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Sallust's Histories and Triumviral Historiography explores the historiographical innovations of the first century Roman historian Sallust, focusing on the fragmentary Histories, an account of the turbulent years after the death of the dictator Sulla. The Histories were written during the violent transition from republic to empire, when Rome's political problems seemed insoluble and its morals hopelessly decayed. The ruling triumvirate of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus created a false sense of hope for the future, relentlessly insisting that they were bringing peace to the republic. The Histories address the challenges posed to historians by both civil war and authoritarian rule. What does it mean, Sallust asks, to write history under a regime that so skillfully manipulates or even replaces facts with a more favorable narrative? Historiography needed a new purpose to remain relevant and useful in the triumviral world. In the Histories, Sallust adopts an analogical method of historiography that enables him to confront contemporary issues under the pretext of historical narrative. The allusive Histories challenge Sallust's audience to parse and analyze history as it is being "written" by the actors themselves and to interrogate the relationship between words and deeds.
The first monograph in any language on the Histories, this book offers comprehensive reading of Sallust's third and final work, featuring discussion of a wide selection of fragments beyond the speech and letters, set-pieces that have generally been studied in isolation. It offers a valuable resource for academics and postgraduates working on ancient historiography and Latin literature more generally; it will also be of interest to ancient historians working on the late Roman Republic. With English translations of all Greek and Latin passages, this book will also be useful for undergraduate and graduate courses on historiography, Latin literature, and Roman history.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: history under the triumvirs
1 Reading the Histories
I Reading fragments
II Sallust's triumviral world: between republic and empire
III Sallust's approach to history
2 Analogical historiography
I Analogical historiography
II Training the reader
III Allusion, repetition, and trauma
IV Analogy and the Histories' call to action
3 Historians in the Histories
I Who can write history?
II Sertorius: tension
III Pompey: a challenge
IV Spartacus: actor in search of auctor
V Historians in the Histories
4 Digressive digressions
I Scylla
II The Blessed Isles
III Implications
5 Triumviral historiography and the end of history
Index
About the author
Acknowledgements; Introduction: History Under the Triumvirs; Chapter One: Reading the Histories; Chapter Two: Analogical Historiography; Chapter Three: Historians in the Histories; Chapter Four: Digressive Digressions; Chapter Five: Triumviral Historiography and the End of History; Index
Summary
Sallust’s Histories and Triumviral Historiography explores the historiographical innovations of the first century Roman historian Sallust, focusing on the fragmentary Histories, an account of the turbulent years after the death of the dictator Sulla.
Report
"The book is well produced but it is also a book on the brink of the electronic age. Routledge has decided not only to put the notes at the end of each chapter but also a bibliography.." Christopher Smith, Sehepunkte
"While primarily of interest to specialists in the events that unfolded at the sites examined, the work shows how this discipline has already altered traditional accounts of a number of events - such as the Battle of the Little Big Horn. This book is also a worthwhile read for anyone wishing to learn more about how battlefield archaeology works. " The NYMAS REVIEW, Autumn 2019
