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Using literary, epigraphic, numismatic and iconographic sources this book investigates the safety devices that were in place for the protection of the emperor and the city of Rome in the imperial age. In the aftermath of the civil wars Augustus continued to provide for his physical safety in the same way as in the old Republic while, at the same time, overturning the taboo of armed men in the city. During the Augustan age, the division of the city into 14 regions and 265 vici was designed to establish control over the urban space. Augustus' successors consolidated his policy but the specific roles of the various military or paramilitary forces remain a matter for debate. Drawing on the testimony of ancient authors such as Tacitus and Suetonius and on material evidence, the volume examines both the circumstances in which these forces intervened and the strategies that they adopted. It also examines the pre-Augustan, Augustan and post-Augustan sense of 'securitas', both as a philosophical and a political concept. The final section expands the focus from the city of Rome to the Italian peninsula where the security of the emperor as he travelled to his country residences required advance planning and implementation.
List of contents
Preamble Part I: From public order to security 1. Studies on military forces and public order in Rome and Italy from Republic to Principate: points of view 2. Between Pax, Disciplina and Securitas: moving the focus 3. The security of Rome and the security of the emperor: the slow development of a discourse and its transformation into a communicative instrument Part II: The birth of a dispositive Introduction: Augustan criminal legislation and military reforms 4. The security of the Princeps in Rome: military escorts and bodyguards 5. The security of the urban area and its inhabitants: civilian, paramilitary and military personnel Part III. Testing a dispositive Introduction: the security of the Princeps and of urban spaces in Rome from Tiberius to the Severans 6. A topography of security and dangerous places: with an episode 7. The urban soldiers and the city Part IV. Policing and security in imperial Italy Introduction: security in Italy and the role of the central government between Augustus and the Severans 8. Praesidia Urbis et Italiae: Grumentum and its territory - a case study 9. Praetoria and Praetorians: the emperor's travels and security (Latium Vetus) 10. Emperors on the move: security in the Campanian cities and in the Albanum Domitiani Epilogue: Securitati Caesaris totiusque Urbis Bibliography
Summary
Using literary, epigraphic, numismatic and iconographic sources this book investigates the safety devices that were in place for the protection of the emperor and the city of Rome in the imperial age. In the aftermath of the civil wars Augustus continued to provide for his physical safety in the same way as in the old Republic while, at the same ti
Report
"Overall, Ricci has provided an interesting look at the topic of security in Roman times. The book is at its best when looking at the evidence for the various military and paramilitary units created by Augustus and his successors. The discussion of securitas in the Roman mind is very useful" - Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"...L'esame complessivo di tutti gli strumenti, compresi quelli non militari, utilizzati per mantenere la sicurezza a Roma e in ltalia tra Augusto e i Severi rappresenta un notevole avanzamento qualitativo che va ben oltre gli studi di storia militare e lei rapporti tra soldati e civili all'intemo delt'impero romano."
[The overall examination of all the tools, including non-military ones, used to maintain security in Rome and in Italy between Augustus and the Severi represents a significant qualitative advance that goes far beyond the studies of military history and the relationships between soldiers and civilians within the Roman Empire] - Rivista storica italiana
