War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. by William V. Harris (PDF)

Description

Between 327 and 70 B.C. the Romans expanded their empire throughout the Mediterranean world. This highly original study looks at Roman attitudes and behavior that lay behind their quest for power. How did Romans respond to warfare, year after year? How important were the material gains of military success–land, slaves, and other riches–commonly supposed to have been merely an incidental result? What value is there in the claim of the contemporary historian Polybius that the Romans were driven by a greater and greater ambition to expand their empire? The author answers these questions within an analytic framework, and comes to an interpretation of Roman imperialism that differs sharply from the conventional ones.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Marks a major advance in our understanding of Roman imperialism.”–Times Literary Supplement”Recommended for undergraduate and research libraries….All subsequent studies of Roman imperialism will have to take account of this book.”–Choice

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This book attempts to explain the reasons for Roman wars and imperialism from 327 to 70 BC. It makes extensive use of ancient literary sources as well as modern works. Harris challenges the old theory that the Romans were reluctant imperialists whose empire expanded in response to external threats (Luttwak 606). His thesis is that the Romans were both consciously and unconsciously aggressive imperialists. The book examines the origins of Roman wars, not the fighting that took place in them. Since it is not a military history it does not matter that Harris is not a military historian, and war is too important an issue to be left to military historians.The book’s structure is analytical rather than narrative. In the first chapter Harris argues that war was an integral part of Roman society. Military success was the highest means for an aristocrat to obtain glory, and military service was willingly accepted by the commoners (Briscoe 86). In the second chapter he argues that the ruling class was aware of the economic rewards of successful warfare, i.e. booty, land, and slaves, and this also influenced Rome’s warmongering. In the third chapter Harris carefully analyses the ancient sources, especially Polybios. The sources indicate that expansion was a conscious aim of the Roman ruling class (Luttwak 606). This is followed up in the fourth chapter where it is argued that wars were always designed to increase Roman power, even if Rome did not immediately annex the territory. In the final chapter Harris argues that Rome’s ius fetiale did not preclude aggressive wars. He provides a survey of Rome’s major wars in this period and concludes they were all antagonistic (Briscoe 86).Most scholarly reviews for Harris’s book assert its importance on the topic of Roman imperialism. But they also insist that he has overstated his argument, and has made many mistakes in his analysis. Briscoe writes, “The facts presented in the first two chapters are incontrovertible, though the argument is sometimes overstated.” (Ibid ) Oost writes, “…if Frank’s sin was to give the Romans the benefit of every doubt, H.’s seems to be to give them the benefit of no doubt.” (Oost 82) The reviewers mostly agreed with Harris that the old theory of defensive imperialism, favored by such historians as Mommsen, Holleaux, and Frank, is wrong. The reviewers, however, disagreed with his isolated treatment of Rome. Briscoe noted that Rome’s opponents in the east, Philip V and Antiochos III, occupied much of their reigns with aggressive wars (Briscoe 86). They disputed Harris’s claim that Rome’s actions, whether direct or indirect, were all aggressive and almost always in the wrong. North remarks that identifying the aggressor of any war is a difficult task, and with the nature of our sources for this period of ancient history, it is impossible to prove Rome was always the aggressor (North 2).The book makes a number of good points and provides well-reasoned arguments to support them. Overall, the first chapter is the most interesting and useful where it discusses Roman attitudes towards war, both popular and aristocratic. On occasion, however, Harris does go overboard. Although never claiming that any of Rome’s opponents were better morally, he is overzealous in trying to prove Rome was almost always the aggressor. The nature of the evidence–which is often prejudiced and inadequately detailed–is insufficient for that purpose (North 2). His case seems flimsy and strained for wars in which the Romans did not annex the conquered land or methodically exploit it (ibid). Other states in the Mediterranean were very warlike, but Rome simply proved to be the best at it.For a student of Roman history this is an important book. It broke new ground and provided an extreme view on the topics of Roman wars and imperialism. It claims that the Romans were both consciously and unconsciously aggressive imperialists. This can be used to find a mean between his theory and those of earlier historians like Mommsen and Frank. The latter historians wrote when Europeans held sway over most of the globe and blatant imperialism was acceptable; Harris was a product of the Vietnam era. This book should be required reading for students of Roman Republican history.Works CitedLuttwak, Edward N. “Review: War and Imperialism in Republican Rome 327-70 BC by William Harris.” The American Historical Review, Vol. 85, No. 3. (June 1980), p. 606.Briscoe, John. “Review: War and Imperialism in Republican Rome 327-70 BC by William Harris.” Classical Review, New Ser., Vol. 30, No. 1. (1980), pp.86-88.Oost, Stewart I. “Review: War and Imperialism in Republican Rome 327-70 BC by William Harris.” Classical Philology, Vol. 77, No. 1. (Jan., 1982), pp. 81-83.North, J. A. “Review: War and Imperialism in Republican Rome 327-70 BC by William Harris.” The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 71. (1981), pp. 1-9.

⭐Be warned. Harris includes whole paragraphs of Greek and Latin quotations without translation. That left a lot of blanks in the text. That’s mean spirited of an author.

Keywords

Free Download War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. in PDF format
War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. PDF Free Download
Download War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. 1985 PDF Free
War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. 1985 PDF Free Download
Download War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. PDF
Free Download Ebook War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C.