The Political Character of the Classical Roman Republic, 200–151 B.C.

1984 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fergus Millar
Keyword(s):  
Second Century ◽  
Roman History ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
The Political ◽  
Italian Peninsula ◽  
Special Place ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Greek East ◽  
Political Character

In any attempt to understand Roman history the first half of the second century B.C. must have a special place. Victory in the Hannibalic war had laid the foundations of a general dominance of the Mediterranean world, but had hardly yet produced an Empire. Outside Italy, only Sicily, Sardinia and two commands in Spain were normally allotted as provinciae for annual magistrates; and this list was not increased by the famous victories in the Greek East, Cynoscephalae, Thermopylae, Magnesia and Pydna. Roman imperialism is too crude a term for what we can observe between 200 and 151 B.C. Roman dominance was felt everywhere, from Spain to Carthage, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch and Ankara; Roman militarism was demonstrated consistently in N. Italy and Spain, at various periods in Greece and Macedonia (200–194, 191–187, 171–168), and for one period of three years in Asia Minor (190–188). Roman colonialism was still confined, with one very marginal exception, to the Italian peninsula.

TheKlineof Sarapis

1948 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert Chayyim Youtie
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Second Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Dead ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Prestige

Among the Graeco-Oriental cults that shared the loyalties of the Mediterranean peoples during the first four centuries of our era, the religion of Sarapis occupied a commanding position. Throughout his career Sarapis was a worker of miracles, but no miracle of his doing ever equalled in historical significance the political thaumaturgy by which he was brought to life. A composite figure created in the last years of the fourth century B.C. by the first Ptolemy, for the purpose of binding together the divergent ethnic elements of Egypt, he was the Greek Pluto imposed on Apis, the Egyptian bull-god of Memphis, who became at death another Osiris, and specifically Osiris-Apis. The identification was of the usual syncretistic type, since Pluto and Osiris were both gods of the dead. As a newcomer Sarapis underwent a long probation at the side of Osiris and Isis, and although with characteristic inconsequence Sarapis never wholly supplanted Osiris, by the second century A.D. he had become, together with Isis, the most beloved figure of the native pantheon, while outside Egypt he was receiving the reverent attention of Greeks of the rank of Plutarch and Aristides. In great measure, the prestige of his magnificent temple at Alexandria and the unceasing flow of propaganda literature account for his eminence at this time. His greatest glory, however, was still to come. In the fourth century, when the approaching victory of the Christian cult threatened all pagan beliefs with extermination, Sarapis took on the rôle of a universal solar deity.

Market Regulation and Transaction Costs in the Roman Empire

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elio Lo Cascio
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Unexpected Result ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
State Of Affairs

The unification of the Mediterranean world under Roman rule brought about the suppression of piracy and the resulting increased safety of seaborne commerce, better circulation of information, the spread of common metrological systems, the creation of a single monetary area, and the diffusion of common legal rules. All this certainly made the definition, protection, and exchange of property rights within the Empire much safer and therefore less expensive. This chapter shows, through the analysis of a series of interventions both at the central and at the local level, documented by juridical, epigraphic, and papyrological evidence, that this state of affairs was not merely the unintended and unexpected result of the political unification of the Mediterranean world, but the product of the role that the political organization of Rome purposely undertook in regulating market transactions, by guaranteeing the rights of all involved parties: producers, tradesmen, and consumers.

Empire of the Black Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duane W. Roller
Keyword(s):  
Roman Republic ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Northern Asia ◽  
Black Sea Region ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Almost All

Existing from the early third century BC to 63 BC, the Mithridatic kingdom of Pontos was one of the most powerful entities in the Mediterranean world. Under a series of vigorous kings and queens, it expanded from a fortress in the mountainous territory of northern Asia Minor to rule almost all the Black Sea perimeter. This is the first study in English of this kingdom in its entirety, from its origins under King Mithridates I around 280 BC until its last and greatest king, the erudite and cultured Mithridates VI the Great, fell victim to the expanding ambitions of the Roman Republic in 63 BC. Through a series of astute marriage alliances (one of which produced the ancestors of Cleopatra of Egypt), political acumen, and military ability, the Pontic rulers (most of whom were named Mithridates) dominated the culture and politics of the Black Sea region for over two hundred years. This book is a thorough exploration of the internal dynamics of the kingdom as well as its relations with the rest of the Mediterranean world, especially the ever-expanding Roman Republic.

scholarly journals Centered on the periphery : the changing dynamic between Ionia and imperial powers 454-c.294 BCE

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joshua P. Nudell
Keyword(s):  
Local Politics ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
The Political ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Classical Greece ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Mediterranean History ◽  
Frequent Site

