On Barbarian Identity

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Author :
Publisher : Brepols Publishers
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis On Barbarian Identity by : Andrew Gillett

Download or read book On Barbarian Identity written by Andrew Gillett and published by Brepols Publishers. This book was released on 2002 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ethnicity has been central to medieval studies since the Goths, Franks, Alamanni and other barbarian settlers of the Roman empire were first seen as part of Germanic antiquity. Today, two paradigms dominate interpretation of barbarian Europe. In history, theories of how tribes formed ('ethnogenesis') assert the continuity of Germanic identities from prehistory through the Middle Ages, and see cultural rather than biological factors as the means of preserving these identities. In archaeology, the 'culture history' approach has long claimed to be able to trace movements of peoples not attested in the historical record, by identifying ethnically-specific material goods. The papers in this volume challenge the concepts and methodologies of these two models. The authors explore new ways to understand barbarians in the early Middle Ages, and to analyse the images of the period constructed by modern scholarship. Two responses, one by a leading exponent of the 'ethnogenesis' approach, the other by a leading critic, continue this important debate.

Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World

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Author :
Publisher : Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 13 : 140948209X
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World by : Professor Danuta Shanzer

Download or read book Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World written by Professor Danuta Shanzer and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2013-07-28 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most significant transformations of the Roman world in Late Antiquity was the integration of barbarian peoples into the social, cultural, religious, and political milieu of the Mediterranean world. The nature of these transformations was considered at the sixth biennial Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity Conference, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in March of 2005, and this volume presents an updated selection of the papers given on that occasion, complemented with a few others,. These 25 studies do much to break down old stereotypes about the cultural and social segregation of Roman and barbarian populations, and demonstrate that, contrary to the past orthodoxy, Romans and barbarians interacted in a multitude of ways, and it was not just barbarians who experienced "ethnogenesis" or cultural assimilation. The same Romans who disparaged barbarian behavior also adopted aspects of it in their everyday lives, providing graphic examples of the ambiguity and negotiation that characterized the integration of Romans and barbarians, a process that altered the concepts of identity of both populations. The resultant late antique polyethnic cultural world, with cultural frontiers between Romans and barbarians that became increasingly permeable in both directions, does much to help explain how the barbarian settlement of the west was accomplished with much less disruption than there might have been, and how barbarian populations were integrated seamlessly into the old Roman world.

The Barbarians

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Author :
Publisher : Reaktion Books
ISBN 13 : 1780237650
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis The Barbarians by : Peter Bogucki

Download or read book The Barbarians written by Peter Bogucki and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2017-06-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We often think of the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome as discrete incubators of Western culture, places where ideas about everything from government to art to philosophy were free to develop and then be distributed outward into the wider Mediterranean world. But as Peter Bogucki reminds us in this book, Greece and Rome did not develop in isolation. All around them were rural communities who had remarkably different cultures, ones few of us know anything about. Telling the stories of these nearly forgotten people, he offers a long-overdue enrichment of how we think about classical antiquity. As Bogucki shows, the lands to the north of the Greek and Roman peninsulas were inhabited by non-literate communities that stretched across river valleys, mountains, plains, and shorelines from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. What we know about them is almost exclusively through archeological finds of settlements, offerings, monuments, and burials—but these remnants paint a portrait that is just as compelling as that of the great literate, urban civilizations of this time. Bogucki sketches the development of these groups’ cultures from the Stone Age through the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west, highlighting the increasing complexity of their societal structures, their technological accomplishments, and their distinct cultural practices. He shows that we are still learning much about them, as he examines new historical and archeological discoveries as well as the ways our knowledge about these groups has led to a vibrant tourist industry and even influenced politics. The result is a fascinating account of several nearly vanished cultures and the modern methods that have allowed us to rescue them from historical oblivion.

Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376–568

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107393329
Total Pages : 519 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (73 download)

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Book Synopsis Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376–568 by : Guy Halsall

Download or read book Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376–568 written by Guy Halsall and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-12-20 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a major survey of the barbarian migrations and their role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the creation of early medieval Europe, one of the key events in European history. Unlike previous studies it integrates historical and archaeological evidence and discusses Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe and North Africa, demonstrating that the Roman Empire and its neighbours were inextricably linked. A narrative account of the turbulent fifth and early sixth centuries is followed by a description of society and politics during the migration period and an analysis of the mechanisms of settlement and the changes of identity. Guy Halsall reveals that the creation and maintenance of kingdoms and empires was impossible without the active involvement of people in the communities of Europe and North Africa. He concludes that, contrary to most opinions, the fall of the Roman Empire produced the barbarian migrations, not vice versa.

Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317061691
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World by : Danuta Shanzer

Download or read book Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World written by Danuta Shanzer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most significant transformations of the Roman world in Late Antiquity was the integration of barbarian peoples into the social, cultural, religious, and political milieu of the Mediterranean world. The nature of these transformations was considered at the sixth biennial Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity Conference, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in March of 2005, and this volume presents an updated selection of the papers given on that occasion, complemented with a few others,. These 25 studies do much to break down old stereotypes about the cultural and social segregation of Roman and barbarian populations, and demonstrate that, contrary to the past orthodoxy, Romans and barbarians interacted in a multitude of ways, and it was not just barbarians who experienced "ethnogenesis" or cultural assimilation. The same Romans who disparaged barbarian behavior also adopted aspects of it in their everyday lives, providing graphic examples of the ambiguity and negotiation that characterized the integration of Romans and barbarians, a process that altered the concepts of identity of both populations. The resultant late antique polyethnic cultural world, with cultural frontiers between Romans and barbarians that became increasingly permeable in both directions, does much to help explain how the barbarian settlement of the west was accomplished with much less disruption than there might have been, and how barbarian populations were integrated seamlessly into the old Roman world.

People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521526357
Total Pages : 552 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (263 download)

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Book Synopsis People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554 by : Patrick Amory

Download or read book People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554 written by Patrick Amory and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-10-16 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The barbarians of the fifth and sixth centuries were long thought to be races, tribes or ethnic groups who toppled the Roman Empire and racist, nationalist assumptions about the composition of the barbarian groups still permeate much scholarship on the subject. This book proposes a new view, through a case-study of the Goths of Italy between 489 and 554. It contains a detailed examination of the personal details and biographies of 379 individuals and compares their behaviour with ideological texts of the time. This inquiry suggests wholly new ways of understanding the appearance of barbarian groups and the end of the western Roman Empire, as well as proposing new models of regional and professional loyalty and group cohesion. In addition, the book proposes a complete reinterpretation of the evolution of Christian conceptions of community, and of so-called 'Germanic' Arianism.

Writing the Barbarian Past: Studies in Early Medieval Historical Narrative

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Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004305815
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Writing the Barbarian Past: Studies in Early Medieval Historical Narrative by : Shami Ghosh

Download or read book Writing the Barbarian Past: Studies in Early Medieval Historical Narrative written by Shami Ghosh and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-10-27 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides studies of narratives concerning the distant, ‘barbarian’ past, composed c.550–c.1000, ranging from Latin ‘national’ histories to Latin and vernacular epics and lays, and examines the place of this past in early medieval historical consciousness.

Transformations of Romanness

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Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 311059756X
Total Pages : 777 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis Transformations of Romanness by : Walter Pohl

Download or read book Transformations of Romanness written by Walter Pohl and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2018-07-09 with total page 777 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roman identity is one of the most interesting cases of social identity because in the course of time, it could mean so many different things: for instance, Greek-speaking subjects of the Byzantine empire, inhabitants of the city of Rome, autonomous civic or regional groups, Latin speakers under ‘barbarian’ rule in the West or, increasingly, representatives of the Church of Rome. Eventually, the Christian dimension of Roman identity gained ground. The shifting concepts of Romanness represent a methodological challenge for studies of ethnicity because, depending on its uses, Roman identity may be regarded as ‘ethnic’ in a broad sense, but under most criteria, it is not. Romanness is indeed a test case how an established and prestigious social identity can acquire many different shades of meaning, which we would class as civic, political, imperial, ethnic, cultural, legal, religious, regional or as status groups. This book offers comprehensive overviews of the meaning of Romanness in most (former) Roman provinces, complemented by a number of comparative and thematic studies. A similarly wide-ranging overview has not been available so far.

Barbarians and the Birth of Chinese Identity

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Author :
Publisher : Understanding China Through Company
ISBN 13 : 9781611720341
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (23 download)

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Book Synopsis Barbarians and the Birth of Chinese Identity by : Jing Liu (Author of graphic novels)

