Romans & Barbarians

Latin barbarus < Gk barbaros < sound bar-bar
 
 

East		North (West)
Persians	(Greeks)	Spaniards
Syrians	Romans	Britons
Egyptians		Gauls
Greeks		Germans
		Scythians

Outside system: Jews, Ethiopians, N. Africans
 
 

effeminate	manly, free	slavish
decadent	civilized	primitive
deceitful	honest, smart	dumb

 

civilized	imitators,  has-beens	manly
smart	unimaginative, corrupt	honest

Interaction with Non-Romans

Independent peoples (Persia; Germans)

• Diplomacy (embassies etc.)
• Warfare

• Indirect control: "spheres of influence"
• Occasional military intervention

• Direct rule by Roman administrators
• Co-opting of local elites
• Toleration of local traditions

Stages in Romanization

• Initial Conquest & Pacification
• Establishment of Roman Province
• imperial: troops, military governor
• senatorial: no troops, senator as gov.
• Infrastructure (roads, public works)
• Romanization of local elites
• Eventual withdrawal of military

Provincial governments:

• Maintain order
• Supervise tax collection, grain supply
• Support local elites

• "Support the general welfare"
• Mess with established practices

• T's father-in-law, governor of Britain
• The administrator as hero
• Speech of Calgacus: the view from below

Main source: papyrus documents

Geographical divisions

• Alexandria & Nile Delta
• Fayoum (up-country area around Nile)

• Romans (army, retired veterans, gov't)
• Greeks (< Alexander's conquest)
• Jews (Gk-speaking; mainly Alexandria)
• Native Egyptians

• Governor: Roman knight (not senator!)
• Bureaucracy at Alexandria
• No city council at Alexandria (unusual)
• 40 nomes (districts) w/ strategos (general)

• Tax assessments & returns
• cash
• in-kind payments: grain
• Documentation of citizenship/status
• Legal disputes

Main source: Josephus (b. 37/8 AD)

• Jewish Antiquities (large-scale history)
• Jewish War (on revolt of 66-70)

Political History

• 2nd c. BC clashes with Hellenistic Gk. rulers
• Hasmonean dynasty (142-63 BC)
• Intervention of Pompey
• Client king: Herod the Great (d. 4 BC)
• Roman province from AD 6
• Revolt, 66-70 (crushed by Vespasian, Titus)

• Religious hierarchy (high priest etc.)
• Contributions to temple
• Ritual practices (e.g. sabbath, kosher)
• Jewish festivals (Passover, etc.)
• Exemption on emperor worship

• Collaboration (e.g. Josephus)
• Resistance (Zealots, periodic revolts)

Parthians

• Iranian people, originally nomads
• Control former Persian empire
• Arsacid dynasty (247 BC -224 AD)
• Reliance on mounted archers
• Hot and (mostly) cold war with Rome

• Defeat of Varus & 3 legions, AD 9
• Tacitus, Germania
• Increasing pressure on frontiers (2nd c. >)