This book demonstrates and analyzes patterns in the response of the Imperial Roman state to local resistance, focusing on decisions made within military and administrative organizations during the Principate. Through a thorough investigation of the official Roman approach towards local revolt, author Gil Gambash answers significant questions that, until now, have produced conflicting explanations in the literature: Was Rome's rule of its empire mostly based on oppressive measures, or on the willing cooperation of local populations? To what extent did Roman decisions and actions indicate a dedication towards stability in the provinces? And to what degree were Roman interests pursued at the risk of provoking local resistance?

Examining the motivations and judgment of decision-makers within the military and administrative organizations - from the emperor down to the provincial procurator - this book reconstructs the premises for decisions and ensuing actions that promoted negotiation and cooperation with local populations. A ground-breaking work that, for the first time, provides a centralized view of Roman responses to indigenous revolt, Rome and Provincial Resistance is essential reading for scholars of Roman imperial history.

About the Author
Gil Gambash is Lecturer in the Department of Maritime Civilizations, University of Haifa, Israel.

Reviews

"G[ambash] has detected a gap in our studies of the Roman empire: rebellions, seeing these as a way of helping to determine the attitude of imperial central government to their provincials. His approach is not chronological nor geographical, but thematic. He examines the tensions which led to uprisings, the handling of the revolt, the imperial officials who dealt with the rebellions, commemoration, and finally the Jewish revolts." - David J. Breeze, Edinburgh University

Book Information
ISBN 9780367871161
Author Gil Gambash
Format Paperback
Page Count 206
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 308g