Republican Rome

The discussion on the spread of convivial luxury involving key figures of late Republican Rome reported in a passage of the 3rd book of the Saturnalia gives the opportunity to notice that around the end of the 4th century CE and the beginning of the 5th, Roman past history could be evaluated not merely through an idealized view, but also in order to censure some specific customs of the Republican period and to compare them with contemporary ones. In this light, in addition to stating the use of records from the pontifical archives as well as offering useful data from an historic-economic viewpoint, the exchange of opinions attributed to the two Albini brothers by Macrobius in this section of his work, allows us to suppose that through his antiquarian approach the author also meant to defend aristocratic ethics and probably reject the criticism about sumptuous trends which characterized banquets of the pagan élites in Late Antiquity.

Preface; 1 Introduction; 2 Materials, technique and building devices; 3 The foundation and the core of the podium and of the tribunal; 4 The measuring system and proportions of the temple; 5 The facing of he podium and the tribunal; 6 The superstructure of temple; 7 Catalogue of fragments fiund during the exavations; 6 The style; 9 Workshop and tradition 10 The reconstruction drawings of the Augustan temple; 11 Conclusion; Appendix 1 A rebuilding of the Metellan temple?; Appendix 2 Early modern graffiti on the superstructure of the temple of Castor and Pollux; Appendix 3 Catalogue of drawings, models and plaster casts from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, Forum Romanum, in Sir John Soane's Museum, London; Bibliography; Photo credits.

This thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach combining research methods in history and political science to propose that the fundamental cause of Rome’s entry into and later domination of the Greek world was its reaction to a series of geopolitical developments in the Mediterranean region around the years 219 – 188 BCE. The thesis contends that the dominant paradigm in current scholarship on Roman imperialism assigns too much value to the internal structures of Roman society and consequently overlooks the importance of developments in the interstate system, in which the Roman state was a participant.

Following Alexander’s unexpected death in 323, his subordinates waged constant warfare for the next four decades to divide the spoils of his vast empire. By the 280s, these wars subsided, and an unstable balance of power emerged in the east Mediterranean, between the Antigonid, Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties.

This balance of power shattered seventy years later due to a sudden decline in Ptolemaic power, caused by a massive native uprising in Egypt, chronic domestic maladministration and a series of unfortunate coincidences. Ptolemaic collapse triggered what political scientists term a power-transition crisis, as it motivated the Antigonid and Seleucid rulers to launch aggressive wars with the aim of capturing Ptolemaic territory. Their aggression threatened the independence of minor Greek states, which attempted to recreate a tripolar balance of power in the region by appealing to Rome for intervention in the crisis.

With the Roman defeat of the two great dynasties and the collapse of the third, a new interstate system emerged in the Mediterranean: hegemony under the government of the Romans.

La querela inofficiosi testamenti no conocía del litisconsorcio. Cuando había más de un coheredero forzoso, cada uno de ellos interponía su acción independientemente de los otros, con el objetivo de conseguir la cuota hereditaria que le correspondía en virtud de la sucesión intestada. Normalmente cada querelante ejercía su derecho de acción, por la propia cuota hereditaria. Nos preguntamos aquí si el querellante que accionaba podía acrecer su cuota si era así notorio el repudio de la querela por parte de uno o más coherederos. Los pasajes del Digesto parecen dar respuestas contradictorias y la doctrina moderna sospecha que existía una controversia en el derecho (ius controversum). Sobre la base de dos escolios de los Basílicos se intenta demostrar que las divergentes conclusiones de los juristas estaban referidas a distintos casos. La exégesis de los textos sugiere finalmente algunas reflexiones sobre la acción de los compiladores de Justiniano.

Ce livre offre un vaste panorama de l’histoire de la République romaine, saisie à l’époque de son apogée et envisagée dans son inexorable déclin. Embrassant ainsi une période qui va du milieu du IIè s. av. J.-C. à la mort de César, il ne s’interdit pas de rappeler quels furent les fondements de la République, comment elle naquit des cendres de la monarchie et comment elle se construisit sur le souvenir d’un passé auréolé de grandeur. Les rouages institutionnels, la mainmise aristocratique sur la vie politique ne peuvent en effet recevoir sens que de l’Histoire, telle que Rome l’a, sinon vécue, du moins recomposée.

