Description
Book SynopsisHistorians often regard the police as a modern development, and indeed, many pre-modern societies had no such institution. Most recent scholarship has claimed that Roman society relied on kinship networks or community self-regulation as a means of conflict resolution and social control. This model, according to Christopher Fuhrmann, fails to properly account for the imperial-era evidence, which argues in fact for an expansion of state-sponsored policing activities in the first three centuries of the Common Era. Drawing on a wide variety of source material--from art, archaeology, administrative documents, Egyptian papyri, laws, Jewish and Christian religious texts, and ancient narratives--Policing the Roman Empire provides a comprehensive overview of Roman imperial policing practices with chapters devoted to fugitive slave hunting, the pivotal role of Augustus, the expansion of policing under his successors, and communities lacking soldier-police that were forced to rely on self-help or
Trade ReviewFuhrmann's book is a very well documented and convenient synthesis on the contribution of the Roman army to law enforcement in peacetime during the imperial period. * Cedric Brelaz, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Table of ContentsAbbreviations ; Roman Emperors from Augustus to Julian ; Maps of the Roman Empire ; 1. Introduction ; 2. "Arrest me, for I have run away": Fugitive Slave Hunting in the Roman Empire ; 3. "Like a thief in the night": Self-help, Magisterial Authority, and Civilian Policing ; 4. "I brought peace to the provinces": Augustus and The Rhetoric of Imperial Peace ; 5. "To squelch the discord of the rabble": Military Policing in Rome and Italy under Augustus' Successors ; 6. "Let there be no violence contrary to my wish": Emperors and Provincial Order ; 7. "Keep your province pacified and quiet": Provincial Governors, Public Order, and Policing ; 8. "Military stations throughout all provinces": Detached-Service Soldier-Police ; 9. Conclusion ; Appendix: Differentiating stationarii from beneficiarii consulares and Other Detached-Service Soldiers ; Bibliography ; Index of Ancient Sources ; General Index
