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Since the publication of Ernst Badian's groundbreaking study "Foreign Clientelae" in 1958, his emphasis on the personal relations between Roman senators and members of the provincial elites has become the dominant interpretation for studies of the Roman Empire. Accordingly, Rome not only conceptualized her relations with communities all over the Mediterranean in the form and language of patronage (amicitia, patronus, cliens) but also heavily relied upon them in order to control the Empire. Moreover, it is assumed that these relationships enhanced the position and influence of Roman nobles back home. In this volume, 18 authors from 6 countries reexamine some underlying theoretical assumptions of this paradigma as well as its actual application by means of different case-studies. As a result, it becomes clear that the usual methods for identifying foreign clientelae by identic names cannot be sustained and the importance of the phenomenon both for the Romans and for the Empire seems to be overestimated. The volume thus offers a fresh approach for analysing "Foreign Clientelae" while at the same time assessing its significance more appropriately.
About the author
Martin Jehne ist Professor für Alte Geschichte an der TU Dresden. Er leitet das Projekt 'Die Investition eigener Ressourcen in die Gemeinschaft von der mittleren Republik bis in die hohe Kaiserzeit' im Sonderforschungsbereich 804 'Transzendenz und Gemeinsinn'.
Francisco Pina Polo, geb. 1959, lehrt Alte Geschichte an der Universität von Zaragoza (Spanien). Seine Forschungen konzentrieren sich auf das republikanische Rom, insbesondere auf Aspekte der politischen Praxis, der Redekunst und der Institutionen.
Report
"This is a worthy collection, which offers thoughtful contributions to some of the most significant debates (old and new) in the study of the Roman Republic. [...] It deserves wide attention..." Federico Santangelo Journal of Roman Studies 107, 2017
