1996, ISBN: 9780253331113

150 p., w/ tables and fig. Original hardcover with paper dust jacket. From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tra… Mehr…

150 p., w/ tables and fig. Original hardcover with paper dust jacket. From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Zustand: Filzstifteintrag auf Vorsatz. Ansonsten im einwandfreien Zustand. / Condition: Felt pen entry on endpaper. Otherwise in perfect condition. - Content: This is one of many books on the frontiers of the Roman Empire. What justification is there for adding to the substantial, if not uncontrollable, literature? My answer is simple. Much of what is published in the name of Roman frontiers is misguided. The inspirational moment for me in writing this book was attending a conference on the Desert Frontiers of the Roman Empire at Rewley House in Oxford in 1992, concerned almost totally with military architecture. This approach is not untypical of the way many of the existing studies of the frontiers of the Roman Empire are directed. For many Roman historians and archaeologists, Frontier Studies are equated with fortifications. This point of view is best shown by the series of Limes volumes, alternatively titled Roman Frontier Studies. Although their subject is nominally the frontier, a more accurate title might be Roman Fortification Studies. This is not to devalue the work, only to question the identification of frontiers with fortifications. A second conference, on Comparative Frontier Studies, in the spring of 1993 at Norman, Oklahoma, provided a distinctly different perspective on frontiers. None of the papers had anything to say about military architecture, suggesting the limitations, rather than the virtues, of this sort of work. Other papers taught me much about approaches to frontiers, while the location in the American West provided much food for thought on frontier issues from another society. In broad terms, this is what has shaped this book: an intent to present a perspective on frontiers of people, not that of bricks and mortar. It reflects a feeling among some Roman historians that military architecture studies are not the only way to interpret the frontiers of the Roman Empire. I am particularly struck, working as I do in a History department, by the need to justify this approach to Classicists, but not to historians of modern Europe. Nor am I alone. Over the past decade, a growing body of work has sought to place a higher priority on the role of the people living in the frontier zones, extending even to the Limeskon-gresse, which in the most recently published proceedings from Canterbury in 1989 included papers on Native Life. However, much of this work is confined to periodicals and there is no synthesis. Having originally written this paragraph in the spring of 1994,1 now find myself faced with Dick Whittakers Frontiers of the Roman Empire, which does in fact provide such a synthesis, though his perspective differs from mine in many ways. This book seeks to examine this concept offrontier within the Roman Empire, from the first century ad to the sixth. The focus, above all, will be how did the frontier work?, i.e. how it affected life for all those in the frontier zone, not just the Roman army. Each chapter outlines a major problem or problems, then illustrates this by examples from different regions and periods. In the hope that this will be of use to students, I have been generous in quoting from primary sources - in most cases, the words of participants describe past events better than I can. Many of the details are well known, but I think their arrangement is new, and there is still much that can be wrung from Tacitus. In the same vein, I have not provided exhaustive citations and I have tried to keep the bibliography short and in English. Translations from Greek and Latin are mostly taken from the Loeb Classical Library, occasionally modified; other sources are acknowledged where quoted. No attempt has been made to provide a narrative, in part because this is not what the book is about. It remains to thank colleagues in the History departments at Rice University and Trinity College, who have been unfailingly supportive. Katherine Drew, Talya Fishman, Ira Gruber, Tom Haskell, A.J. Hood, Mike Maas, David Nirenberg, Susan Pennybacker, Pat Seed, Julia Smith, Rich Smith, Kim Steele, Matt Taylor and Sam Watson have patiently answered idiotic questions and given good advice. I have also been helped by John Drinkwater, Andy Fear, Chris Howgego, Simon James and Wolf Liebeschuetz. Two scholars have been particularly important in inspiring this book, Phil Freeman who will recognize many of our conversations (and deserves thanks, and none of the blame, for reading the book in a draft state) and Roger Batty, who has challenged many of my preconceptions about how the Empire worked; I hope neither of them will be disappointed in this. I would also like to thank Michael Fulford for suggesting that I write this book in the first place and Peter Kemmis Betty for his patience with its prolonged gestation. The last words belong to my wife Krista and our cat Cooper, both of whom have suffered too much neglect recently, without whose support this book could never have been written, never mind finished. ISBN 9780253331113 Versand D: 4,50 EUR , [PU:Indianapolis: Indiana University Press,]<

1996, ISBN: 9780253331113

Indiana University Press, 1996-12-12. hardcover. Like New. Book appears to be New., Indiana University Press, 1996-12-12, 5