Studies in Roman government and society

Studies in Roman government and society

This book consists of a collection of sixteen studies on the history of ancient Roman administration, law and society. They were originally published in the form of separate articles in Polish in the years 2007–2020, and this volume is their English edition. However, this is not just a translation, because all the texts have been significantly changed, for example by supplementing the bibliography, correcting the content, combining articles on similar topics, as well as removing unnecessary repetitions and noticed errors. Although the individual studies are arranged chronologically in the work (according to the subject matter), the six main ones of them concern the system of power during the rule of the emperors from the Flavian dynasty (chapters 8–14), which is the result of the author’s participation in a research project of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education No. NN 108 058335, entitled: ‘Transformation of the Roman Empire in the Flavian times’, which was carried out at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań under the supervision of Professor Leszek Mrozewicz. This part includes the chapter devoted to Tiberius Julius Alexander, one of the first supporters of Vespasian’s elevation to imperial dignity (chapter 8). The next two chapters deal with the changes that took place in the organization and composition of the privileged states (ordosenatorius and ordo equester) in the Flavian times (chapters 9–10). Chapter 11 is a study focused on the image of the imperial council (consilium principis) during the reign of Domitian, based on the description contained in the Fourth Satire of Juvenal. The following chapter combines two articles referring to the economic reforms of Vespasian and Domitian, which were among the most important achievements of the imperial power of that time. Chapter 13 constitutes an attempt to reconstruct the trial of Apollonius of Tyana before the tribunal of Domitian, the description of which can be found in the pages of the biography written by Flavius Philostratus. Though this biography was written not earlier than during the reign of Septimius Severus and is legendary in nature, in my opinion it can be used as a source for analyzing the course of criminal proceedings before the imperial tribunal. The last chapter of the Flavian cycle (chapter 14) is a commentary on a poem by Statius, in which the poet assigns the prefects of Rome the duty of guarding the safety of the emperor, which was generally one of the tasks required from the praetorian prefects. (Introduction)