 5. THE IMPACT OF EXPANSION ON ROME IN THE SECOND CENTURY BCE
Economic Developments
Roman Coinage
Public Expenses
The Rise of the Equestrians
What to Do with the Provinces
Provincial Administration
Problems in the Provinces
The Extortion Court
Social and Cultural Consequences of Expansion
Intellectual and Literary Development
Religious Assimilation
The Changing Status of Women
The Agricultural-Military Crisis
Tiberius Gracchus and the Distribution of Public Land
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Denarius of Publius Licinius Nerva
What to Do with the Italian Allies?
Gaius Gracchus and the Expansion of Popular Tactics
SOURCES
Source 5.1: The Bacchanalian Scandal and a Criminal Investigation of the Impact of Foreign Cultures on Rome (186 BCE)
Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 39, Chapters 5-19, and "The Recommendation of the Senate on the Bacchanalians"
Source 5.2: A Roman "New Man" Confronts Greek Culture (234-149 BCE)
Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder
Source 5.3: The Land Law of Tiberius Gracchus (133 BCE)
Plutarch, Life of Tiberius Gracchus
CHAPTER 6. THE DECLINE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (120-44 BCE)
From One Crisis to the Next (113-88 BCE)
Marius and the Volunteer Army
The History Laboratory: Climate and History, The Cimbrian Flood
The Revolt of the Italian Allies
An Age of Generals (88-60 BCE)
The Regnum Sullanum
Crassus and the Revolt of Spartacus
The Rise of Pompey
Marcus Tullius Cicero and the Conspiracy of Catiline
Julius Caesar and the First Triumvirate (60-44 BCE)
The Rise of Julius Caesar
The First Triumvirate
Digging Antiquity: The Siege of Alesia
The Civil War
Late Republican Literature
Late Republican Poets
Politicians at Leisure
SOURCES
Source 6.1: Sulla's March on Rome (88 BCE)
Plutarch, Life of Sulla
Source 6.2: The Slave Revolt of Spartacus (73-71 BCE)
Plutarch, Life of Crassus
Source 6.3: The Catilinarian Conspiracy (63 BCE)
Cicero, First Speech against Catiline
Source 6.4: The Siege of Alesia (52 BCE)
Caesar, Gallic Wars, Book 7, Chapters 68-89
Source 6.5: Late Republican Poetry (ca. 60 BCE)
Catullus, Poems
PART III. THE PRINCIPATE
CHAPTER 7. AUGUSTUS AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (44 BCE-14 CE)
The Second Triumvirate (43-31 BC)
Mysteries of History: Cleopatra, The Legend and the Reality
The Establishment of the Principate (31-21 BCE)
From Octavian to Augustus
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Caesarion and Cleopatra
The Principate
The Age of Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE)
The Provinces: Expansion and Defense
Provincial Administration
Winning the Hearts and Minds of the People
Dealing with the Army
Propaganda
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: The Gemma Augustea
The Augustan Golden Age of Literature
The Imperial Succession
The History Laboratory: Reconstructing the Deeds of the Deified Augustus
SOURCES
Source 7.1: Cleopatra, Pharaoh and Queen of Egypt (48-31 BCE)
Plutarch, Life of Caesar and Life of Antony
Source 7.2: An Exemplary Roman Woman (ca. 20 BCE)
The "Praise of Turia"
Source 7.3: Anchises Prophesizes the Future of Rome (19 BCE)
Vergil, Aeneid, Book 6
Source 7.4: The Secular Games (17 BCE)
Horace, "The Secular Hymn"
Source 7.5: The Deeds of the Deified Augustus (14 CE)
Res gestae divi Augusti
CHAPTER 8. JULIO-CLAUDIANS, FLAVIANS, AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF EMPIRE (14-96 CE)
The Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27 BCE-96 CE)
Tiberius (14-37)
Caligula (37-41)
Claudius (41-54)
Nero (54-68)
Cultural Encounters: Rome Confronts Charismatic Barbarian Leaders
The Year of the Four Emperors
The Flavian Dynasty (69-96 CE)
Vespasian (69-79)
Titus (79-81) and Domitian (81-96)
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: The Sack of Jerusalem (70 CE)
Digging Antiquity: Pompeii
The Origins of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth
Christians and Jews
SOURCES
Source 8.1: The Emperor Caligula (37-41 CE)
Suetonius, Life of Caligula