Les étudiants de licence et des classes préparatoires littéraires, y trouveront une initiation à l’univers politique, civique et social des Romains à l’époque médio- et tardo-républicaine.
Enrichi de nombreux documents, textes ou illustrations, cet ouvrage obéit à une démarche pédagogique, où la lecture est facilitée par la mise en valeur de la problématique et des idées clés.
S'y ajoutent un lexique de plus de 250 entrées, les biographies des principaux auteurs, une chronologie, un rappel des connaissances essentielles, et une méthode présentant le commentaire de texte et la dissertation avec des exemples rédigés.

Throughout the 20th century, scholars have initiated a process aiming to overcome social biases, especially from scholarly studies of the Roman Republic (509–27 BC) where women remain silent.  In this paper, I reassess women’s experiences as publicly active agents in their community. To do so, I examine how women’s image was shaped by public opinion. Their use of space is revealed not only by evidence ‘left’ by women themselves, but also by members of their inner and outer social circles. Thus, I argue that to fully understand women’s spatial experience, we should not limit ourselves to analyse the messages sent by their environment, but to consider their own use of space itself. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate how women behaved around these spaces. And when writing about the Roman society, we need to refuse to do as some of our predecessors: to systematically ignore women from our narratives.

Les crises, écrivait le spécialiste de la Rome antique, Pierre Cosme, dans L’année des quatre empereurs, sont « révélatrices du fonctionnement d’un système politique ». Le Ier siècle av. J.-C. est pour le monde romain synonyme d’instabilité. Après avoir vacillé durant la Guerre sociale (91 – 88 av. J.-C.) et l’affrontement des imperatores Marius et Sylla (88 et 82 av. J.-C.), la stabilité républicaine eut été proche de son terme en l’an 63 av. J.-C., si la désormais célèbre conspiration de Catilina n’avait pas échouée. Maints autres évènements sillonnant cette année charnière. Celle-ci fut pérennisée par l’historiographie antique, puis moderne et contemporaine, comme une année durant laquelle le monde romain fut traversé de divers évènements, glorieux comme dramatiques. A la conjuration de Catilina s’ajoutent une grave crise économique et le triomphe de Pompée en Orient face au roi du Pont Mithridate VI, resté longtemps dans les mémoires comme un antagoniste majeur de la puissance romaine, digne d’un Hannibal traversant les Alpes durant la deuxième guerre punique.

This paper examines Francesco Guicciardini's various efforts to engage, evade or protest Machiavelli's arguments concerning social class, the constitution of liberty and preferable forms of tyranny in his "Considerations on Machiavelli's Discourses" [1530].1 As a prominent Florentine ottimato and a dutiful servant of Medici princes, Guicciardini might be fully expected to resist or refute Machiavelli's frequent endorsements of the moral, cognitive and even pragmatic superiority of peoples over nobilities and princes. Additionally, Guicciardini's antipopular orientation may have been inflamed at the time that he wrote the "Considerations" since

This is the text of a talk I gave for the SCS’s 2016 conference in San Francisco.  All translation are my own, as are all errors. The actions taken by the members of the Ordo Matronae to avoid a proposed tax on their members in 42BCE reflects a long established procedure by which influential Republican Matrons could influence political decisions.

Part I surveys the development of Rome’s physical topography and urban image from hut village to imperial city. Part II focuses on administration, infrastructure, maintenance, population and housing, economy and production, water and food distribution, and political and cultural practices, e.g., public bathing and spectacles. Ends with student presentations.

The genealogy of the Postumii Albini from the second half of the second century BCE onwards is uncertain and debated. This article attempts a new discussion of the evidence. Its main contention is that A. Postumius Albinus, cos. 99, should be distinguished from the homonymous legate, brother of Sp. Postumius Albinus, cos. 110; that the two moneyers A. Postumii Albini were, in all likelihood, not directly related to each other and were probably sons of the last two consuls of the family; and, as a consequence, that at least two lines of descent between the second and the first century BCE can be discerned. On the basis of these results, a new stemma of the ancient patrician family of the Albini is put forward.

This is an old paper deriving from the Albegna Valley Survey, directed by myself and Maria Grazia Celuzza.  It looks at the relationship between the sites discovered and the centuriation of the territory of Saturnia, detecting a dense pattern of small farms to the east of the colony, and, conversely, a looser structure of large villas to the south and east.  I conclude that only a portion of the territory was assigned to new coloni, and that some was perhaps left to the original landlords.  The published paper got the name wrong (Centuriated not Centuriate) and messed up the images, repaired here.

