Imperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic - Hardcover
Given the intense competition among aristocrats seeking public office in the middle and late Roman Republic, one would expect that their persistent struggles for honor, glory, and power could have seriously undermined the state or damaged the cohesiveness of the ruling class. Rome in fact depended on aristocratic competition, since no professional bureaucracy directed public affairs and no salary was attached to any public office. But as Rosenstein adeptly shows, competition appears to have been surprisingly limited, in ways that curtailed the possible destructive effects of all-out contests between individuals.
Imperatores Victi examines one particularly striking case of such checks on competition. Military success at all times represented an abundant source of prestige and political strength at Rome. Generals who led armies to victory enjoyed a better-than-average chance of securing higher office upon their return from the field. Yet this study demonstrates that defeated generals were not barred from public office and in fact went on to win the Republic's most highly coveted and hotly contested offices in numbers virtually identical with those of their undefeated peers.
Rosenstein explores how this unexpected limit to competition functions, reviewing beliefs about the religious origins of defeat, assumptions about common soldiers' duties in battle, and definitions of honorable behavior of an aristocrat during a crisis. These perspectives were instrumental in shifting the onus of failure away from a general's person and in offering positive strategies a general might use to win glory and respect even in defeat and to silence potential critics among a failed general's peers. Such limits to competition had an impact on the larger problems of stability and coherence in the Republic and its political elite; these larger problems are discussed in the concluding chapter.
Imperatores Victi examines one particularly striking case of such checks on competition. Military success at all times represented an abundant source of prestige and political strength at Rome. Generals who led armies to victory enjoyed a better-than-average chance of securing higher office upon their return from the field. Yet this study demonstrates that defeated generals were not barred from public office and in fact went on to win the Republic's most highly coveted and hotly contested offices in numbers virtually identical with those of their undefeated peers.
Rosenstein explores how this unexpected limit to competition functions, reviewing beliefs about the religious origins of defeat, assumptions about common soldiers' duties in battle, and definitions of honorable behavior of an aristocrat during a crisis. These perspectives were instrumental in shifting the onus of failure away from a general's person and in offering positive strategies a general might use to win glory and respect even in defeat and to silence potential critics among a failed general's peers. Such limits to competition had an impact on the larger problems of stability and coherence in the Republic and its political elite; these larger problems are discussed in the concluding chapter.
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From the Back Cover:
"A piece of work erudite and inspiring . . . for it abandons the well-trodden path and ventures into the difficult territory of Roman religion and its turbulent intersection with Roman politics. It is astounding that nobody has ever treated this subject systematically and in detail." (Jerzy Linderski, University of North Carolina)
About the Author:
Nathan S. Rosenstein is Assistant Professor of History at Ohio State University.
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- PublisherUniversity of California Press
- Publication date1990
- ISBN 10 0520069390
- ISBN 13 9780520069398
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages208
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Imperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic
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Imperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. F/NF. Scarce, out-of-print. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. Ships on same or next business day in secure packaging with tracking/delivery confirmation. Inv. Ref. R04. Seller Inventory # R04-BN56-0013
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Imperatores Victi Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Text clean and solid; some wear and sunning to dust jacket ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 208 pages. Seller Inventory # 222560
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Imperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic
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Book Description hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Copyright 1990 with full number line. Signed not just once but twice, and inscribed to two previous owners by the author, "Nate", on front endpaper. Very good hardcover with dust jacket. Binding is tight, sturdy, and square; light edgewear and light fading to red cloth boards. Gold gilt titling on spine is lightly dulled but remains clearly readable. Text is very good throughout. Unclipped dust jacket is very good with a few light creases. Ships from Dinkytown in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Signed and inscribed by Author. Seller Inventory # 310455
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Imperatores victi : military defeat and aristocratic competition in the middle and late Republic
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Book Description hardcover. Condition: Perfetto (Mint). AP.17Copertina rigida,in lingua inglese, volume come nuovo, copertina e interno in condizioni eccellenti, legatura salda , 224 pagine circaCopertina come da foto . Book. Seller Inventory # bc_198438
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Book Description Condition: Sehr gut. XII, 224 p. From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Somewhat rubbed jacket, otherwise very good and clean. / Etwas beriebener Umschlag, sonst sehr gut und sauber. - Contents: Introduction: The Problem of Limits on Aristocratic Competition -- 1. Military Failure, Political Success -- 2. Defeat and the Pax Deorum -- 3. Defeat and the Virtus Militum -- 4. The Aristocratic Ethos and the Preservation of Status -- 5. Conclusions and Implications. - Roman politics in the middle and late Republic were characterized by an intense competition among aristocrats seeking public office, prestige, and personal power. Given the pervasiveness and ferocity of such rivalry, one might expect that it would soon have undermined the cohesiveness of the ruling class or endangered the state. But as Rosenstein adeptly shows, competition was surprisingly limited, in ways that curtailed the possible destructive effects of all-out contests between individuals. Imperatores Victi examines one particularly striking case of the limitation of aristocratic competition. Military success at all times represented an abundant source of prestige and political strength at Rome. Generals who led armies to victory enjoyed a much-better-than-average chance of securing higher office upon their return from the field. On the other hand, scholars have usually assumed that a lost battle spelled trouble in court or constituted a serious liability at the polls for the individual in command. Yet Rosenstein demonstrates that defeated generals were not barred from public office and in fact went on to win the Republic's most highly coveted and hotly contested offices in numbers virtually identical with those of their undefeated peers. Rosenstein explores how this state of affairs could be sustained in an otherwise deeply competitive political culture, reviewing beliefs about the religious origins of defeat, assumptions about the common soldiers' duties in battle, and definitions of honorable behavior for an aristocrat during a crisis. These Roman perspectives created ways of shifting the onus of failure away from a general and offered him strategies for winning glory and respect among the voters even in defeat and for silencing potential critics among his peers Limits to aristocratic competition had an important impact on the larger problems of the Republic's political stability and coherence among its ruling elite. - Nathan S. Rosenstein is Assistant Professor of History at The Ohio State University. ISBN 9780520069398 Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 513 Original cloth with dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 1171842
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Imperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic
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(1990)
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ISBN 13: 9780520069398
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ISBN 13: 9780520069398
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 223 pp., bibliography, index. Given the intense competition among aristocrats seeking public office in the middle and late Roman Republic, one would expect that their persistent struggles for honor, glory, and power could have seriously undermined the state or damaged the cohesiveness of the ruling class. Rome in fact depended on aristocratic competition, since no professional bureaucracy directed public affairs and no salary was attached to any public office. But as Rosenstein adeptly shows, competition appears to have been surprisingly limited, in ways that curtailed the possible destructive effects of all-out contests between individuals. Imperatores Victi examines one particularly striking case of such checks on competition. Military success at all times represented an abundant source of prestige and political strength at Rome. Generals who led armies to victory enjoyed a better-than-average chance of securing higher office upon their return from the field. Yet this study demonstrates that defeated generals were not barred from public office and in fact went on to win the Republic's most highly coveted and hotly contested offices in numbers virtually identical with those of their undefeated peers. Rosenstein explores how this unexpected limit to competition functions, reviewing beliefs about the religious origins of defeat, assumptions about common soldiers' duties in battle, and definitions of honorable behavior of an aristocrat during a crisis. These perspectives were instrumental in shifting the onus of failure away from a general's person and in offering positive strategies a general might use to win glory and respect even in defeat and to silence potential critics among a failed general's peers. Such limits to competition had an impact on the larger problems of stability and coherence in the Republic and its political elite; these larger problems are discussed in the concluding chapter. Seller Inventory # 0520069390AMA021312
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