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Best regards, Andrew Stewart - - - Subscribe to the Washington Babylon newsletter via https://washingtonbabylon.com/newsletter/ Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <h-rev...@lists.h-net.org> > Date: September 5, 2019 at 8:35:42 AM EDT > To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > Cc: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.org> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-War]: Roselaar on Lomas, 'The Rise of Rome: From > the Iron Age to the Punic Wars' > Reply-To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > > Kathryn Lomas. The Rise of Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic > Wars. Cambridge Harvard University Press, 2018. 432 pp. $35.00 > (cloth), ISBN 978-0-674-65965-0. > > Reviewed by Saskia Roselaar (Independent Scholar) > Published on H-War (September, 2019) > Commissioned by Margaret Sankey > > This book is one of a new series by Harvard University Press on the > history of the ancient world. It is one of the first books to offer a > comprehensive overview of the early development and rise of Rome for > a general public--particularly undergraduates, as well as interested > laymen. > > Lomas gives an admirable overview of a period for which very few > primary sources exist, at least not in the form of written accounts > by eyewitnesses. Lomas therefore has to fully engage with the > available archaeological and epigraphic materials, and does so > excellently. It is always difficult to bring such a poorly documented > period to life, especially if even the most basic events and > developments of the period are under debate. However, Lomas manages > to draft a lively sketch of life in the regal and early republican > period, supported by a large variety of color plates and > black-and-white drawings. > > Part 1 focuses on early Italy and the foundations of Rome. In the > ninth century, when this book starts, Rome was just of the many > settlements in Latium, perhaps located at an exceptionally > well-chosen location, but with no particular claim to regional > dominance. Lomas therefore starts by sketching the histories of the > peoples, within and outside Italy, that played an important role in > the peninsula at this time: the archaeologically attested Etruscans, > Greeks, and Phoenicians as well as the mythical involvement of the > Trojans and the Sabines. Throughout the volume, Lomas clearly > articulates the involvement of the Italian peoples with the history > of Rome. In doing so, she rightly points to the great amount of > migration that occurred in ancient societies in general, thus > dismissing any simplistic ideas about conquest of one people by > another--the Etruscans did not outright conquer Rome or Campania, as > has been suggested, but their cultural influence was nevertheless > large. > > Next, Lomas discusses the _"_orientalizing revolution_"_ of the > seventh century. In this period, rapid social and economic change > occurred in Italy. A wealthy international elite emerged, connected > through ties of marriage and friendship, which displayed its status > through conspicuous consumption. At this time, the city of Rome had > converged from a number of small settlements into an urban center of > regional importance. > > The second part of the volume covers the period 600-400, in which > many crucial developments in state structures and power relations in > central Italy occurred. In the sixth century, the city-state became > the predominant type of state organization throughout Italy. Many > cities saw investment in their layout and public buildings in this > period; Rome in the late sixth century looked very different than a > century before. After the fall of the kings--in a period that saw > political and economic disruption in many areas of Italy--the fifth > century was a period of change in Rome and Italy, connected to the > rise of the Samnites as a clearly distinguished ethnic group. > > Next, Lomas gives a detailed but very readable account of the > _"_struggle of the orders._"_ At the heart of the conflict between > patricians and plebeians was access to power: political, social, > religious, and economic. This was a period of experimentation in many > regards, both political--for example, the number of magistrates and > their functions--as well as legal, with a number of new laws coming > into force in the fifth and fourth centuries. At the same time, > conspicuous consumption by the elite focused more and more on the > sponsorship of public and religious buildings rather than private > houses and tombs, emphasizing the growing importance and power of the > state in Roman society. > > Part 3 focuses on the Roman conquest of Italy. From the late fifth > century, Rome gradually expanded its power in central Italy. This > brought considerable economic advantages, leading to great changes in > the city itself. Rome was further enlarged in the fourth century, > with new public amenities, an impressive city wall, the new Via > Appia, a new port, _et cetera_. The struggle of the orders had been > more or less resolved; a new, mixed aristocracy was now in power and > displayed its wealth in private houses as well as the sponsoring of > public buildings, paid for by the spoils of war. > > Important aspects of the Roman conquest of Italy were colonization > and road-building. Through these methods, Rome tightened its control > of the peninsula, but also impacted economic developments--whether a > settlement was located near the new road system determined its > economic performance. In some aspects of the discussion on > colonization, Lomas relies a little too much on traditional > scholarship, which has been challenged by a large number of recent > publications. However, this is inevitable in a book of this type, and > in general Lomas succeeds remarkably well in succinctly and clearly > describing the main developments of the period while also giving > attention to the intricacies of the scholarly debate. > > The final part of the book discusses the development of Rome from a > city-state to the dominant power in Italy in the fourth century. This > focuses on a variety of changes that occurred in this period, which > provided the basis for Rome's dominance in the remainder of the > Republic. The most important of these were the final settlement of > Rome's constitution and the role of the various assemblies, the power > of the Senate, the arrangement of state religion, the further > development of the Roman army, the final emergence of a new nobility, > the growing influx of wealth into Rome, the emergence of a slave > society, and the growing influence of Greek culture in Rome. With > this, Lomas leaves an excellent starting point for the next volume in > this series. > > The book is supported by a large variety of supplementary materials. > First is a note on sources that discusses the challenges of > interpretation of the limited number of ancient sources that have > survived from this period. There is a bibliography as well as a > section guiding readers toward other essential works. A useful guide > to sites, museums, and online resources points archaeology > enthusiasts to the best places in Italy to visit; unfortunately, the > number of online resources mentioned in this section is rather small. > > This volume is recommended reading for all nonspecialists interested > in the early history of Rome. It sets a high standard for this new > series and it is to be hoped that the other volumes will be able to > live up to its example. > > Citation: Saskia Roselaar. Review of Lomas, Kathryn, _The Rise of > Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic Wars_. H-War, H-Net Reviews. > September, 2019. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=53210 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