Consisting of twelve cities on the coast of Asia Minor and proximate islands, Ionia is commonly thought to have flourished in the Archaic period, only to go into decline after the Persian conquest in 540 BCE before suffering through a long, fallow Classical period. In this interpretation, Ionia was reborn in the early Hellenistic period In the intervening years, the standard narrative goes, Ionia was a prize to be won by imperial contenders in the Aegean, and peripheral to both Greek and Persian history. Thus, Ionia is marginalized from histories of Classical Greece. This dissertation demonstrates that the traditional view of Ionia is far from true. The region was one of the nodes that connected East and West in the ancient world and thus was a frequent site of conflict. Ionians remained deeply embedded in Aegean networks, with their merchants playing a central role in the Aegean economy and their intellectuals playing critical roles both in local politics and in the evolution of Greek literature. I focus on the political, social, and economic situation of the Ionian cities along two axes of networks: one, regional interaction between Ionian communities, and another, how these regional relationships intersected with the broader imperial interaction in the Mediterranean world. By centering the narrative for Greek history on Ionia, I demonstrate that these communities and their inhabitants continually negotiated their position within the restrictions of larger conflicts. The Ionian cities played a critical role in Mediterranean history as active partners in the imperial projects of the states that subjugated the region.

scholarly journals Reading Cleopatra VII: The Crafting of a Political Persona

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Delaney ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Art ◽  
Roman History ◽  
Julius Caesar ◽  
Direct Connection ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Broad Audience ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Aesthetic Pleasure ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean

The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of Cleopatra VII, as well as how and why she wanted to be depicted in a certain manner with respect to visual art. As the last noble of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, her images communicate her political abilities, her religious fervor, her maternal obligations and obstinacy in perpetuating royal lineage, and her direct connection to ancient Egyptian gods. Additionally, by consummating relationships with two of the most powerful men in ancient Roman history (Julius Caesar and Mark Antony), she was able to cultivate her skills as an influential pharaoh, equal to that of her male counterparts, and solidify her status as pharaoh. In exploring the multicultural facets of her images, I argue that not only did they not function solely as objects of aesthetic pleasure, they also appealed to a broad audience so as to communicate her level of influence as recognized not only in Egypt, but throughout the Mediterranean world.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Davis-Secord
Keyword(s):  
Political Change ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Patterns Of Communication ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Systems ◽  
Economic Need

This conclusion summarizes the book's findings about Sicily's conceptual place in the Mediterranean world—a position that had been crafted by the Norman rulers. Later medieval maps, together with the Hereford Mappa Mundi, show that Sicily was closely integrated into larger currents in the political and religious world of Latin Christendom. The island's political and diplomatic role in the dār al-Islām was fundamentally different to what it had been under the Byzantine empire. Sicily's place within larger Mediterranean systems was determined not by its geographical location but by larger forces of political change, shifts in the balance of power, and economic need as well as the actions of regular people—merchants, pilgrims, envoys, and others—who traveled to and from Sicily and thus involved the island in patterns of communication, contact, conflict, and exchange.

Economic Stagnation in the Early Roman Empire

1946 ◽  
Vol 6 (S1) ◽  
pp. 63-90
Author(s):  
Mason Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Roman Domination ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Present Discussion ◽  
The Third ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Economic Stagnation ◽  
The Mediterranean

That the later Roman empire was a period of stagnation, not to say X of decline and total collapse, in the economic as in other spheres has long been recognized. But it has been the contribution of such modern scholars as Frank, Rostovtzeff, and Heichelheim to show that the symptoms and causes of this stagnation are not to be sought solely in the anarchy of the third century A.D. They may be detected earlier, behind the facade of peace and prosperity in the second century, and have roots which reach back into the very beginnings of the Roman domination over the Mediterranean world. In order to avoid too great extension in time, as well as in space, the present discussion will be limited to the symptoms and causes of economic stagnation that may be detected throughout the Mediterranean world during the early Roman empire, the two hundred and fifty odd years that elapsed from the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., which left Augustus master of the Mediterranean world, to the assassination of Severus Alexander in 235 A.D., which ushered in a half century of anarchy and eventually the totalitarian state of Diocletian and Constantine.

scholarly journals Border and Textuality in the Mediterranean: United States and Spain in Transition Towards Democracy under the Cold War

2021 ◽  
pp. 11-26
Author(s):  
José Luis Neila Hernández
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Spanish Society ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cold War

The Political Transition catalyzed a change process in the Spanish society that would lead to its international standardization. The international dimension was the key to understand the nature of the Spanish Policy concerning the Mediterranean Area, its close southern periphery, and the guidelines of the Modernization in a European and Western sense. The reflection about the meaning of the frontier in the historical and cultural background of the United States of America and Spain according to the Mediterranean world, is analyzed from these two approaches: on the one hand, the challenge and the debate about the Modernity and Modernization throughout the 20th century in the special context of the Political Transition; and, on the other hand, the different experiences that were converging from Washington and Madrid around the Mediterranean as a frontier in term of security.

Representations of Empire

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Near East ◽  
Source Material ◽  
The Political ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Relationship

This book covers the whole of the period in which Rome dominated the Mediterranean world. The belief shared by all the contributors is that the Roman empire is best understood from the standpoint of the Mediterranean world looking in to Rome, rather than from Rome looking out. The chapters focus on the development of political institutions in Rome itself and in her empire, and on the nature of the relationship between Rome and her provincial subjects. They also discuss historiographical approaches to different kinds of source material, literary and documentary — including the major Roman historians, the evidence for the pre-Roman near east, and the Christian writers of later antiquity. The book reflects the immense complexity of the political and cultural history of the ancient Mediterranean, from the late Republic to the age of Augustine.

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