Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

 

The Political Character of the

Classical Roman Republic, –..

*

Polybio nostro

Introduction

InanyattempttounderstandRomanhistorythefirsthalfofthesecondcen-
tury..musthaveaspecialplace.VictoryintheHannibalicwarhadlaidthe
foundations of a general dominance of the Mediterranean world, but had
hardlyyetproducedanempire.OutsideItaly,onlySicily,Sardinia,andtwo
commandsinSpainwerenormallyallottedasprovincesforannualmagis-
trates;andthislistwasnotincreasedbythefamousvictoriesintheGreek
East, Cynoscephalae,Thermopylae, Magnesia, and Pydna. Romanimperial-
ismis too crude a term for what we can observe between  and ..
Romandominancewasfelteverywhere,fromSpaintoCarthage,Alexandria,
Jerusalem,Antioch,andAnkara;Romanmilitarismwasdemonstratedconsis-
tentlyinnorthernItalyandSpain,atvariousperiodsinGreeceandMace-

*FirstpublishedinJRS():–.Aversionofthischapterwasgivenasalecture
on  December , in London, as part of the obligations of the holderof the Balsdon
SeniorFellowshipattheBritishSchoolinRome.Ihopethatitmayserveasanexpression
ofthanksforthatopportunity,whichIenjoyedinSpring,andmayalsobearwitness
towhatIthenlearned,ortriedtolearn,ofthepublicspacesofrepublicanRome.Succes-
sive subsequent versions were given as lectures at Berkeley, Stanford, Santa Barbara, and
Princeton,andinparticularastheGeraldF.ElseLectureintheHumanities,whichIhadthe
honourtogiveatAnnArbor,Michigan,onMarch.Iamindebtedforpointsand
criticismstoProfessorsP.A.Brunt,ErichGruen,andAlanAstin,asalsotoMaryBeard.
Morefundamentally,whateverIhavecometounderstandabouttheRomanRepublicwas
learned from John North and Tim Cornell during the eight years at University College
London;thisremainsso,eventhoughboth(likethepersonsnamedabove)mightdisagree
withmuchthatissaidhere.Finally,thisarticleisatributetoFrankWalbank,towhomwe
alloweeverythingwhenitcomestoPolybius.

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