An interdisciplinary exploration of Roman cultural appropriation, offering new insights into the processes through which Rome made and remade itself.

Bringing together philologists, historians, and archaeologists, Rome, Empire of Plunder bridges disciplinary divides in pursuit of an interdisciplinary understanding of Roman cultural appropriation - approached not as a set of distinct practices but as a hydra-headed phenomenon through which Rome made and remade itself, as a Republic and as an Empire, on Italian soil and abroad. The studies gathered in this volume range from the literary thefts of the first Latin comic poets to the grand-scale spoliation of Egyptian obelisks by a succession of emperors, and from Hispania to Pergamon to Qasr Ibrim. Applying a range of theoretical perspectives on cultural appropriation, contributors probe the violent interactions and chance contingencies that sent cargo of all sorts into circulation around the Roman Mediterranean, causing recurrent distortions in their individual and aggregate meanings. The result is an innovative and nuanced investigation of Roman cultural appropriation and imperial power.

Bringing together philologists, historians, and archaeologists, 'Rome, empire of plunder' bridges disciplinary divides in pursuit of an interdisciplinary understanding of Roman cultural appropriation - approached not as a set of distinct practices but as a hydra-headed phenomenon through which Rome made and remade itself, as a Republic and as an Empire, on Italian soil and abroad. The studies gathered in this volume range from the literary thefts of the first Latin comic poets to the grand-scale spoliation of Egyptian obelisks by a succession of emperors, and from Hispania to Pergamon to Qasr Ibrim. Applying a range of theoretical perspectives on cultural appropriation, contributors probe the violent interactions and chance contingencies that sent cargo of all sorts into circulation around the Roman Mediterranean, causing recurrent distortions in their individual and aggregate meanings. The result is an innovative and nuanced investigation of Roman cultural appropriation and imperial power.

A spoof of politics in the context of ancient Rome The ancient Roman Empire was the greatest in the world. Its powerful army controlled most of Europe, England, the Middle East, Mediterranean and Egypt. Its architects and engineers built the most complex and advanced roads and aqueducts, temples and other grand structures that lasted for centuries. Its third emperor, Caligula, reigned for only four years, but left a legacy of unequaled ambition, extravagance, power, perversion and self-aggrandizement. This story tells the power struggle between the executive and legislative branches of government-the Emperor and the Roman Senate-that led to its downfall. It is told through the eyes of two strong Roman senators-Lindi Gramph and Dimit Romger-who spend their leisure time at the Senate baths at the Forum where the doorman Justus and bartender Magmus understand what's really happening. Some things never change, even in 2,000 years. A startling picture of political policymaking taking place in the Senate baths. -The Roman Times-Post An unconventional presentation of Emperor Caligula's power and perversion. -Mediterranean Review

This second edition examines all aspects of Roman history, and contains a new introduction, three new chapters and updated bibliographies.

Piracy, Pillage, and Plunder in Antiquity explores appropriation in its broadest terns in the ancient world, from brigands, mercenaries and state-sponsored "piracy", to literary appropriation and the modern plundering of antiquities. The chronological extent of the studies in this volume, written by an international group of experts, ranges from about 2000 BCE to the 20th century. The geographical spectrum in similarly diverse, encompassing Africa, the Mediterranean, and Mesopotamia, allowing readers to track this phenomenon in various different manifestations. Predatory behaviour is a phenomenon seen in all walks of life. While violence may often be concomitant it is worth observing that predation can be extremely nuanced in its application, and it is precisely this gradation and its focus that occupies the essential issue in this volume. Piracy, Pillage, and Plunder in Antiquity will be of great interest to those studying a range of topics in antiquity, including literature and art, cities and their foundations, crime, warfare, and geography.

This book combines the rich, but problematic, literary tradition for early Rome with the ever-growing archaeological record to present a new interpretation of early Roman warfare and how it related to the city's various social, political, religious, and economic institutions. Largely casting aside the anachronistic assumptions of late republican writers like Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, it instead examines the general modes of behaviour evidenced in both the literature and the archaeology for the period and attempts to reconstruct, based on these characteristics, the basic form of Roman society and then to 're-map' that on to the extant tradition. It will be important for scholars and students studying many aspects of Roman history and warfare, but particularly the history of the regal and republican periods.