ENGLISH

Urban Life and Local Politics in Roman Bithynia: The Small World of Dion Chrysostomos (Black Sea Studies 7)

By Tonnes Bekker-Nielsen

Book information

Year
2008
ISBN
8779343503, 9788779343504
LCC
DS156.B6 B455 2008
Open Library ID
OL22686245M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
14 MB (14987970 bytes)
Pages
211\212
Topic
Education
Time added
2011-06-04 19:45:58

Description

Most studies of Roman local administration focus on the formal structures of power: imperial laws, urban institutions and magistracies. This book explores the interplay of formal power with informal factors such as social prejudice, parochialism and personal rivalries in the cities of northwestern Asia Minor from the first to the fifth centuries AD. Through a detailed analysis of the municipal speeches and career of the philosopher-politician Dion Chrysostomos, we gain new in-depth insight into the petty conflicts and lofty ambitions of an ancient provincial small-town politician and those around him. The author concludes that Roman local politics were rarely concerned with "political" issues but more often with social status and the desire for recognition within an agonistic society.

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