Plants, Politics and Empire in Ancient Rome

Description

The book investigates the cultural and political dimension of Roman arboriculture and the associated movement of plants from one corner of the empire to the other. It uses the convergent perspectives offered by textual and archaeological sources to sketch a picture of large-scale arboriculture as a phenomenon primarily driven by elite activity and imperialism. Arboriculture had a clear cultural role in the Roman world: it was used to construct the public persona of many elite Romans, with the introduction of new plants from far away regions or the development of new cultivars contributing to the elite competitive display. Exotic plants from conquered regions were also displayed as trophies in military triumphs, making plants an element of the language of imperialism. Annalisa Marzano argues that the Augustan era was a key moment for the development of arboriculture and identifies colonists and soldiers as important agents contributing to plant dispersal and diversity. 03.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page 04.0_pp_v_vi_Dedication 05.0_pp_vii_viii_Contents 06.0_pp_ix_x_Figures 07.0_pp_xi_xi_Tables 08.0_pp_xii_xiii_Acknowledgments 09.0_pp_xiv_xvi_Abbreviations 10.0_pp_1_16_Introduction 11.0_pp_17_49_Roman_Gardens_Representation_and_Politics 12.0_pp_50_87_Arboriculture_Botanical_Imperialism_and_Plants_on_the_Move 13.0_pp_88_129_The_Augustan_Horticultural_Revolution 14.0_pp_130_176_Grafting_Glory 15.0_pp_177_197_Of_Peaches_and_Peach_Trees 16.0_pp_198_232_Campania_and_Cisalpine_Gaul 17.0_pp_233_275_Plant_Dispersal_and_Provincial_Agriculture 18.0_pp_276_297_Viticulture_versus_Arboriculture 19.0_pp_298_308_Conclusions 20.0_pp_309_343_Bibliography 21.0_pp_344_360_Index