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We look to Rome more than anywhere else for our European cultural roots. But Rome itself looked to the East, not to Europe. The Roman East had an immense impact upon Europe in a way that no other part of the empire had. Christianity is the most obvious influence, but there are many others from ...

We look to Rome more than anywhere else for our European cultural roots. But Rome itself looked to the East, not to Europe. The Roman East had an immense impact upon Europe in a way that no other part of the empire had. Christianity is the most obvious influence, but there are many others from Syrian emperors of Rome to Oriental architecture, religious and intellectual ideas. Indeed, the story of Rome is more than anything else the story of a fascination for the East, one that amounted to an obsession. This book tells the story of how Near Eastern civilisation, most of all Christianity, came west to transform Europe. Rome in the East presents a comprehensive and coherent study of the history, architecture and archaeology of the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, of Roman penetration beyond the frontiers, and of the ensuing interchange that brought about Rome's own transformation. Rome in the East is lavishly illustrated, including nearly two hundred photographs taken by the author himself.

This is the first book to describe the intimate relationship between Latin literature and the politics of ancient Rome. Until now, most scholars have viewed classical Latin literature as a product of aesthetic concerns. Thomas Habinek shows, however, that literature was also a cultural practice that

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This is the first book to describe the intimate relationship between Latin literature and the politics of ancient Rome. Until now, most scholars have viewed classical Latin literature as a product of aesthetic concerns. Thomas Habinek shows, however, that literature was also a cultural practice that emerged from and intervened in the political and social struggles at the heart of the Roman world.

Habinek considers major works by such authors as Cato, Cicero, Horace, Ovid, and Seneca. He shows that, from its beginnings in the late third century b.c. to its eclipse by Christian literature six hundred years later, classical literature served the evolving interests of Roman and, more particularly, aristocratic power. It fostered a prestige dialect, for example; it appropriated the cultural resources of dominated and colonized communities; and it helped to defuse potentially explosive challenges to prevailing values and authority. Literature also drew upon and enhanced other forms of social authority, such as patriarchy, religious ritual, cultural identity, and the aristocratic procedure of self-scrutiny, or "existimatio.

Habinek's

How did the Romans build and maintain one of the most powerful and stable empires in the history of the world? This illuminating book draws on the literature, especially the historiography, composed by the members of the elite who conducted Roman foreign affairs. From this evidence, Susan P. Mattern ...

How did the Romans build and maintain one of the most powerful and stable empires in the history of the world? This illuminating book draws on the literature, especially the historiography, composed by the members of the elite who conducted Roman foreign affairs. From this evidence, Susan P. Mattern reevaluates the roots, motivations, and goals of Roman imperial foreign policy especially as that policy related to warfare. In a major reinterpretation of the sources, "Rome and the Enemy shows that concepts of national honor, fierce competition for status, and revenge drove Roman foreign policy, and though different from the highly rationalizing strategies often attributed to the Romans, dictated patterns of response that remained consistent over centuries.

Mattern reconstructs the world view of the Roman decision-makers, the emperors, and the elite from which they drew their advisers. She discusses Roman conceptions of geography, strategy, economics, and the influence of traditional Roman values on the conduct of military campaigns. She shows that these leaders were more strongly influenced by a traditional, stereotyped perception of the enemy and a drive to avenge insults to their national honor than by concepts of defensible borders. In fact, the desire to enforce an image of Roman power was a major policy goal behind many of their most brutal and aggressive campaigns.

"Rome and the Enemy provides a fascinating look into the Roman mind in addition to a com