This book deals with the fate of one of the oldest and largest tangible remains of ancient Rome: the fourth century BCE city wall, incorporated in the city's symbol of modernity, the central train station of Termini. Through a "heritageography" of the renowned station, the book tells a history of modern Italy and the classical tradition, exploring the dynamic of the interplay of ancient and modern in the Eternal City in the period 1860–1950.

It is a commonplace to point out that Rome's rapid rise to power in the ancient world resulted in great measure from its position in the Italian peninsula. Surrounded by mountains on all sides except on the south the Urbs is situated in the midst of a plain of volcanic origin, known as the Campagna. The Tiber flows through the city from north to south on its way to Ostia, the ancient seaport, where it empties into the ocean. Although the seven traditional hills upon which the city was built still retain their ancient names and may still be traced, in some cases their elevation is so slight as to be disappointing to those who visit Rome for the first time.

What then has caused the changes in ground level which have taken place since the ancient period? It seems clear that many of the elaborate buildings of the Empire were superimposed upon the foundations of earlier structures which had not been completely demolished. Then too, as parts of ancient Rome fell into ruin during the Middle Ages, the débris was not cleared away, but structures of the Renaissance period were build upon the accumulated rubbish. Views of the Roman Forum dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries show the columns of the ancient temples buried deep in the earth, a clear indication of the extent to which the ground level had risen.

In seeking to ferret out the secrets buried beneath the . .

Quali istituzioni politiche hanno accompagnato - e in parte determinato - la straordinaria vicenda storica di Roma antica? Cosa conosciamo del loro funzionamento e della loro evoluzione? Quali sono stati i principali interrogativi della lunghissima tradizione esegetica della quale siamo debitori? In base a quali suggestioni, invece, per secoli si è reinterpretato, attualizzato e, non da ultimo, strumentalizzato il vincente – e avvincente – “modello romano” nelle sue varie declinazioni? Per quali ragioni la comprensione di concetti politici d’indubbia attualità non può prescindere dallo studio di Roma antica? Tenendo presenti questi interrogativi di fondo, l’autore propone una guida sintetica al complesso sistema politico-istituzionale romano: un sistema che, sebbene lontano, offre ancora molti spunti di riflessione

È opinione comune, presso gli studiosi moderni, che i giudici privati del processo civile romano (giudici monocratici o recuperatores) appartenessero alle classi sociali più elevate e più colte e che mantenessero, nel ricoprire il loro incarico, un atteggiamento di grande dignità. Questo dato appare in effetti confermato se si considerano tutti i giudici privati, dei quali le testimonianze antiche hanno tramandato l’identità. Ci sono tuttavia significative fonti letterarie, che presentano indizi dai quali è lecito sospettare, di fatto, l’esistenza di una seconda ‘categoria’ di giudici privati, costituita da persone di bassa estrazione sociale, che mantenevano spesso, nell'esercizio della funzione, comportamenti tutt’altro che incensurabili. I giudici di questo secondo gruppo erano, nella maggior parte dei casi, probabilmente quelli scelti al di fuori dell’album iudicum. Dall’indagine è risultato anche che, sebbene le due categorie di giudici fossero per molti aspetti differenziate tra loro, esse erano tuttavia assimilate per un importante carattere comune: l’imperitia iuris dei giudicanti, che si trova a più riprese lamentata dalle fonti antiche.

This article aims at throwing light on the connection between the municipal élite of Lanuvium and some members of Rome’s senatorial aristocracy. In particular, from the examination of the sources, a picture of a close tie between the Caecilii Metelli and the gentes Lanuvinae becomes apparent, allowing one to suppose that a patronage relationship existed between the powerful family and the municipium already in the 2nd century BC. At the beginning of the following century, the city of Lanuvium openly supported Silla. The attitude of the Lanuvian community is characterized by the involvement of the Licinii Murenae in the Mithridatic War alongside the dictator. Further indications of the presence in the municipium of the Caecilii Metelli, particularly devoted to the poliadic goddess Iuno Sospita Mater Regina, can be found in the background of these events.

