Syllabus: Romans and Barbarians

Classical Philology, 1985

2018

The topic of this paper is complementary to Nicola di Cosmo's contribution on 'China-steppe relations in comparative perspective'; the theoretical framework he has presented is also useful to the study the Roman Empire. Similar to Nicola di Cosmo, I am going to argue that we should not take the basically useful shorthand dualism-'Romans/barbarians'-for granted. Unlike him, I cannot resort to the 'steppe' as a rather neutral common denominator for the populations beyond Rome's frontiers, because many of the European barbarians lived in different ecological zones. I will call all these 'others' 'barbarians' although this is problematic. I am aware that this term was coined in a derogatory sense, and can still be used in that way. However, for want of a better designation it has become a household term in research about European Late Antiquity, and is intended in a purely descriptive sense. Greek and Roman Antiquity coined both the words for 'empire' and for the 'barbarians' still used in most European languages, and created their juxtaposition, so it is hard to avoid using this scheme. The cultural significance of perceptions of alterity in Antiquity is still a matter of intense research and controversial debate. Benjamin Isaac has collected considerable material about prejudices against Jews and barbarians and interpreted it as "the invention of racism". 2 Erich S. Gruen, on the contrary, has tried to show "that ancient societies, while certainly acknowledging differences among peoples (indeed occasionally emphasizing them) could also visualize themselves as part of a broader cultural heritage, could discover or invent links with other societies, and could couch their own historical memories in terms of a borrowed or appropriated past." 3 These two influential studies taken together mark out a wide range of cultural practices, perceptions, conflicts, interactions, exchanges and xenophobic reactions. Rather than controversial debate (was it racism or not?), what we need is differentiation. Greek/Roman-barbarian relations need to be set in different contexts in which they mattered:

The English Historical Review, 2013

This volume originated with the sixth 'shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity' conference, held in the University of illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005. The shifting Frontiers conferences-not normally anything to do with the Roman limes, but rather with the political, religious and cultural shifts of Late Antiquity-have been held every two years since the inaugural conference in Lawrence, kansas, in 1995, and the proceedings were published by various presses before Ashgate took over in 2006, with Hal Drake's Violence in Late Antiquity. in 2009 Ashgate published the papers from the 2007 conference (The Power of Religion in Late Antiquity, ed. A. Cain and N. Lenski); and they are due to publish the proceedings of the 2009 conference in 2012 (Shifting Cultural Frontiers in Late Antiquity, ed. D. Brakke, D.M. Deliyannis and e. watts). it was at a shifting Frontiers conference that the society for Late Antiquity was founded, and, later, the Journal of Late Antiquity launched; Ralph w. Mathisen, editor of the Journal and co-editor with Danuta shanzer of this volume, has been the main driving force behind the whole enterprise, and thus a crucial figure in the flourishing state of Late Antique studies in North America, of which this volume is an elegant demonstration. Not all the twenty-five essays published here originated at the conference: some were written specially for this volume, and the other contributions have clearly been updated. They range very widely across the theme of Romans and barbarians, being grouped together into three main sections, dealing with the construction of images, with cultural interaction, and with the creation of identity. The geographical range is also considerable, from an evaluation of the DNA evidence for Anglo-saxon migration and a discussion of the emergence of the vascones/Basques through to, at the eastern end of the empire, two papers on the sasanians, one on the saracens, and one on the barbarians in kush, south of egypt. in common with the previous six shifting Frontiers volumes, this one is well-focused on its theme, which has as much to do with the tight organisation of the conferences as with the determination of the editors. Romans were probably less obsessed with barbarians than historians of our own day have been. They enjoyed lists of barbarians, but, as Mathisen argues in the opening chapter, largely for the evocation of exotic otherness. some Romans had no interest in barbarians at all: Augustine was one, as elizabeth Clark shows, and he had no truck with orosius' idea of the merciful barbarian, which offered a way forward for a post-Roman world. Barbarians could be useful polemically or ideologically, and Roman writers use them in ways that tell us as much about themselves as about the barbarians; thus, scott McDonough suggests, Agathias' negative assessment of sasanian Persia was an attack on the enthusiasm of some of his contemporaries -whose own

Course Description: This course offers a thorough introduction to the early Roman Empire (ca. 30 BCE-284 CE), drawing on both source materials and modern works. This is a student-driven seminar based on readings, presentations, and in-class discussions on the societal, religious, and political developments of the Roman Principate. This was the “Golden Age” of Roman rule and what one historian considered the best time to live in human history. This course focuses on imperial Rome but also discusses important topics like provincial administration, commerce and agriculture, the Roman army, early Christianity, and law and order in the Roman world. Students will investigate the monumental impact that the early Roman Empire had on the development of Western Civilization. Having some background courses in ancient history would naturally be helpful but is not required. This will be a seminar course driven by student participation. It will focus on modern studies but also will feature a wide array of literary and archaeological source material. Students will investigate historiographical arguments, lead class discussions, and prepare presentations. This course requires weekly preparation and active participation. There are no exams; however, each student will have to prepare and write three college research papers. This course offers students the opportunity to learn how to analyze source material, weigh historiographical arguments, and write more professionally. These are skills that will be useful in senior level courses, graduate school, and in scores of careers that necessitate writing, research, and the ability to manage individual projects.

2018 Review by Nicky Garland in Antiquity vol. 92, issue 362, pp 538-540

Expierencing the Frontier and the Frontier of Experience, 2020

For a reassessment of relations between ‘Barbarians’ and the Roman Empire, we have to ask first of all one crucial question that in the past was always answered affirmatively: Was the Roman Empire doomed since the 3rd century AD? The problem with this crucial question is virtually the same as with nearly all questions of the kind: there are still no definite answers. But with our approach we want at least to try to raise awarenessv of some of the intriguing issues of Late Antiquity that can help to reassess Imperial politics from the 3rd and 4th century in a context of rational and well reflected foreign policies. We cannot deal with all aspects of this complex matter in this short introduction, so we will focus only on three aspects.

西洋古代史研究, 2007

Michele Renee Salzman, The Making of a Christian Aristocracy: Social and Religious Change in the Western Roman Empire (Harvard University Press, Cambridge [Mass.] and New York, 2002, xiv+354 pages) Heike Niquet, Monumenta virtu tum titulique: Senatorische Selbstdarstellung im spiitantiken Rom im Spiegel der epigraphischen Denkmiiler (Heidelberger althistorische Beitrage und epigraphische Studien 34, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 2000, iv+352 pages+8 plates) Not since the age of Augustus had Rome changed as swiftly and profoundly as it did in the fourth century AD. This century is marked by two momentous developments. The first is the definitive withdrawal of the emperor from the city and the establishment of permanent new imperial residences outside the ancient capital. The other is the Christianisation of Rome's society and topography. This second transformation is the subject of a subtle exploration by John Curran, Pagan City and Christian Capital: Rome in the Fourth Century, a revised version of the author's Oxford doctoral thesis. Despite the title, C. does not offer an exhaustive account of the history of Rome in the fourth century. Rather, like an inspired tour guide, he chooses a very personal selection of sites for closer inspection. Some of the conventional must-sees, such as the pagan aristocracy of late fourth-century Rome, are missing from the itinerary. Instead, C.'s readers are shown some of the city's more closely guarded secrets, such as the monumental heritage of Maxentius' rule. Or, they are led along unfamiliar approaches to well-known sites, seen now from a fresh perspective, such as in the exploration of the significance of Constantine's construction activity in the city.