Source 8.2: Expanding the Membership of the Senate (48 CE)
The "Claudian Recommendation of the Senate Regarding the Right of Honors for the Gauls," H. Dessau, Selected Latin Inscriptions, No. 212; and Tacitus, Annals, Book 11, Chapters 23-25
Source 8.3: The Rebellion of Boudicca (60-61 CE)
Tacitus, Annals, Book 14, Chapters 31-37
Source 8.4: The Accession of the Emperor Vespasian (69 CE)
"The Law on the Imperium of Vespasian"
Source 8.5: The Fall of Masada (74 CE)
Josephus, The Wars of The Jews, Book 7, Chapter 9
Source 8.6: The Speeches of Agricola and Calgacus before the Battle of Mount Graupius (83 CE)
Tacitus, Agricola, 29-32
Source 8.7: The Trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate (ca. 28/37 CE)
The New Testament, Matthew 27:11-16; Mark 5:1-30; John 18:28-40 and 19:1-24; and Luke 23:1-25 CHAPTER 9. THE ROMAN PEACE (96-192)
The Antonine Dynasty (96-192)
Nerva (96-98)
Trajan (98-117)
Hadrian (117-138)
Antoninus Pius (138-161)
Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
Historical Controversy: The Dark Side of Romanization
The Evolution of Roman Law
The End of the Antonines
The World of the Pax Romana
Society and Culture
Entertainment
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Female Gladiators
Digging Antiquity: The Econodmy
The Silver Age of Roman Literature
Cultural Encounters: Rome and the Far East
Religious Diversity
Traditional Religious Practices
Judaism in the Roman World
The Christians and Rome
SOURCES
Source 9.1: Hadrian Inspects The Troops (128 CE)
The Lambaesis Inscription
Source 9.2: Roman Misogyny (ca. 100 CE)
Juvenal, Satire 6
Source 9.3: Praise of the Roman Empire (ca. 155 CE)
Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus, To Rome
Source 9.4: The Jews Confront Rome (133-180 CE)
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 39a, Sabbath 33b, Me'ilah 17b
Source 9.5: Dealing with Christians (ca. 112 CE)
Pliny, Letters 10.96-97
CHAPTER 10. THE SEVERANS AND THE THIRD-CENTURY CRISIS (192-284)
The Severan Dynasty (193-235)
Jockeying for Power
The Reign and Policies of Septimius Severus
A Restive Army
Financial Collapse
The History Laboratory: The Debasement of the Silver Coinage
Imperial Women and Boy Emperors
The Imperial Crisis (235-284)
A Multitude of Emperors
The Illyrian Emperors
Hopeful Signs
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Christ as the Sun God
SOURCES
Source 10.1: The Antonine Constitution (212 CE)
Papyrus Gissensis 40; and Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 78, Chapter 9
Source 10.2: "The Vigil of Venus" (ca. 200/300 CE)
Pervigilium Veneris
Source 10.3: The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas (7 March 203 CE)
Companions ion of Saint Perpetua, Saint Felicitas, and their Source 10.4: The New Persian Empire (ca. 270 CE)
The Shapur I Inscription
Source 10.5: Zenobia and the Empire of Palmyra (267-272 CE)
The Augustan History, "Odenathus" and "Zenobia"
PART IV. LATE ANTIQUITY
CHAPTER 11. THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (284-337)
Diocletian and the Late Roman Empire
Diocletian and the Dominate
Strategies for Survival
Digging Antiquity: Piazza Armerina
Constantine and the Late Roman Empire
The Rise of Constantine
Strategies for Survival
Constantine and Christianity
Using Religion to Support the Empire
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: The Arch of Constantine
The Emperor's Role in the Christian Church
Historical Controversy: Constantine's Christianity
Thinking of the Future
Constantine's Successors
The Legacy of Diocletian and Constantine
SOURCES
Source 11.1: The "Edict on Maximum Prices" (301 CE)
Edictum de pretiis rerum venalium
CHAPTER 12. THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-395)
The Successors of Constantine (337-395)
The Dynasty of Constantine
The Dynasty of Valentinian and Theodosius
The Triumph of Christianity and the World of the Church
Christian Competitors
The Political Victory of Christianity
The Christian Life
Asceticism and Monasticism
The Late Roman World
The Role of the State
Late Roman Economy and Infrastructure
