Rome and the Nomads
Journal Data
| Type | SOURCE_BOOK |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
| ISBN-13 | 9780198149361 |
| Open Library | OL9331146W |
| Total publications | 15 |
| Coverage period | 2007 - 2007 |
| Language | EN |
| Cited by | 23 |
| h-index | 1 |
| i10-index | 1 |
In this comprehensive illustrated study, Roger Batty examines the historical importance of migration and the pastoral economy in Eastern Europe during ancient and early medieval times, with an emphasis on the early period of Roman rule. Across a wide geographical area, from the Ukraine to the shores of the Aegean, the interaction of imperial rulers and migrating steppe nomads both with each other and with the indigenous farmers and herdsmen, forms a central strand of European history. Batty uses both textual and archaeological evidence to establish a clear picture of life in the region. In explaining the historical development of the area in antiquity, whether in the Roman period or afterwards, he investigates the economic choices available to, and the ideas espoused by, both larger and smaller social groups. Historically important but unrecognized structures and trends are all given prominence over the more temporary initiatives of centralizing powers
Conclusions to Part I
The purpose of the three chapters presented thus far has been to provide a fresh review of the most important historical trends in the Pontic-Danubian area. Essentially, it is designed to show the interlocking factors which have consistently served to draw the whole region together. Persistent immigration from the steppes, the dispersal of indigenous and invading population groups, widespread pastoral traditions and patterns of rural violence, an…
The Pastoral Economy in the Roman Period
The Syrian writer of mimes, Publilius Syrus, was no yokel. Most of his lines were penned for the urbanite. In the aphorism above, however, he caught the favour of rural life well. Rural life was communal life; shared goals and shared duties were the prerequisite for success. Farming was not an occupation for individualists: without the guarantee of security for both person and crop, or assistance at harvest time and in the home, it was a thankles…
Raiders, Rebels, and Thieves
Administrators, policemen, and soldiers remain today, as in the past, the first response of government towards brigands and brigandage. Yet such remedies are often ill considered, as the history of the twentieth century has underlined. Military force can redound upon the power that wields it; it may even exacerbate problems in recalcitrant regions. The passage above, taken from an imperial edict of May 1468, about the difficulties which beset the…
Zones of Interaction
The Pontic-Danubian area mostly falls within the jurisdiction of several modern states: Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, the Republic of Macedonia, and the Republic of Moldova. In this vast geographical space, areas of true steppes form one common identifiable physical feature, especially for the more northerly of these territories. To the south, the links between the mountain ranges and the lowlands are the key to the region’s geography; the mountain…
Rome and the Nomads
Almost twenty years ago, a notable paper was presented to the International Congress of Frontier Studies by the Roman historian Brent Shaw, entitled, ‘Fear and Loathing: The Nomad Menace and Roman Africa’.1 This was a seminal piece for many Roman historians. Previously, Roman–nomad relations seemed to be epitomized by Domitian’s alleged extermination of the Nasamones—a conflict to the death. Yet, Shaw’s piece exposed many modern and ancient myths…
Pontic-Danubian Themes
South-eastern Europe has found itself for most of its history at the juncture of two spheres of influence. To the south and west the classical civilizations of the Graeco-Roman world dominated the political and cultural landscape of the Mediterranean. They left a legacy that has flourished into modern times: historians have long emphasized the importance of the Roman invasion of the Balkans, the establishment of towns and cities, and the stabilit…
Urban Development in the Roman Period
The final chapter in this book, a treatment of urban development during the Roman period, will be relatively short. The reasons for this should by now be obvious. Considerable archaeological evidence and numerous inscriptions might have been adduced to provide a picture of life in the cities. But from the ten preceding chapters it will be clear that however successful the Roman introduction of cities was (and it was by many measures remarkable), …
Ovid in Exile
The two preceding chapters show how my interpretation of Pontic-Danubian history in the Middle Ages and beyond finds parallels in our evidence from the earliest periods of antiquity. The general evidence adduced in Chapter 4 was backed up by the crucial testimony of Strabo, who clearly understood how immigration and nomadism affected the region in the era before Roman control had solidified. Both these chapters discuss evidence about how people b…
Vagantes sine Cultu vel Legibus
