Ethics and Imperialism in Livy.

Roman History;Historiography;Latin;Imperialism;Classical Studies;Humanities;Classical Studies

Groves, Joseph ViguersForsdyke, Sara ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Roman History;    Historiography;    Latin;    Imperialism;    Classical Studies;    Humanities;    Classical Studies;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/97998/jvgroves_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Ethics and Imperialism in LivyThis dissertation shows that, during the mid Republic, the Romans evaluated the justice of their wars in terms of fides, ;;good faith,” a concept which, although conceived in terms of mutual obligation and benefaction, subtly advanced Roman hegemony and fostered expansion. Because defending allies was integral to fides, this model preserves much of the familiar and largely successful narrative of Roman expansion while providing a more internally consistent idea of how the Romans themselves justified their increasingly heavy-handed interventions in the eastern Mediterranean. This avoids the ethical anachronism of ;;defensive imperialism” that has dominated scholarship on Roman imperialism and highlights the internal consistency of the Romans own explanations of their wars. Because this model does not exclude aggression, it better explains how Rome could extend its influence and territory while denying the legitimacy of wars undertaken purely for conquest’s sake.Throughout Livy’s first ten books, the Romans attempt to obtain security by cultivating asymmetrical fides relationships with their neighbors, but learn that they must also enforce obedience through metus,fear. Livy imagines early Romans erring on the side of generosity and applying greater force with reluctance, as after the Latin revolt. This highly idealized version of Roman foreign policy may be the stuff of legend, but the ethics underlying the account were integral to Roman diplomacy. That this emphasis on fides also pervades Polybius’ own account indicates that this was a live concern that shaped how the Romans conceived of and justified their wars both at home and abroad. It also provides a more robust explanation of Roman expansion in the Greek world. The failure of the Greeks to put aside their quarrels, and Macedon its ambition, following Rome’s lead in return for what the Romans regarded as generous treatment, convinced the Romans that stability and security could only be achieved by a greater show of force. Even in the sack Corinth, and the most cynical Roman act, the obliteration of Carthage, it was not Roman power, but those cities’ breach of fides that the Romans held up to give their actions legitimacy.