Rome the Greek World, and the East: Volume 1: The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

Studies in the History of Greece and Rome

by Fergus Millar, Guy Maclean Rogers, Hannah M. Cotton

Fergus Millar is one of the most influential contemporary historians of the ancient world. His essays and books, including The Emperor in the Roman World and The Roman Near East , have enriched our understanding of the Greco-Roman world in fundamental ways. In his writings Millar has made the inhabitants of the Roman Empire central to our conception of how the empire functioned. He also has shown how and why Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, and Islam evolved from within the wider cultural context of the Greco-Roman world.

Opening this collection of sixteen essays is a new contribution by Millar in which he defends the continuing significance of the study of Classics and argues for expanding the definition of what constitutes that field. In this volume he also questions the dominant scholarly interpretation of politics in the Roman Republic, arguing that the Roman people, not the Senate, were the sovereign power in Republican Rome. In so doing he sheds new light on the establishment of a new regime by the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus.

Genres: History, Ancient History

416 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2002

About the author

Sir Fergus Millar was a British historian and Camden Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, Oxford University. Millar numbers among the most influential ancient historians of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Steve Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millar's conclusions are filled with resonance and provide an important perspective. The evolution of Republican institutions at the dawn of the Imperial period, The level of democracy and it's coexistence with autocratic rule, ...etc. are issues that Millar explores as no one else can. Wading through his summarization of epigraphic nuggets is difficult enough, and one can only imagine the effort Millar must have devoted to sifting the vast body of evidence. We owe him our gratitude for this. I did have the sense that he sometimes over-reached in supporting his points: criticizing Tacitus for his focus on senatorial process (and excluding participation of the Roman people) seems unfair as Tacitus was a senator writing about what he was in a position to know. Overall, however, the book provides a unique opportunity for very rewarding reflection.