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This volume gathers twelve studies on key aspects of the history of Rome and its empire between the end of the Hannibalic War (200 BCE) and the election of Tiberius Gracchus to the tribunate (134 BCE). Through this periodization, which places the focus on what intervened between two major and well-studied historical turning points in Republican history, the book aims to bring new light to the interplay between imperial expansion, political volatility, and intellectual developments, and on the various levels on which historical change unfolded. The lack of a continuous ancient narrative for this period, even late or derivative, has shaped much of the historiographical discourse about it. This...
Explores frugal thought and practice in Roman history, from the archaic period to the early empire and beyond.
Bringing together experts on Roman history, the history of classical scholarship, and the history of international law, this book analyzes the context, making, and impact of the great Italian Renaissance scholar Carlo Sigonio (1522/3-84) and his reconstruction of the Roman colonial model.
Scholars, military men, and casual observers alike have devoted significant energy to understanding how the armies of the Roman Middle Republic (300 – 100 BCE) were able to function so effectively, examining their organization, hierarchy, recruitment, tactics, and ideology in close detail. But what about the concerns, interests, and goals of the soldiers who powered it? The present study argues that the military forces of the Middle Republic were not simply cogs in the Roman military machine, but rather dynamic and diverse social units that played a key role in shaping an ever-changing Mediterranean world. Indeed, the soldiers in the armies of this period not only developed connections wit...
Ancient and Modern Democracy is a comprehensive account of Athenian democracy as a subject of criticism, admiration and scholarly debate for 2,500 years, covering the features of Athenian democracy, its importance for the English, American and French revolutions and for the debates on democracy and political liberty from the nineteenth century to the present. Discussions were always in the context of contemporary constitutional problems. Time and again they made a connection with a long-established tradition, involving both dialogue with ancient sources and with earlier phases of the reception of Antiquity. They refer either to a common cultural legacy or to specific national traditions; they often involve a mixture of political and scholarly arguments. This book elucidates the complexity of considering and constructing systems of popular self-rule.
Enchantment and Creed in the Hymns of Ambrose of Milan offers the first critical overview of the hymns of Ambrose of Milan in the context of fourth-century doctrinal song and Ambrose's own catechetical preaching. Brian P. Dunkle, SJ, argues that these settings inform the interpretation of Ambrose's hymnodic project. The hymns employ sophisticated poetic techniques to foster a pro-Nicene sensitivity in the bishop's embattled congregation. After a summary presentation of early Christian hymnody, with special attention to Ambrose's Latin predecessors, Dunkle describes the mystagogical function of fourth-century songs. He examines Ambrose's sermons, especially his catechetical and mystagogical works, for preached parallels to this hymnodic effort. Close reading of Ambrose's hymnodic corpus constitutes the bulk of the study. Dunkle corroborates his findings through a treatment of early Ambrosian imitations, especially the poetry of Prudentius. These early readers amplify the hymnodic features that Dunkle identifies as "enchanting," that is, enlightening the "eyes of faith."
Antonio Gramsci and the Ancient World explores the relationship between the work of the Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci and the study of classical antiquity. The collection of essays engages with Greek and Roman history, literature, society, and culture, offering a range of perspectives and approaches building on Gramsci’s theoretical insights, especially from his Prison Notebooks. The volume investigates both Gramsci’s understanding and reception of the ancient world, including his use of ancient sources and modern historiography, and the viability of applying some of his key theoretical insights to the study of Greek and Roman history and literature. The chapters deal with the ideas of hegemony, passive revolution, Caesarism, and the role of intellectuals in society, offering a complex and diverse exploration of this intersection. With its fascinating mixture of topics, this volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of classics, ancient history, classical reception studies, Marxism and history, and those studying Antonio Gramsci’s works in particular.
This book offers a distinctive take on the civil wars that unfolded in the Late Roman Republic. It frames their discussion against the backdrop of the Mediterranean contexts in which they were fought, and sets out to bring to the centre of the debate the significance of provincial agency on a traumatic and complex process, which cannot be understood through an exclusive focus on Roman and Italian developments. The study of the late Republican civil wars can be productively read as an exercise of ‘connected history’, in which the fundamental interdependence of the Mediterranean world comes to the fore through a set of case studies that await to be understood through a properly integrative approach. Our project brings together an international and diverse lineup of scholars, who engage with a wide range of literary, documentary, and archaeological material, and make a collective contribution to the reframing of a problem that requires a collaborative and interdisciplinary outlook, and can yield invaluable insights to the understanding of the Roman imperial project.
The Impact of Mobility and Migration in the Roman Empire assembles a series of papers on key themes of Roman mobility and migration, discussing i.a. the mobility of the army, of the elite, of women, and war-induced mobility and deportations.