Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire

This provocative and often controversial volume examines concepts of ethnicity, citizenship and nationhood, to determine what constituted cultural identity in the Roman Empire. The contributors draw together the most recent research and use diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives from archaeology, classical studies and ancient history to challenge our basic assumptions of Romanization and how parts of Europe became incorporated into a Roman culture.Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire breaks new ground, arguing that the idea of a unified and easily defined Roman culture is over-simplistic, and offering alternative theories and models. This well-documented and timely book presents cultural identity throughout the Roman empire as a complex and diverse issue, far removed from the previous notion of a dichotomy between the Roman invaders and the Barbarian conquered.

1. Introduction Ray Laurence 2. Cohors the Governor and his Entourage in the Self-Image of the Roman Republic David Braund 3. Punic Persistence: Colonialism and Cultural Identities in Roman Sardinia Peter van Dommelen 4. Constructing the Self and the Other in Cyrenaica Eireann Marshall 5. Roman Imperialism and the City in Italy Kathryn Lomas 6. Landscape and Cultural Identity in Roman Britain David Petts 7. Territory, Ethnonyms and Geography: the Construction of Identity in Roman Italy Ray Laurence 8. Romancing the Celts: a Segmentary Approach to Acculturation Alex Woolf 9. A Spirit of Improvement? Marble and Culture in Roman Britain Raphael M.J. Isserlin 10. Material Culture and Roman Identity: the Spatial Layout of Pompeian Houses and the Problem of Ethnicity Mark Grahame 11. The Identity of the Dead: Marginal Groups in Roman Nimes Valerie M. Hope.

Ray Laurence is a Lecturer in the Department of Classics at the University of Reading. He is the author of The Roads of Roman Italy: Mobility and Cultural Change (Routledge 1999) and Roman Pompeii: Space and Society (Routledge 1994). Joanne Berry is Rome scholar in Italian studies at the British School at Rome. Her research interests are Pompeii, artefact assemblages and the Roman house.