Roman social history: a sourcebook

407 Pages·2008·1.804 MB·English

by  Parkin, Tim G.;Pomeroy, Arthur J

1111
2
3
4
ROMAN SOCIAL HISTORY
5222
6
7
8
9
1011
1
2 This book contains many of the sources that a student in Roman social
3111 history will need in a single handy volume.
4 Tim G. Parkin and Arthur J. Pomeroy have assembled here a wide range
5 of ancient texts in their own translations, ranging from the essential to the
6 little-known and previously unavailable, focusing on the late republic and
7 the first two centuries AD. Arranged thematically, all sources are quick and
8 easy to find, are preceded by a readable introduction, and are accompanied
9 by notes that guide and advise the student. The authors also provide
20111 summaries of previous scholarship in the field with bibliographies that will
1 open the reader to further resources.
2 Rather than concentrating on the elite, a tiny fraction of Roman society,
3 Parkin and Pomeroy also include material on the Roman peasantry, workers,
4 and slaves, and view it all through a modern sociological lens: it explains
5 Roman society in terms of its power structures. Their notes incorporate
6 demography and criminology among many other contemporary disciplines
7 to build a complete picture of the ‘sociology of ancient Rome’.
8
Topics include:
9
30111 • Social class
1 • Family
2 • Education
3 • Economy
4 • Leisure and games.
5
Including maps, chronologies, and useful references on measures and
6
currency, this book is the complete introductory resource for students of
7
Roman social history, and presents with clarity and vividness a rich and
8
diverse society.
9
40111
Tim G. Parkin is Professor of Ancient History at the University of
1
Manchester.
2
3 Arthur J. Pomeroyis Associate Professor of Classics at the Victoria University
44111 of Wellington, New Zealand.

1111
2
3
4 ROMAN
5222
6
SOCIAL HISTORY
7
8
9
1011 A sourcebook
1
2
3111
4
5
6
Tim G. Parkin and
7
8
Arthur J. Pomeroy
9
20111
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
30111
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
40111
1
2
3
44111
First published 2007
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2007 Tim G. Parkin and Arthur J. Pomeroy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Roman social history: a sourcebook/edited by Tim Parkin and
Arthur J. Pomeroy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Social history – To 500. 2. Rome – History.
3. Rome – Social conditions. I. Parkin, Tim G.
II. Pomeroy, Arthur John, 1953–
HN10.R7R66 2007
937 – dc22
2007007663
ISBN 0-203-96084-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–415–42674–X (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–42675–8 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–96084–X (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–42674–9 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–42675–6 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–96084–4 (ebk)
1111
2
3
4
CONTENTS
5222
6
7
8
9
1011
1
2
3111 Chronology and Roman emperors vii
4 Acknowledgements viii
5 List of maps ix
6
7
8
Introduction 1
9
20111 1 Social classes 3
1
2 Demography 43
2
3
3 Family and household 72
4
5 4 Education 136
6
5 Slavery 154
7
8 6 Poverty 205
9
30111 7 The economy 244
1
8 The legal system and courts 292
2
3 9 Leisure and games 328
4
5 Appendix A: Life expectancy 354
6
Appendix B: The Roman status hierarchy 357
7
Appendix C: Greek and Roman weights, measures,
8
and coinage 359
9
40111
1
Index locorum 361
2
3 General index 369
44111
v

1111
2
3
4
CHRONOLOGY AND
5222
6
ROMAN EMPERORS
7
8
9
1011
1
2
3111 Most of the material presented comes from the period of the early and high
4 empire (approximately the first two centuries AD). However, where material
5 from an earlier period (particularly the late republican period – the last
6 century BC) or later (up to the fourth century AD) can reasonably be
7 considered to illustrate behaviour current in the early empire, this has also
8 been included.
9
20111
Roman emperors (first two centuries AD)
1
2 Augustus 27 BC–AD 14
3 Tiberius 14–37
4 Gaius 37–41
5 Claudius 41–54
6 Nero 54–68
7 Galba 68–9
8 Otho 69
9 Vitellius 69
30111 Vespasian 69–79
1 Titus 79–81
2 Domitian 81–96
3 Nerva 96–8
4 Trajan 98–117
5 Hadrian 117–38
6 Antoninus Pius 138–61
7 Marcus Aurelius 161–80 (with Lucius Verus 161–9)
8 Commodus 180–92
9 Pertinax 193
40111 Didius Julianus 193
1 Septimius Severus 193–211
2 Caracalla 198–217
3
44111
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This collection is based on materials collected by the authors to assist in
the teaching of Roman social history in New Zealand and Australia over
the last two decades. In particular, we wish to acknowledge the influence
of our former teacher at Victoria University of Wellington, Alex Scobie.
Alex’s knowledge of the ancient world, particularly the world of folklore
and the novel, and of the abuse of ancient models in the modern world has
been a continuing inspiration to his students. Many of the readings in this
collection were originally selected by Alex and we hope that their wider
distribution will be a small tribute to his work.
The translations are the work of the authors, but obviously build on the
work of numerous predecessors. Arthur Pomeroy would like to thank the
PBRF fund of the School of Art History, Classics, and Religious Studies at
Victoria University for enabling him to employ a student assistant as the
project approached completion; the FHSS Research Committee for assistance
for proofreading and indexing; and also Anneliese Parkin and Robert Knapp.
Tim Parkin thanks Roslynne Bell, Jane Gardner, Siobhan O’Rourke and
April Pudsey.
We would also like to thank our students in social history and Latin
language classes as well as supervisees over the years for their constant
probing and questions that have enabled us to revise and improve this
material.
viii
1111
2
3
4
MAPS
5222
6
7
8
9
1011
1
2
3111 1 The Roman empire in the age of Trajan x
4
5 2 The city of Rome in the second century AD xii
6 (see Key, p. xiv)
7
8 3 Travel times in the Roman empire and limits of vine and
9 olive cultivation xv
20111
1 4 Trade routes in the Roman world xvi
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
30111
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
40111
1
2
3
44111
ix