scholarly journals Undermining the Caesars: Using the Agricola to Demonstrate Tacitus' Attempt to Protest and Subvert Roman Imperialism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor R. Genovese
Keyword(s):  
Writing Style ◽  
Roman Imperialism ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Casual Reader ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ring Composition

Although Tacitus is known for his many publications on the histories and biographies about the Imperial Roman world, one who is a casual reader may not pick up on his sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant criticisms of Roman imperialism. Andrew Fear makes an excellent point when he wrote: “The Agricola is a complex text and it would be a mistake to see it dominated by one single narrative purpose” (Fear, 305). Tacitus employs a variety of writing techniques that range from ring composition to homage to sarcasm in order to express his views. In this paper I will be focusing on Tacitus’ biography of his father-in-law, G. Julius Agricola, and I will show how he has a history of subversive writing (especially in his Germania) as well having the ability to creatively structure his writing style so as to not anger authorities in an attempt to undermine and denounce both Roman imperialism and its rulers.

The Roman Retail Revolution

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. R. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Roman World ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Food And Drink ◽  
Bodies Of Evidence ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The University

Tabernae were ubiquitous among all Roman cities, lining the busiest streets and dominating their most crowded intersections, and in numbers not known by any other form of building. That they played a vital role in the operation of the city—indeed in the very definition of urbanization—is a point too often under-appreciated in Roman studies, or at best assumed. The Roman Retail Revolution is a thorough investigation into the social and economic worlds of the Roman shop. With a focus on food and drink outlets, and with a critical analysis of both archaeological material and textual sources, Ellis challenges many of the conventional ideas about the place of retailing in the Roman city. A new framework is forwarded, for example, to understand the motivations behind urban investment in tabernae. Their historical development is also unraveled to identify three major waves—or, revolutions—in the shaping of retail landscapes. Two new bodies of evidence underpin the volume. The first is generated from the University of Cincinnati’s recent archaeological excavations into a Pompeian neighborhood of close to twenty shop-fronts. The second comes from a field survey of the retail landscapes of more than a hundred cities from across the Roman world. The richness of this information, combined with an interdisciplinary approach to the lives of the Roman sub-elite, results in a refreshingly original look at the history of retailing and urbanism in the Roman world.

The Roman Military Base at Dura-Europos, Syria

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon James
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Military Base ◽  
Roman World ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Dynamic ◽  
Holy Places ◽  
History Of ◽  
Roman Military ◽  
Roman East

Dura-Europos, a Parthian-ruled Greco-Syrian city, was captured by Rome c.AD165. It then accommodated a Roman garrison until its destruction by Sasanian siege c.AD256. Excavations of the site between the World Wars made sensational discoveries, and with renewed exploration from 1986 to 2011, Dura remains the best-explored city of the Roman East. A critical revelation was a sprawling Roman military base occupying a quarter of the city's interior. This included swathes of civilian housing converted to soldiers' accommodation and several existing sanctuaries, as well as baths, an amphitheatre, headquarters, and more temples added by the garrison. Base and garrison were clearly fundamental factors in the history of Roman Dura, but what impact did they have on the civil population? Original excavators gloomily portrayed Durenes evicted from their homes and holy places, and subjected to extortion and impoverishment by brutal soldiers, while recent commentators have envisaged military-civilian concordia, with shared prosperity and integration. Detailed examination of the evidence presents a new picture. Through the use of GPS, satellite, geophysical and archival evidence, this volume shows that the Roman military base and resident community were even bigger than previously understood, with both military and civil communities appearing much more internally complex than has been allowed until now. The result is a fascinating social dynamic which we can partly reconstruct, giving us a nuanced picture of life in a city near the eastern frontier of the Roman world.

Across and Down

1939 ◽  
Vol 8 (24) ◽  
pp. 129-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Austin
Keyword(s):  
Lord Byron ◽  
The United States ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Crossword Puzzle ◽  
Casual Reader ◽  
History Of ◽  
Oxford Dictionary ◽  
Popular Work ◽  
Good Standard ◽  
Literary Phenomenon

The casual reader, on seeing these lines, might be forgiven for the thought that Lord Byron had the crossword puzzle in mind when he wrote them. In an uncertain world nothing is more certain than that this was not the case. Byron died in 1824. The crossword puzzle was born, at least in its popular modern shape, almost precisely a century later. Its history begins suddenly. Neither in the Concise Oxford Dictionary of 1921, nor in the twelfth edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, dated 1922, does the crossword appear at all. But from the year 1923 references to it become increasingly frequent. In 1924 a popular work entitled The Crossword Puzzle Book was published. In 1925 there was a reference to crosswords in Punch. In 1926 the thirteenth edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica had a short article on it. In 1928 the crossword puzzle was mentioned in Galsworthy's Swan Song. From that time every good standard dictionary or work of reference has included it. These facts document its emergence as a literary phenomenon in Great Britain. The history of the crossword in the United States is very similar, except that it would appear to have achieved stardom in the popular firmament a few months earlier in that country than in this.