The first part of this book explored a number of key themes in the history of the Pontic-Danubian region. The examples used to illustrate them came from the Middle Ages and early modern periods—roughly speaking, from the fourth to the nineteenth century ad. Part II of this book, however, is concerned with the world of prehistory; we need to see whether our chosen themes were equally present at an earlier time. This is another essential background…
Conclusions to Part III
The last five chapters contain only a selection of the available evidence. They were in no way meant to be an exhaustive survey; that would in any case hardly be desirable from the reader’s point of view. These chapters are meant to be read together; the themes they encapsulate interlock. As a result, the content has sometimes overlapped; but that, I feel, is a small price to pay for the chance to examine the issues from a variety of perspectives…
Conclusions to Part II
In the last three chapters I have tried to present a balance of historical evidence about the Pontic-Danubian region in early antiquity. General ideas common amongst Graeco-Roman writers were compared to the most learned account we have of this region and the testimony of a rare eyewitness. Taken together, this evidence undoubtedly conforms the analysis offered in Part I. To begin with, the evidence shows that the type of population influx which …
Physical Geography
The geography of this region has played a profound role in shaping the lives of its inhabitants. However, the immense variety of physical, climatic, and vegetational patterns and the sheer size of the area make it far from easy to describe. Even the most assiduous geographers have acknowledged that adequately covering the Balkan peninsula alone is an arduous task.1 Nevertheless, any historical account should clearly begin by some discussion of it…
Strabo and the Pontic Lands
In reading the previous chapter, a sceptic might wonder whether the various pieces of evidence gathered there were not simply forced into supporting the framework adopted in Part I. Such a reader might object that I produce only one, essentially wilful, interpretation of some rather fragmentary evidence. The validity of this approach, however, is confirmed by a coherent, well-argued account written in antiquity, by an author whose opinion ought t…
Immigration and Empire
Lucius Ampelius’ potted history of the conquests of the Roman people, penned sometime between the second and fourth century ad, neatly encapsulates the problems historians have in dealing with the Roman Empire in our region.2 Some peoples which have appeared regularly in the last part of this book are absent: he lists no Thracians, no Celts, no Bastarnae, no Getae. The Moesi and Triballi also fail to merit mention. Furthermore, some names which d…
Rome and the Nomads
In this comprehensive illustrated study, Roger Batty examines the historical importance of migration and the pastoral economy in Eastern Europe during ancient and early medieval times, with an emphasis on the early period of Roman rule. Across a wide geographical area, from the Ukraine to the shores of the Aegean, the interaction of imperial rulers and migrating steppe nomads both with each other and with the indigenous farmers and herdsmen, form…
Rome and the Nomads
In this comprehensive illustrated study, Roger Batty examines the historical importance of migration and the pastoral economy in Eastern Europe during ancient and early medieval times, with an emphasis on the early period of Roman rule. Across a wide geographical area, from the Ukraine to the shores of the Aegean, the interaction of imperial rulers and migrating steppe nomads both with each other and with the indigenous farmers and herdsmen, form…
Conclusions to Part I
The purpose of the three chapters presented thus far has been to provide a fresh review of the most important historical trends in the Pontic-Danubian area. Essentially, it is designed to show the interlocking factors which have consistently served to draw the whole region together. Persistent immigration from the steppes, the dispersal of indigenous and invading population groups, widespread pastoral traditions and patterns of rural violence, an…
The Pastoral Economy in the Roman Period
The Syrian writer of mimes, Publilius Syrus, was no yokel. Most of his lines were penned for the urbanite. In the aphorism above, however, he caught the favour of rural life well. Rural life was communal life; shared goals and shared duties were the prerequisite for success. Farming was not an occupation for individualists: without the guarantee of security for both person and crop, or assistance at harvest time and in the home, it was a thankles…
Raiders, Rebels, and Thieves
Administrators, policemen, and soldiers remain today, as in the past, the first response of government towards brigands and brigandage. Yet such remedies are often ill considered, as the history of the twentieth century has underlined. Military force can redound upon the power that wields it; it may even exacerbate problems in recalcitrant regions. The passage above, taken from an imperial edict of May 1468, about the difficulties which beset the…
Zones of Interaction
The Pontic-Danubian area mostly falls within the jurisdiction of several modern states: Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, the Republic of Macedonia, and the Republic of Moldova. In this vast geographical space, areas of true steppes form one common identifiable physical feature, especially for the more northerly of these territories. To the south, the links between the mountain ranges and the lowlands are the key to the region’s geography; the mountain…
