xvi Introduction
in chapter 16: ‘‘Empire and City, Augustus to Julian: Obligations, Excuses,
andStatus’’(1983).Thevitalityofcitylifewassappedbythemultiplication
ofexemptionsandimmunitiesfromperformingmunicipaldutiesgrantedas
rewardsforemploymentinthegrowingimperialcivilservice.Theinterplay
betweenprivateinitiativeandimperialhelplessnessorinconsistencyencour-
agedtheemergenceofstatusdistinctions,whichlefttheirmarkonthehon-
orificlanguageoftheinscriptionsevenbeforetheyreceivedlegalsanction.
TheprocessbywhichItaly,whichuntilDomitianhadoccupiedanabnormal
statusintheframeworkoftheEmpire,wasprovincializedisthesubjectof
chapter17:‘‘ItalyandtheRomanEmpire:AugustustoConstantine’’(1986).
Chapter18,‘‘StyleAbides’’(1981),shouldbereadtogetherwiththemore
personalnotesaboutMillar’steacher(andanearlierholderoftheCamden
chair), the late Sir Ronald Syme, in the prologue tovolume 1 (pp. 12–16).
BothstatementscontainimportantinsightsintoSyme’swork,interests,in-
tentions,andpersonality.Noless,however,dotheyrevealtousbycompari-
sonMillar’sownroadasahistorianofRome.MillarcertainlysharedSyme’s
impatiencewiththeGermanconstitutionalschool.InspeakingaboutSyme
he is clearlyexpressing his own feeling, familiar to all of us whowere his
studentsandwhofoundthetemptationofexploringsuchnotionsas‘‘The
imperium of Augustus’’ irresistible; whereas for Millar Syme’s ‘‘Imperator
Caesar: A Study in Nomenclature’’^9 represents ‘‘his finest single article’’—
preciselybecausetheelucidationofthetitleistakenfromthepoliticalreality
ofthetimeratherthanfromtheRomanlawbooks.
NotthatMillarisoblivioustotheenormousvalueofthewritingsofthe
Roman jurists for imperial history, as is made abundantlyclear in the two
chapters that conclude this volume (chapter 19: ‘‘A New Approach to the
RomanJurists,’’1986;andchapter20:‘‘TheGreekEastandRomanLaw:The
DossierofM.Cn.LiciniusRufinus,’’1999).Lamentably,thejuristictextshave
notreceived‘‘thetextualattentionalmostguaranteedtoanyonewhohadthe
sensetowriteinverse,’’andtheirinvaluablecontributiontoourunderstand-
ingof‘‘thecomplexculturallandscapeoftheEmpire’’hasbeensorelymissed.
ThecareeroftheGreekjuristM.Cn.LiciniusRufinustakesusbacksome
thirty-fiveyearstoA Studyof Cassius Dio(Oxford,1964),^10 whereforthefirst
timeMillaranalyzes‘‘thecomplex,andinhistoricaltermsextremelyimpor-
tant,processbywhichtheupperclassesoftheGreekEast‘becameRoman’
while‘stayingGreek.’’’
9.Historia7(1958):172–88(Roman PapersI,ed.E.Badian[Oxford,1979],361–77.- TheroleofGreeksinthedevelopmentofRomanlawintriguedMillaralreadythen;
seeA Study of Cassius Dio,188–89.