Search results for ""author olivier hekster""

This was a time of civil war, anarchy, intrigue, and assassination. Between 193 and 284 the Roman Empire knew more than twenty-five emperors, and an equal number of usurpers. All of them had some measure of success, several of them often ruling different parts of the Empire at the same time. Rome's traditional political institutions slid into vacuity and armies became the Empire's most powerful institutions, proclaiming their own imperial champions and deposing those they held to be incompetent. Yet despite widespread contemporary dismay at such weak government this period was also one in which the boundaries of the Empire remained fairly stable; the rights and privileges of Roman citizenship were extended equally to all free citizens of the Empire; in several regions the economy remained robust in the face of rampant inflation; and literary culture, philosophy, and legal theory flourished. Historians have been discussing how and why this could have been for centuries. Olivier Hekster takes you to the heart of these debates and illustrates the arguments with key contemporary documents. His compelling account will engage students at all levels of study. Key Features * issues of historical significance are identified and thematically discussed * important modern debates are placed together and explored * key passages of text along with key images are gathered and accessible in one volume * includes essay questions, chronology, further reading, bibliography, and useful website resources

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For centuries, Roman emperors ruled a vast empire. Yet, at least officially, the emperor did not exist. No one knew exactly what titles he possessed, how he could be portrayed, what exactly he had to do, or how the succession was organised. Everyone knew, however, that the emperor held ultimate power over the empire. There were also expectations about what he should do and be, although these varied throughout the empire and also evolved over time. How did these expectations develop and change? To what degree could an emperor deviate from prevailing norms? And what role did major developments in Roman society – such as the rise of Christianity or the choice of Constantinople as the new capital – play in the ways in which emperors could exercise their rule? This ambitious and engaging book describes the surprising stability of the Roman Empire over more than six centuries of history.

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This volume presents the outcome of the workshop 'Cultural Messages in the Graeco-Roman World', which marked the 80th anniversary of BABESCH. It takes as its premise that looking at modes to analyse cultural messages in the classical world is a valuable approach to the study of antiquity. The main purpose of the volume is therefore to explore ways in which (and the extent towards which) one can answer substantial questions about Greek and Roman culture through analysing material sources. To this end, the volume includes papers by archaeologists and ancient historians with an interest in larger methodological and theoretical questions. They all explore one of two broader themes: funerary culture and domestic culture. Within the context of those two themes, papers question how one can make statements about ancient societies based upon a specific set of material finds. The focus of the individual papers ranges from the early Greek until the later Roman period, evenly distributed among the two themes. This broad chronological range indicates the wide framework of the volume. The result is a highly interesting mixture of different kinds of studies, all emphasising the critical importance of context - local, geographical, and in terms of materiality - in any sustainable analysis of ancient cultural messages.

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