Rome and the Nomads
Almost twenty years ago, a notable paper was presented to the International Congress of Frontier Studies by the Roman historian Brent Shaw, entitled, ‘Fear and Loathing: The Nomad Menace and Roman Africa’.1 This was a seminal piece for many Roman historians. Previously, Roman–nomad relations seemed to be epitomized by Domitian’s alleged extermination of the Nasamones—a conflict to the death. Yet, Shaw’s piece exposed many modern and ancient myths…
Pontic-Danubian Themes
South-eastern Europe has found itself for most of its history at the juncture of two spheres of influence. To the south and west the classical civilizations of the Graeco-Roman world dominated the political and cultural landscape of the Mediterranean. They left a legacy that has flourished into modern times: historians have long emphasized the importance of the Roman invasion of the Balkans, the establishment of towns and cities, and the stabilit…
Urban Development in the Roman Period
The final chapter in this book, a treatment of urban development during the Roman period, will be relatively short. The reasons for this should by now be obvious. Considerable archaeological evidence and numerous inscriptions might have been adduced to provide a picture of life in the cities. But from the ten preceding chapters it will be clear that however successful the Roman introduction of cities was (and it was by many measures remarkable), …
Ovid in Exile
The two preceding chapters show how my interpretation of Pontic-Danubian history in the Middle Ages and beyond finds parallels in our evidence from the earliest periods of antiquity. The general evidence adduced in Chapter 4 was backed up by the crucial testimony of Strabo, who clearly understood how immigration and nomadism affected the region in the era before Roman control had solidified. Both these chapters discuss evidence about how people b…
Vagantes sine Cultu vel Legibus
The first part of this book explored a number of key themes in the history of the Pontic-Danubian region. The examples used to illustrate them came from the Middle Ages and early modern periods—roughly speaking, from the fourth to the nineteenth century ad. Part II of this book, however, is concerned with the world of prehistory; we need to see whether our chosen themes were equally present at an earlier time. This is another essential background…
Conclusions to Part III
The last five chapters contain only a selection of the available evidence. They were in no way meant to be an exhaustive survey; that would in any case hardly be desirable from the reader’s point of view. These chapters are meant to be read together; the themes they encapsulate interlock. As a result, the content has sometimes overlapped; but that, I feel, is a small price to pay for the chance to examine the issues from a variety of perspectives…
Conclusions to Part II
In the last three chapters I have tried to present a balance of historical evidence about the Pontic-Danubian region in early antiquity. General ideas common amongst Graeco-Roman writers were compared to the most learned account we have of this region and the testimony of a rare eyewitness. Taken together, this evidence undoubtedly conforms the analysis offered in Part I. To begin with, the evidence shows that the type of population influx which …
Physical Geography
The geography of this region has played a profound role in shaping the lives of its inhabitants. However, the immense variety of physical, climatic, and vegetational patterns and the sheer size of the area make it far from easy to describe. Even the most assiduous geographers have acknowledged that adequately covering the Balkan peninsula alone is an arduous task.1 Nevertheless, any historical account should clearly begin by some discussion of it…
Strabo and the Pontic Lands
In reading the previous chapter, a sceptic might wonder whether the various pieces of evidence gathered there were not simply forced into supporting the framework adopted in Part I. Such a reader might object that I produce only one, essentially wilful, interpretation of some rather fragmentary evidence. The validity of this approach, however, is confirmed by a coherent, well-argued account written in antiquity, by an author whose opinion ought t…
Immigration and Empire
Lucius Ampelius’ potted history of the conquests of the Roman people, penned sometime between the second and fourth century ad, neatly encapsulates the problems historians have in dealing with the Roman Empire in our region.2 Some peoples which have appeared regularly in the last part of this book are absent: he lists no Thracians, no Celts, no Bastarnae, no Getae. The Moesi and Triballi also fail to merit mention. Furthermore, some names which d…
Rome and the Nomads
In this comprehensive illustrated study, Roger Batty examines the historical importance of migration and the pastoral economy in Eastern Europe during ancient and early medieval times, with an emphasis on the early period of Roman rule. Across a wide geographical area, from the Ukraine to the shores of the Aegean, the interaction of imperial rulers and migrating steppe nomads both with each other and with the indigenous farmers and herdsmen, form…