« À peine t'ai-je aperçue, Lesbia, que ma voix expire dans ma bouche ; ma langue est paralysée, un feu subtil coule dans mes membres, un bourdonnement intérieur fait tinter mes oreilles et une double nuit s'étend sur mes yeux 1. » L'intensité du coup de foudre vécu par Catulle fut telle qu'il en revit encore les manifestations physiologiques : bourdonnements d'oreille, trouble visuel, perte de la parole – quelle ironie pour un poète ! Cette réécriture latine, au i er siècle av. J.-C., d'un poème grec de Sappho, qui vécut au vii-vi e siècle av. J.-C., ferait presque croire à des émotions universelles, partagées par les Grecs et les Romains, voire par un Français du xvii e siècle : « Je le vis, je rougis, je pâlis à sa vue », s'écrie la Phèdre de Racine. De telles citations laisseraient croire à peu de diffé-rences entre « eux » et « nous », et à une proximité entre les Romains et notre époque pour ce qui concerne les émotions, puisqu'ils étaient à même de décrire d'une façon qui nous est accessible celles que l'on peut qualifier de « simples » ou d'universelles : la colère, l'amour, la peur, le chagrin… et auxquelles les plus riches, dans leurs luxueuses demeures, étaient constamment renvoyés par les statues expressives de l'art hellénistique. Toutefois, la strophe finale, ajout proprement catullien, insistant sur le désarroi de la conscience coupable du jeune homme, fait évoluer le poème vers une autre dimension, où la morale civique heurte de front le désir et la passion : « L'oisiveté, Catulle, t'est funeste ; l'oisiveté te transporte et t'excite trop ; l'oisiveté, jadis, a perdu tant de rois et de villes florissantes. » L'évocation discrète des leçons de l'histoire et de l'épopée vient ici appuyer une morale de l'effort qui n'apparaissait pas chez la poétesse de Lesbos ; plus encore, le thème de la passion aliénante ne renvoie pas d'abord à une aliénation par rapport à soi (même si celle-ci est bel et bien présente dans le texte), mais à une aliénation de l'individu par rapport à la cité. Subsumée sous 66 264469FEB_HISTOIRE_DES_EMOTIONS1_cs6_pc.indd 66

Campaigns of Germanicus, AD 13-16 describes briefly the campaigns, joint and combined ops., tactics, strategy, foreign policy, espionage, intelligence gathering, and strategy between ca. 60 BC and AD 150 with particular focus on Germanicus' campaigns.

The ancient tradition of Pompey’s celebrating his first triumphs as pro praetore and pro consule nominated by the Senate is contrary to the rule, according to which only high magistrates had ius triumphandi. To resolve this controversy, the author argues the idea that Pompey was elected as a praetor of Sicily for 81 and Hispania Citerior for 76 BC. His praetorium imperium in both provinciae not much differed from that of promagisterial and, perhaps therefore, was described as such by the historians who wrote after the law of Pompey '52 BC, when the Senate had got the ability to provide an imperium for promagistracies.

This course presents a broad survey of historical forces at work over the past 6,000 years, examining the manners in which human societies have organized themselves along categories of race, ethnicity, class, and gender to meet the challenges of the increasing human population and its demands on natural resources: thus, it examines continuity and change in societies over time, in different places, and among various peoples.

The scope of Hamilton’s project is not historical reconstruction, but an “attempt to show what the Romans were as they appear in their great authors” (263). Hamilton’s aim is to pinpoint the peculiar Roman qualities that distinguished them from the other cultures of antiquity (263). In order to do this, Hamilton takes her readers on a thirteen-chapter whirlwind tour of the most influential Roman writers—describing their texts and the Rome in which they lived. The book is written in four rough sections: the establishment of Roman letters in the comedies of Plautus and Terence (chapters 1-3); the Republic and Caesar as depicted by Cicero (chapters 4-6); the age of Augustus as depicted in the poetry of Catullus and Horace (chapters 7-10); and the elevation to romantic literature before the bifurcation and disintegration of Roman society (chapters 11-13). In each chapter, Hamilton makes the case that Roman writers were “Romans first” and “individual artists only second” (264). Her thesis is that in the end the differences between Roman authors were “superficial compared to their fundamental resemblances” (264). All followed “the Roman way.”

