A Companion to the Roman Republic

by Nathan Rosenstein (Editor), Robert Morstein-Marx (Editor)

Overview

This Companion provides an authoritative and up-to-date overview of Roman Republican history as it is currently practiced.

• Highlights recent developments, including archaeological discoveries, fresh approaches to textual sources, and the opening up of new areas of historical study
• Retains the drama of the Republic’s rise and fall
• Emphasizes not just the evidence of texts and physical remains, but also the models and assumptions that scholars bring to these artefacts
• Looks at the role played by the physical geography and environment of Italy
• Offers a compact but detailed narrative of military and political developments from the birth of the Roman Republic through to the death of Julius Caesar
• Discusses current controversies in the field

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781444334135
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	02/01/2010
Series:	Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World , #57
Pages:	768
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Nathan Rosenstein is Professor of History at the Ohio State University. He is the author of Imperatores Victi (1990) and Rome at War (2004), and coeditor of War and Society in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds (2001).

Robert Morstein-Marx is Professor of Classics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Hegemony to Empire: The Development of the Roman Imperium in the East (1995) and Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman Republic (2004).

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Table of Contents

List of Maps x

List of Illustrations xi

Notes on Contributors xiv

Maps xix

Abbreviations xxvii

Preface xxviii
Robert Morstein-Marx and Nathan Rosenstein

Part I Introductory 1

1 Methods, Models, and Historiography 3
Martin Jehne
Translated by Robert Morstein-Marx and Benjamin Wolkow

2 Literary Sources 29
Edward Bispham

3 Epigraphy and Numismatics 51
Mark Pobjoy

4 The Topography and Archaeology of Republican Rome 81
Mario Torelli
Translated by Helena Fracchia

5 The Physical Geography and Environment of Republican Italy 102
Simon Stoddart

Part II Narrative 123

6 Between Myth and History: Rome’s Rise from Village to Empire (the Eighth Century to 264) 125
Kurt A. Raaflaub

7 Mediterranean Empire (264–134) 147
Daniel J. Gargola

8 From the Gracchi to the First Civil War (133–70) 167
C. F. Konrad

9 The Final Crisis (69–44) 190
W. Jeffrey Tatum

Part III Civic Structures 213

10 Communicating with the Gods 215
Jörg Rüpke

11 Law in the Roman Republic 236
Michael C. Alexander

12 The Constitution of the Roman Republic 256
John A. North

13 Army and Society 278
Paul Erdkamp

Part IV Society 297

14 Social Structure and Demography 299
Neville Morley

15 Finding Roman Women 324
Beryl Rawson

Part V Political Culture 343

16 The City of Rome 345
John R. Patterson

17 Aristocratic Values 365
Nathan Rosenstein

18 Popular Power in the Roman Republic 383
Alexander Yakobson

19 Patronage 401
Elizabeth Deniaux
Translated by Robert Morstein-Marx and Robert Martz

20 Rhetoric and Public Life 421
Jean-Michel David
Translated by Robert Morstein-Marx and Robert Martz

21 The Republican Body 439
Anthony Corbeill

Part VI The Creation of a Roman Identity 457

22 Romans and Others 459
Erich S. Gruen

23 History and Collective Memory in the Middle Republic 478
Karl-J. Hölkeskamp

24 Art and Architecture in the Roman Republic 496
Katherine E. Welch

25 Literature 543
William W. Batstone

Part VII Controversies 565

26 Conceptualizing Roman Imperial Expansion under the Republic: An Introduction 567
Arthur M. Eckstein

27 The Economy: Agrarian Change During the Second Century 590
Luuk de Ligt

28 Rome and Italy 606
John R. Patterson

29 The Transformation of the Republic 625
Robert Morstein-Marx and Nathan Rosenstein

Bibliography 638

Index 695

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A Companion to the Roman Republic is a really exciting new resource. The contributors are individually heavy-hitters and collectively form a first-rate international team. The work covers not just the topics one would have counted on but other new ones that deserve to become canonical. I’m happy that this work is now available both for myself and for my students."
–Andrew M. Riggsby, University of Texas, Austin

"A comprehensive work … It far outstrips any competitor in this subject … I only wish it had been available when I was teaching the Late Republic."
–John Murrell, Journal of Classics Teaching

"A kaleidoscopic variety of points of views and insightful commentaries that finally does justice to the complexity of the subject and of its possible interpretations, while always remaining readable and clear."
–Nicola Terrenato, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Editorial Reviews

"This book, which will be many things to many readers, will be valuable as a modern source and as a reference work vital in what is the ever increasing complex world of ancient historical research." (Scholia Reviews, 2009)

"Students cannot fail to benefit from the eminent collaborators [in this Companion].... Individual contributions have much for anyone keen to catch up." (Greece & Rome, 2008)

"It does provide readable, expert surveys of the rise of Roman power in the Mediterranean in the formative imperial era. In addition to chapters on political and social topics, this Companion offers fine surveys of topography, literature and literary sources, law, art and architecture, and Roman 'cultural identity.'...Highly recommended." (Choice)

“[Authors] do an excellent job of re-packaging Roman Republican history … and I applaud their efforts to provide … interesting debates within recent scholarship.” (New England Classical Journal)

From the Publisher