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

The Mediterranean and the Roman Revolution 

Gallic society; but we do know that even before Caesar, Aquitanians had
servedinSpainwiththedissidentRomangovernorSertoriusinthes..,
thattheyhadreturnedhomeandwereavailabletoleadtheirfellowcountry-
meninresistancetoCaesar’sforcesin.^23 Wehaveclearevidencealsoof
Caesar’sinterventionsinGallicpoliticallife,andhisgrantsofcitizenshipand
otherfavourstoleadingGallicaristocrats,likethetwoAllobroganbrothers
towhomhehadgivenlargesumsofmoneyandstretchesofcapturedlandat
home,andhadappointedtolocaloffices—andwhothendesertedtoPompey
beforethebattleofPharsalus.^24 Otherfamiliesshowedabettersenseofsur-
vival,andtheC.IuliusRufuswhodedicatedtheRomanarchatSaintesin
.. was the grandson of a man whom Caesar had made a Roman citi-
zen.^25 Butitstillremainscompletelyuncertainwhatdegreeofcontinuityor
changeinpropertyrelationsorsocialstructurecharacterizedGaulafterthe
conquest,evenattheleveloftherichermembersofthemajorcivitates.^26
Butevenifwecouldreachsomesecuregeneralizationsabouttheupper
classes of Gaul, we would have to remember two things. The first is the
vastdifferencesofhabitsandculturebetweensocialclassesevenwithinthe
alreadyconqueredareas.Varroforinstanceclaimstohaveobservedinbar-
barianIllyricum(roughlyYugoslavia)howapeasantwomanwouldstepaside
from work, give birth to a child, and continue with her toil.^27 Butafew
decadesearlierPoseidoniushadreportedbeingtoldof justthesamething
amongworkershiredfordiggingonanestateinLiguriabelongingtoafriend
ofhisfromMassilia.^28
TheseworkersinLiguria,whosecustomsseemedtotallyforeignorbar-
bariantotheirownemployer,wereatleastwithinawage-earningeconomy,
receivingadailywageincashjustlikethoseinmanyoftheNewTestament
parables;andtheywerethuslinkedquitecloselytothetrans-Mediterranean

GaulstoHerodin..,seeJosephus,BJ,,(),andJosephus,AJ,,().For
Herod’sfuneral,seeJosephus,BJ,,(),andJosephus,AJ,,().
. Caesar,BJ,,–.
. Caesar,BJ,–,and.
.CILXIII,;cf.I. L. de Gaule,no..
. Forcontrast,seeJ.F.Drinkwater,‘‘TheRiseandFalloftheGallicIulii:Aspectsof
theDevelopmentoftheAristocracyoftheThreeGaulsundertheEarlyEmpire,’’Latomus
():–;E.M.Wightman,‘‘PeasantsandPotentates:AnInvestigationofSocial
StructureandLandTenureinRomanGaul,’’AJAH():–.
. Varro,RR,,.
. Strabo,,,().SeePoseidoniusI:The Fragments,ed.L.EdelsteinandI.G.Kidd
(),T.andF..