A pesquisa visa aprofundar, a partir dos Discursos sobre a primeira década de Tito Lívio e História de Florença , a teoria do conflito em Maquiavel, defendendo o confronto dos desejos de povo e grandes como a fundamentação de sua existência. Nos Discorsi têm -se o exemplo do conflito em seu auge, pois é através dos desejos díspares entre povo e grandes que se conquista e mantém a liberdade republicana. Nas Istorie , Maquiavel relata a degeneração do conflito por meio da corrupção ocasionando a decadência da re pública florentina. A obra desvela o oposto do que seria o conflito saudável relatado nos Discorsi . Nas Istorie , Maquiavel abre espaço para interpretações divergentes em relação às possíveis transformações de sua teoria conflitual. Teóricos como Del Lucchese e Ames defendem que o florentino modifica seu pensamento aceitando a confluências dos
desejos, e sua possível equiparação, onde povo se iguala aos grandes ao desejar o domínio e o poder. A tese diverge dessa corrente, ao defender a natureza dos desejos como elemento central na composição da teoria conflitual, tendo como condição de sua existência serem heterogêneos, antagônicos, dissimétricos e imutáveis.

Au cours des dernières décennies, la recherche sur l’aristocratie romaine s’est largement diversifiée en s’ouvrant, au-delà des aspects politiques et prosopographiques bien défrichés, à de nouvelles problématiques telles que les formes de communication des élites, la sémiologie du pouvoir ou encore les  apports entre les pratiques politiques et l’espace. La monographie s’insère dans ces nouvelles approches et y apporte une importante innovation : si l’espace de la vie aristocratique a longtemps été conçu de façon dichotomique entre urbs et rus, entre domus et uilla, le travail proposé démontre la pertinence d’un troisième espace trop longtemps négligé par la recherche, les horti résidentiels de Rome. L’étude des jardins en tant que résidences aristocratiques, situées dans des espaces verdoyants en dehors et en même temps très proches de la ville, permet de remplacer la dichotomie domus-uilla par le triptyque domus-horti-uilla, de découvrir un cadre peu connu de l’action politique, ainsi que les conditions et potentialités des interactions spécifiques à ce troisième lieu de résidence. L’étude des horti s’appuie sur une analyse systématique de l’ensemble des sources littéraires. Elle prend en compte les données archéologiques lorsqu’elles sont conservées et disponibles. L’étude de l’historiographie des jardins est le préalable de la conceptualisation de l’objet de recherche.

Abstract
This article examines the longstanding rivalry of Rome and Parthia, which began as an unintended consequence of Crassus’ decisive defeat at Carrhae in 53 BCE. It synthesizes the accounts and opinions of numerous Graeco-Roman writers from the Augustan Age to late antiquity in order to help illustrate the new and interconnected post-Carrhae world and its legacy. The rivalry of the Romans and Parthians became a primary focus of their foreign policies and drastically expanded their perceptions of the world in which they interacted. Even after the fall of the Parthians to the rebellious Sassanid Persians in the 220s CE, the Romans continued to find their three-century-long rivalry with the Parthians of interest and relevant to the changing world of late antiquity.

Lo studio affronta alcuni aspetti inerenti al tema della legittimazione attiva e passiva ai processi di querela inofficiosi testamenti. Il volume si sviluppa lungo quattro capitoli. Il primo ha per oggetto le norme fondamentali sulla legittimazione alla querela. Il secondo esamina le conseguenze che si verificavano quando l’azione era esercitata da un soggetto non legittimato. Il terzo tratta della disciplina del diritto di accrescimento tra legittimati attivi. Il quarto, infine, analizza un frammento delle Quaestiones di Paolo, D. 5.2.19 (lex “Mater”), molto noto e incluso dal Medio Evo, per la sua difficoltà, tra le cosiddette leges damnatae. Di tale testo viene proposto un tentativo di spiegazione nuovo, inquadrando il passo dal punto di vista dei problemi legati alla legittimazione attiva e passiva alla querela inofficiosi testamenti. Sotto il profilo cronologico, l’indagine ha come punto di partenza il diritto classico, ma, per i singoli temi affrontati, ne segue gli sviluppi fino al diritto giustinianeo e poi a quello bizantino dei Basilici e dei relativi scolii. È parso all’autore che, in relazione al tema trattato, lo studio di tali fonti bizantine risulti di utilità ai fini di una migliore comprensione dei testi classici.