A systematic method for estimating the populations of Greek and Roman settlements

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 301-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Hanson ◽  
S. G. Ortman
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Systematic Method ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
History Of ◽  
Urbanization Rate

The last few years have seen a growing interest in the urbanism of the Greek and Roman world. This has led to a consensus of sorts about some of its vital statistics, such as the sizes of the populations of the most important settlements and the size of the overall urban population, the urbanization rate (i.e., the share of individuals that lived in urban, rather than rural, contexts), and the total population. A good example comes from W. Scheidel in the Cambridge economic history of the Greco-Roman world. According to him, it is likely that c.1.5 million people lived in the 5 largest cities of the Greco-Roman world by the 2nd c. A.D. These included Rome, which is usually agreed to have had a population of about 1 million; Alexandria, which might have had c.500,000; Antioch, which could have had at least 150,000; and Carthage and Ephesus (Scheidel does not give explicit figures for those).

A book review: The History of Ural Literature. 19th century. In 2 vols. Ed. by E. K. Sozina. Moscow, Publishing house JASK, 2021, vol. 1. 664 p.; vol. 2. 778 p.

2021 ◽  
pp. 335-339
Author(s):  
Tatyana I. Rozhkova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Publishing House ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
The Urals ◽  
Process Understanding ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Literary Process ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genre Preferences

The review deals with the second volume of the academic edition “The History of Ural Literature,” prepared by a group of scholars from the Ural-Siberian scientific community. The merit of the issue is presenting the literary process and the Ural writers’ community as a complex sociocultural phenomenon aimed at work professionalization and connected with the history of the region’s self-determination. When presenting specific names, the authors of the project followed the principle description tasks: to show the connection of the writer’s biography and work with the territory, to emphasize how the works are filled with impressions of Ural life, to draw attention to the writer’s involvement in local cultural communities and support from leading literary figures and critics. Since the book covers a wide range of authors, a number of conclusions significant for the regional literary process understanding can be drawn. Biography materials allow speaking of a variety of social segments of people involved in writing: from base estates and plant workers to noble and intellectual people. Not everyone was ready for professional literary activity, but all quite openly demonstrated their reading tastes. By the end of the century, the cultural and aesthetic commonality of the Ural literature is defined. Its specific writing style becomes distinctive, with a tendency toward documentality, autobiography, and ethnography. Genre preferences become apparent. Genre preferences become apparent. Most importantly, the names appear, starting to be identified by critics as “the Urals writer.”

The Legal Policy and Reforms of Hadrian

1934 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz Pringsheim
Keyword(s):  
Small Towns ◽  
Roman Law ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Policy ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Frontier Region ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Roman Administration

The reign of Hadrian marks the beginning of a new epoch in Roman administration and in the history of Roman Law. Hadrian's visit to Britain is immortalised by the Wall which he built from Tyne to Solway. Its construction is characteristic of the Emperor's willingness to renounce further conquests and even to abandon land which had been Roman. The Wall marked the limit of the districts which he was prepared to retain and administer. It followed, not the shortest and easiest route, but a line beyond the fortified area whence a look-out could be kept over the barbarians outside, and its object was the completion and definition of the fortified frontier region whereby it became easier to civilise and to pacify the country which lay to the south. Hadrian's aim was to bring order and peace to the land bounded by the new frontiers of the Roman world. Thus Hadrian may be sharply contrasted with his predecessor Trajan, the soldier on the throne, who owed his elevation to his successful wars in the Rhine region, and who as Emperor extended the frontiers of the Empire on the lower Danube and in the East. On Hadrian's accession the Empire was more powerful than ever before or afterwards, but its financial and military resources were strained to the utmost, and indeed frequently had been overstrained. The small peasant owners and small towns, sources of Roman culture and prosperity, had begun to suffer and disappear.

A History of the Roman World from 753 to 146 B.C.Howard H. Scullard

1953 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-70
Author(s):  
Carl Roebuck
Keyword(s):  
Roman World ◽  
History Of
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