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This volume offers an original and innovative analysis of Roman political culture in Italy from the first to the sixth century AD, drawing on seven case studies to argue against the prevailing view among historians that deliberative and participatory politics effectively ended with the institution of the Roman monarchy under Augustus.
List of contents
- Frontmatter
- List of Tables
- 0: Introduction
- 1. The End of Politics
- 2. Beyond Politics
- 3. The Hole at the Centre
- 4. The Concept of Political Culture
- 5. Researching Roman Political Culture
- 6. Seven Major Characteristics
- 1: Debating Space
- 1. The View from Heaven
- 2. Divus Claudius
- 3. Undeifying Claudius
- 4. 'To See Everyone in Toga'
- 5. Claudius the Stranger
- 6. Debating Debates
- 2: The Constraints of Patronage
- 1. Beyond Democracy
- 2. The Programmata
- 3. The Rules of the Game
- 4. The Supporters
- 5. The Candidates
- 6. Inscribing Competition
- 3: Making Fun of Elections
- 1. Election Jokes
- 2. Canvassing in Pliny
- 3. Locating the Present in the Ciceronian Past
- 4. Voting, Past and Present
- 5. The Emperor in the Curia
- 6. Texts with a Straight Face
- 4: Shouting Down the Dead
- 1. Speaking in Capitals
- 2. Claiming Authenticity
- 3. Commodus the Madman
- 4. Battle Stories
- 5. Acclaiming Anomy
- 6. The Dynamics of Damnatio
- 5: The Economy of Favours
- 1. Constantine's Rescript to Hispellum
- 2. Petition and Response
- 3. Defining the City
- 4. Urban Hierarchies
- 5. Social Expectations
- 6: Draining Resources
- 1. Draining the Pontine Marshes
- 2. Cassiodorus' Variae
- 3. Cassiodorus and Theoderic
- 4. Senate and Ruler
- 5. The Inscriptions from the Via Appia
- 6. Change and Transformation
- 7: Scripting Politics
- 1. A Council Meeting in Reate
- 2. Documentary Practices
- 3. The Dynamics of Wealth
- 4. Elite Formation
- 5. Participatory Ritual
- 6. The End of Roman Political Culture
- 8: Conclusion
- 1. Intersections
- 2. Tracking Change
- 3. Outer Boundaries
- 4. Pervasiveness
- 5. Alternative Discourses
- 6. Explaining Institutional Longevity
- Endmatter
- Bibliography
- Index of Sources
- 1. Literary
- 2. Epigraphical
- 3. Papyrological
- 4. Legal
- Index of Subjects
About the author
Laurens E. Tacoma is Lecturer in Ancient History at Leiden University. His research and teaching interests centre on the field of Roman social history and he has published on the urban elites of Roman Egypt, social and economic relations, Roman migration and mobility, and Roman political culture.
Summary
This volume offers an original and innovative analysis of Roman political culture in Italy from the first to the sixth century AD, drawing on seven case studies to argue against the prevailing view among historians that deliberative and participatory politics effectively ended with the institution of the Roman monarchy under Augustus.
Additional text
In essence, the work... offers such a range of topics to render itself useful to many more than those interested in politics... This work, therefore, is a welcome addition to the many tomes on Roman politics, as it comprises an initial first step into considering the wider role of political life beyond the capital itself.