Download or read book Barbarians and the Birth of Chinese Identity written by Jing Liu (Author of graphic novels) and published by Understanding China Through Company. This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A great way to learn about China's vast history "--Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club Excels at clarifying the often-confusing transitional periods between dynasties... An excellent introduction to the large trends of early Chinese history."--School Library Journal "The lucid, economical text makes one eager for the successive volumes."--Booklist "The combination of silhouettes--often threatening, martial ones--with open-faced, expressively individualized figures of many social classes adds dramatic tension while neatly balancing the big-picture narrative. There's a lot to absorbeven in this abbreviatedform, but the visual approach lightens the load considerably."--Kirkus Reviews "Simple and effective...This direct, appealing introduction to the foundations of one of the world's oldest civilizations is recommended for teens and adults."--Library Journal "An excellent history that clearly explains the great (and ordinary) people who have made China what it is and the conflicts and debates that have shaped Chinese history. There is nothing else like it in English or Chinese."--Alan Baumler, Professor of History at Indiana University of Pennsylvania "No more burying yourself in text-heavy history books to learn about China, this comic-style book manages to be rich in information and bring Chinese history to readers in a more clear, fun, and accessible way than it's ever been done before. Easily integrated into a social studies or Chinese culture curriculum, I can't wait to get a copy for my class."--Grace Zeng, Chinese Teacher and Middle School Chinese Curriculum Area Leader at International School of Beijing "It is certainly a fascinating look at Chinese history, and doing it in comics has certainly made it more accessible to people, especially for the Western world."--Radio Australia "Jing Liu has brought to life the long and complex early period of Chinese history in this wonderful graphic novel. Foundations of Chinese Civilization is a delight to read; humorous, informative, and truly captivating."--Alexandra Pearson, Founder of The Bookworm Literary Festival "This book is "The Magic School Bus" for those starting to explore Chinese culture."--Dan Cao, Instructor at Confucius Institute at UC Davis "Since the 1990s, Jing Liu has been entertaining and informing foreigners about China with his cartoons. His new series of comic books is a fun, easy, accessible way to gain a basic understanding of Chinese history and culture."--Jeremy Goldkorn, Founder of Danwei 4.5/5 Stars "A very nice way to establish a foundation to understanding China's history and a possible gateway to more intense study and comprehension of a very complex subject."--Portland Book Review 4.5/5 Stars "Entertaining, engaging, and informative, this is a perfect doorway for the student new to ancient China."--Seattle Book Review "Informed and informative, Division to Unification in Imperial China is especially recommended for young readers ages 11 to 17 and should be a part of every school and community library's History of China collection."--The Midwest Book Review "The book does what it says it does: a child will come away with a basic understanding of early Chinese history, what makes the Chinese tick as a people and culture."--Asian Review of Books "With Donald Trump's focus on China, with no signs of letting up, it is a perfect time to gain a better understanding of a very misunderstood country. This is a highly accessible work tailored to fast learning while also very entertaining."--The Comics Grinder

Europe's Barbarians AD 200-600

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317868242
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (178 download)

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Book Synopsis Europe's Barbarians AD 200-600 by : Edward James

Download or read book Europe's Barbarians AD 200-600 written by Edward James and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-07-22 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Barbarians' is the name the Romans gave to those who lived beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire - the peoples they considered 'uncivilised'. Most of the written sources concerning the barbarians come from the Romans too, and as such, need to be treated with caution. Only archaeology allows us to see beyond Roman prejudices - and yet these records are often as difficult to interpret as historical ones. Expertly guiding the reader through such historiographical complexities, Edward James traces the history of the barbarians from the height of Roman power through to AD 600, by which time they had settled in most parts of imperial territory in Europe. His book is the first to look at all Europe's barbarians: the Picts and the Scots in the far north-west; the Franks, Goths and Slavic-speaking peoples; and relative newcomers such as the Huns and Alans from the Asiatic steppes. How did whole barbarian peoples migrate across Europe? What were their relations with the Romans? And why did they convert to Christianity? Drawing on the latest scholarly research, this book rejects easy generalisations to provide a clear, nuanced and comprehensive account of the barbarians and the tumultuous period they lived through.

Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean

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Author :
Publisher : Getty Publications
ISBN 13 : 0892369698
Total Pages : 546 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (923 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean by : Erich S. Gruen

Download or read book Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean written by Erich S. Gruen and published by Getty Publications. This book was released on 2011 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cultural identity in the classical world is explored from a variety of angles.

Tales of the Barbarians

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Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1444390805
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (443 download)

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Book Synopsis Tales of the Barbarians by : Greg Woolf

Download or read book Tales of the Barbarians written by Greg Woolf and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tales of the Barbarians traces the creation of new mythologies in the wake of Roman expansion westward to the Atlantic, and offers the first application of modern ethnographic theory to ancient material. Investigates the connections between empire and knowledge at the turn of the millennia, and the creation of new histories in the Roman West Explores how ancient geography, local histories and the stories of wandering heroes were woven together by Greek scholars and local experts Offers a fresh perspective by examining passages from ancient writers in a new light

Roman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul

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Author :
Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 0292758073
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (927 download)

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Book Synopsis Roman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul by : Ralph Whitney Mathisen

