The Roman empire at its zenith in the period of the Principate (roughly,
27 BC to AD 235) covered vast tracts of three continents, Europe, Africa and
Asia. It encompassed countless cultures, languages, climates and diets. It
included nomads and sedentary farmers, primitive tribesmen and cultivated
urbanites, bandits and Platonic philosophers. How was it ruled? What forces
of cohesion held it together? What was the outcome of the confrontation of
imperial and local institutions, customs and values in the provincial setting?
How did the society and culture of the imperial capital itself adapt to foreign
(especially Greek and Oriental) infl uences and to the requirements of
emperors? What difference did it make to Romans, Italians and provincials
that monarchy had replaced oligarchy?
This is not a conventional history of the Roman empire. The structure is
thematic not chronological, and the standard topics of Roman history
(politics and the constitution, central administration and the military) are
not the focus of attention, but are integrated into a study of the society of
Rome as a whole. ‘Society of Rome’ in our usage encompasses the political,
social, economic, religious and cultural life and outlook of the inhabitants
of the Roman empire.
The study of Roman imperialism and the transformation of imperial
society and culture properly begins in the metropolis, but the challenge lies
in the description and analysis of Romanization and the identifi cation of its
limits in the provincial context. The subject calls for treatment on a grand
scale. Our book is limited in scope, being a general introduction to the main
issues.
No synthetic analysis is available of many of the themes here treated. In
particular, cultural history is fragmented by the specialized interests of its
practitioners. ‘Economy and society’ is not virgin soil, and much of our
discussion summarizes and responds to current debate. We also cover
unfamiliar terrain. The family and household, personal relationships and the
material implications of Roman rule for the subject populations have not
hitherto received systematic analysis. On the other side, we make no claim
to completeness of coverage. The book is idiosyncratic in the sense that
selection of both themes and documentation is infl uenced by our own
interests and areas of competence. The enterprise will have been worthwhile
if we have succeeded in extending the conventional bounds of Roman
history and provoked thought and stimulated the imagination in the process.
INTRODUCTION TO THE
FIRST EDITION
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