BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD

A COMPANION TO

THE ROMAN
EMPIRE
E D I T E D BY D AV I D S . P O T T E R
A COMPANION
TO THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD
This series provides sophisticated and authoritative overviews of periods of ancient history, genres of
classical literature, and the most important themes in ancient culture. Each volume comprises between
twenty-five and forty concise essays written by individual scholars within their area of specialization. The
essays are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner, designed for an international audience of
scholars, students, and general readers.

AN C I EN T HI S T O R Y LI T ER ATU R E AN D CU LT U RE
Published Published
A Companion to the Roman Republic A Companion to Ancient Epic
Edited by Nathan Rosenstein and Robert Morstein- Edited by John Miles Foley
Marx A Companion to Greek Tragedy
A Companion to the Roman Empire Edited by Justina Gregory
Edited by David S. Potter A Companion to Latin Literature
A Companion to the Classical Greek World Edited by Stephen Harrison
Edited by Konrad H. Kinzl
A Companion to the Ancient Near East In preparation
Edited by Daniel C. Snell
A Companion to Classical Mythology
A Companion to the Hellenistic World Edited by Ken Dowden and Niall Livingstone
Edited by Andrew Erskine
A Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography
Edited by John Marincola
In preparation A Companion to Greek Religion
A Companion to Ancient History Edited by Daniel Ogden
Edited by Andrew Erskine A Companion to Greek Rhetoric
A Companion to the Archaic Greek World Edited by Ian Worthington
Edited by Kurt A. Raaflaub and Hans van A Companion to Roman Rhetoric
Wees Edited by William Dominik and Jon Hall
A Companion to Julius Caesar A Companion to Classical Tradition
Edited by Miriam Griffin Edited by Craig Kallendorf
A Companion to the Roman Army A Companion to Roman Religion
Edited by Paul Erdkamp Edited by Jörg Rüpke
A Companion to Byzantium A Companion to Ovid
Edited by Elizabeth James Edited by Peter Knox
A Companion to Late Antiquity A Companion to Catullus
Edited by Philip Rousseau Edited by Marilyn Skinner
A COMPANION
TO THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
Edited by
David S. Potter
ß 2006 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

BLACKWELL PUBLISHING
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The right of David S. Potter to be identified as the Author of the Editorial Material in this Work has been
asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
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the publisher.

First published 2006 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

1 2006

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A companion to the Roman Empire / edited by David Potter.

p. cm. — (Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Ancient history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-631-22644-4 (hard cover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-631-22644-3 (hard cover : alk. paper) 1. Rome—History—Empire, 30 B.C. –476 A.D. 2.
Rome—History—Empire, 30 B.C. –476 A.D.—Sources. 3. Rome—Civilization. I. Potter, D. S. (David
Stone), 1957– II. Series.

DG311.P68 2006
937’.06–dc22 2005015454

A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

Set in 10/12pt Galliard

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For Claire and Natalie
 Contents

List of Illustrations x
List of Tables xiii
Notes on Contributors xiv
Acknowledgments xvi
Reference works: Abbreviations xvii
Ancient authors: Abbreviations and Glossary xx
The Emperors of Rome from Augustus to Constantine xxix
Introduction: The Shape of Roman History: The Fate of the Governing Class 1
David S. Potter

PA R T I TH E SO U R C E S 21

1 Constructing a Narrative 23
Cynthia Damon
2 Roman Imperial Numismatics 35
William E. Metcalf
3 Documents 45
Traianos Gagos and David S. Potter
4 Art, Architecture, and Archaeology in the Roman Empire 75
Lea Stirling
5 Interdisciplinary Approaches 98
James B. Rives
viii Contents

PA R T II NA R R AT I V E 113

6 The Emergence of Monarchy: 44 BCE –96 C E 115

Greg Rowe
7 Rome the Superpower: 96–235 CE 126
Michael Peachin
8 The Transformation of the Empire: 235–337 CE 153
David S. Potter

PA R T III AD M I N I S T R AT I O N 175

9 The Administration of the Provinces 177

Clifford Ando
10 The Transformation of Government under Diocletian and
Constantine 193
Hugh Elton
11 The Roman Army 206
Nigel Pollard
12 Greek Cities Under Roman Rule 228
Maud W. Gleason
13 Cities and Urban Life in the Western Provinces of the
Roman Empire 30 BCE –250 C E 250
Jonathan Edmondson

PA R T IV SO C I A L A N D EC O N O M I C LI F E 281

14 The Imperial Economy 283

David Mattingly
15 Landlords and Tenants 298
Dennis P. Kehoe
16 The Family 312
Judith Evans Grubbs
17 Sexuality in the Roman Empire 327
Amy Richlin
18 On Food and the Body 354
Veronika E. Grimm
19 Leisure 369
Garrett G. Fagan
20 Spectacle 385
David S. Potter