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: A Late Roman Governor Hears a Case
Late Roman Society
New Opportunities
Late Antique Literary Culture
The History Laboratory: The Creation of the Christian Biblical Canon
SOURCES
Source 12.1: The Imperial Oppression of Pagans, Jews, and Heretics
The Theodosian Code (437 CE)
Source 12.2: The Murder of Hypatia of Alexandria (415 CE)
Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, Chapter 15; and John of Nikiû, Chronicle, Chapter 84
Source 12.3: Monastic Life on the Eastern Frontier (CA. 350/390 CE)
Jerome, The Life of Malchus the Captive Monk
Source 12.4: The Late Roman Criminal Legal Process (ca. 370 CE)
Jerome, Letter 1
Source 12.5: The Retreat to the Countryside (ca. 415 CE)
The Inscription of Claudius Postumus Dardanus
CHAPTER 13. THE FALL OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE (375-476)
A New Set of Problems
Cracks in the Facade
The Late Roman Empire and its Neighbors
The Arrival of the Visigoths
Cultural Encounters: The Huns
The Final Separation
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: A Gold Medallion of Valens
The Fall of the West
The "Barbarian Invasions"
Perceptions of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Digging Antiquity: The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths
Historical Controversy: The Barbarian Settlement, Catastrophe Versus Transformation
SOURCES
Source 13.1: The Battle of Adrianople (378 CE)
Ammianus Marcellinus, Histories, Book 31, Chapters 12-14
Source 13.2: The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths (410 CE)
Orosius, History against the Pagans, Book 7, Chapters 38-40
Source 13.3: The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths in God's Plan (410 CE)
Augustine, City Of God, Book 1
Source 13.4: The Sack of Rome by the Vandals (455 CE)
Procopius, History of the Wars, Book 3, Chapter 5
Source 13.5: The Last Emperor in Rome (476 CE)
CHAPTER 14. THE BARBARIAN SUCCESSOR KINGDOMS: THE END OF ANTIQUITY IN THE WEST (476-751)
The Post-Roman West
The Nature of Barbarian Rule
Potential Problems
The History Laboratory: Ethnicity versus History versus Culture
Barbarian Kingdoms
The Visigoths
The Vandals
The Ostrogoths
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: The Medallion of Theoderic the Great
The Anglo-Saxons and Irish
The Burgundians
The Franks
Classical Culture in Post-Roman Empire
The Last Latin Classical Writers
The Preservation of Classical Culture
SOURCES
Source 14.1: The Visigothic King and His Court (ca. 455/464 CE)
Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters 2.1
Source 14.2: The End of the Vandal Kingdom (533 CE)
Procopius, History of the Wars, Book 3, Chapters 10-20
Source 14.3: The Conversion of Clovis (496 CE)
Gregory of Tours, Histories, Book 2, Chapters 28-31
Source 14.4: The Persistence of the Classical Tradition of Barbarian Europe (ca. 575 CE)
The Poem of Eucheria
CHAPTER 15. BYZANTIUM AND ISLAM: THE END OF ANTIQUITY IN THE EAST (402-650)
The Byzantine Empire
The Age of Theodosius II
Marcian and the Quarrel over the Nature of Christ
The Dynasty of Leo
The Age of Justinian
The Policies of Justinian
Digging Antiquity: Hagia Sophia
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: The Court of Justinian and Theodora
The Successors of Justinian
Heraclius and the Greek Empire
The Rise of the Arabs and Islam
Cultural Encounters: Desert Nomads, The Arabs and Saracens
Arabia in the Classical World
Muhammad and the Rise of Islam
The Confrontation between Byzantium and the Arabs
Mysteries of History: The Destruction of the Library of Alexandria
The Expansion of the Muslim World
The End of Antiquity
SOURCES
Source 15.1: The Acclamations of the Senate of Rome (438)
Theodosian Code, "Acts of the Senate"
Source 15.2: The Character of Justinian and Theodora (527-548 CE)
Procopius, Secret History, Prologue, 1-12 5
Source 15.3: The Rise of Islam (627-629 CE)
al-Tabari, History of the Prophets and Kings, 1619
Source 15.4: The Muslim Conquest of Egypt (640 CE)
John of Nikiu, Chronicle, Chapters 111-120
Glossary
Credits
Index