Pax and the Politics of Peace: Republic to Principate

by: Cornwell, H.

Offers a new perspective on a central period of Roman history by foregrounding peace, rather than war or victory, as a central ideology
Supplements detailed analysis of material evidence and specific monuments with illustrations throughout the text
Scrutinizes the history of the concept within a chronological framework, enabling readers to engage with its development in tandem with that of historical events

Description
Perhaps in defiance of expectations, Roman peace (pax) was a difficult concept that resisted any straightforward definition: not merely denoting the absence or aftermath of war, it consisted of many layers and associations and formed part of a much greater discourse on the nature of power and how Rome saw her place in the world. During the period from 50 BC to AD 75 - covering the collapse of the Republic, the subsequent civil wars, and the dawn of the Principate-the traditional meaning and language of peace came under extreme pressure as pax was co-opted to serve different strands of political discourse. This volume argues for its fundamental centrality in understanding the changing dynamics of the state and the creation of a new political system in the Roman Empire, moving from the debates over the content of the concept in the dying Republic to discussion of its deployment in the legitimization of the Augustan regime, first through the creation of an authorized version controlled by the princeps and then the ultimate crystallization of the pax augusta as the first wholly imperial concept of peace. Examining the nuances in the various meanings, applications, and contexts of Roman discourse on peace allows us valuable insight into the ways in which the dynamics of power were understood and how these were contingent on the political structures of the day. However it also demonstrates that although the idea of peace came to dominate imperial Rome's self-representation, such discourse was nevertheless only part of a wider discussion on the way in which the Empire conceptualized itself.

Table of Contents
Frontmatter
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations
0: Introduction: Roman Imperialism and the Meaning of Peace
1: The Meaning of pax
Perceptions of Peace
pax in the Landscape of the Republic
The Visual Language of pax
The Development of pax
2: Peace in Civil War
Shifts in Political Language
Visions and Versions of pax
Possibilities of negotiating peace
Debates on the meaning of pax
The Victory of Peace
3: Peace over Land and Sea
The Rhetoric of terra marique and orbis terrarum
The Sicilian prelude
The commemorations of 29 BC
A City of Victory and Peace over Land and Sea
4: Peace in the New Age of Augustus
The Year of 'Returns'
Mars Ultor
The Parthian arch
The arch and the aedes Vestae
The Perpetuation of Peace
5: The pax augusta
The Altar of Augustan Peace
Archaeological remains and location
The Meaning(s) of the ara Pacis Augustae
Pax Augusta and Roma Victrix
Rome s past and the pax deorum
Religion, statecraft, and the Pax Augusta
Dedications to Augustan Peace outside Rome
6: Conclusion: From pax augusta to pax Romana
Endmatter
Bibliography
Index

Pax and the Politics of Peace: Republic to Principate

by: Cornwell, H.

• ISBN-13: 9780198805632 / 978-0-19-880563-2
• ISBN-03: 0198805632 / 0-19-880563-2
• Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017