The Roman Empire [antikvár]

IntroductionThe Roman empire at its zénith 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 urbanités, bandits and Platonic philosophers. How was it ruled? What forces of cohésion held it together? What was the outcome of the confrontation of impérial and local institutions, customs and values in the provincial setting? How did the society and culture of the impérial capital itself adapt to foreign (especially Greek and Oriental) influences and to the requirements of emperors? What différence 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, féligious and cultural life and outlook of the inhabitants of the Roman empire.The study of Roman imperialism and the transformation of impérial society and culture properly begins in the metropolis, but the challenge lies in the description and analysis of Romanization and the identification of its limits in the provincial context. The subject calls for treatment on a grand scale. Our book is limited in scope, being a général 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 influenced by our own interests and areas of compétence. 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.