Download or read book Roman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul written by Ralph Whitney Mathisen and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2013-08-21 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skin-clad barbarians ransacking Rome remains a popular image of the "decline and fall" of the Roman Empire, but why, when, and how the Empire actually fell are still matters of debate among students of classical history. In this pioneering study, Ralph W. Mathisen examines the "fall" in one part of the western Empire, Gaul, to better understand the shift from Roman to Germanic power that occurred in the region during the fifth century AD Mathisen uncovers two apparently contradictory trends. First, he finds that barbarian settlement did provoke significant changes in Gaul, including the disappearance of most secular offices under the Roman imperial administration, the appropriation of land and social influence by the barbarians, and a rise in the overall level of violence. Yet he also shows that the Roman aristocrats proved remarkably adept at retaining their rank and status. How did the aristocracy hold on? Mathisen rejects traditional explanations and demonstrates that rather than simply opposing the barbarians, or passively accepting them, the Roman aristocrats directly responded to them in various ways. Some left Gaul. Others tried to ignore the changes wrought by the newcomers. Still others directly collaborated with the barbarians, looking to them as patrons and holding office in barbarian governments. Most significantly, however, many were willing to change the criteria that determined membership in the aristocracy. Two new characteristics of the Roman aristocracy in fifth-century Gaul were careers in the church and greater emphasis on classical literary culture. These findings shed new light on an age in transition. Mathisen's theory that barbarian integration into Roman society was a collaborative process rather than a conquest is sure to provoke much thought and debate. All historians who study the process of power transfer from native to alien elites will want to consult this work.

The Barbarians of Ancient Europe

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 0521194040
Total Pages : 441 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (211 download)

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Book Synopsis The Barbarians of Ancient Europe by : Larissa Bonfante

Download or read book The Barbarians of Ancient Europe written by Larissa Bonfante and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-29 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deals with the reality of the indigenous peoples of Europe - Thracians, Scythians, Celts, Germans, Etruscans, and other peoples of Italy, the Alps, and beyond.

Constructing Identities in Late Antiquity

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134649924
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (346 download)

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Book Synopsis Constructing Identities in Late Antiquity by : Richard Miles

Download or read book Constructing Identities in Late Antiquity written by Richard Miles and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-03-11 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in Constructing Identities in Late Antiquity concern themselves with the theme of identity, an increasingly popular topic in Classical studies. Through detailed discussions of particular Roman texts and images, the contributors show not only how these texts were used to create and organise particular visions of late antique society and culture, but also how constructions of identity and culture contributed to the fashioning of 'late antiquity' into a distinct historical period.

Barbarian Tides

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Author :
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 0812200284
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (122 download)

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Book Synopsis Barbarian Tides by : Walter Goffart

Download or read book Barbarian Tides written by Walter Goffart and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2010-11-25 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Migration Age is still envisioned as an onrush of expansionary "Germans" pouring unwanted into the Roman Empire and subjecting it to pressures so great that its western parts collapsed under the weight. Further developing the themes set forth in his classic Barbarians and Romans, Walter Goffart dismantles this grand narrative, shaking the barbarians of late antiquity out of this "Germanic" setting and reimagining the role of foreigners in the Later Roman Empire. The Empire was not swamped by a migratory Germanic flood for the simple reason that there was no single ancient Germanic civilization to be transplanted onto ex-Roman soil. Since the sixteenth century, the belief that purposeful Germans existed in parallel with the Romans has been a fixed point in European history. Goffart uncovers the origins of this historical untruth and argues that any projection of a modern Germany out of an ancient one is illusory. Rather, the multiplicity of northern peoples once living on the edges of the Empire participated with the Romans in the larger stirrings of late antiquity. Most relevant among these was the long militarization that gripped late Roman society concurrently with its Christianization. If the fragmented foreign peoples with which the Empire dealt gave Rome an advantage in maintaining its ascendancy, the readiness to admit military talents of any social origin to positions of leadership opened the door of imperial service to immigrants from beyond its frontiers. Many barbarians were settled in the provinces without dislodging the Roman residents or destabilizing landownership; some were even incorporated into the ruling families of the Empire. The outcome of this process, Goffart argues, was a society headed by elites of soldiers and Christian clergy—one we have come to call medieval.

Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134778503
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (347 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire by : Dr Joanne Berry

Download or read book Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire written by Dr Joanne Berry and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-09-11 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This provocative and often controversial volume examines concepts of ethnicity, citizenship and nationhood, to determine what constituted cultural identity in the Roman Empire. The contributors draw together the most recent research and use diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives from archaeology, classical studies and ancient history to challenge our basic assumptions of Romanization and how parts of Europe became incorporated into a Roman culture. Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire breaks new ground, arguing that the idea of a unified and easily defined Roman culture is over-simplistic, and offering alternative theories and models. This well-documented and timely book presents cultural identity throughout the Roman empire as a complex and diverse issue, far removed from the previous notion of a dichotomy between the Roman invaders and the Barbarian conquered.