Roman Institutions and Epigraphy

Politics and Administration in the Provinces of the Roman Empire through Inscriptions

This course aims to explore various aspects of provincial administration and politics in the Roman Empire, from the Republic to the Principate, through the analysis of epigraphic documents (in Latin, Greek and translation), compared with other types of sources.

Part A: Juridical Epigraphy from Roman provinces (Prof. F. Russo)
Part A will focus on the analysis of a number of epigraphic documents, in Latin and Greek (also read in translation), which will help to explore certain themes relating to the administration and political life of cities in the Roman provinces during the Republican and Imperial periods. During the lectures, students will be presented with documents such as letters from the Senate, edicts issued by magistrates, decrees by the prince, and texts of treaties and laws that illustrate how Rome, throughout the Republican and subsequently the Imperial periods, introduced effective and ever-changing mechanisms to control and administer the various areas that were incorporated into the Roman Empire as provinces. Particular attention will then be paid to political, economic, social and religious themes, with a view to providing a highly detailed and varied picture of the Roman Empire based on a wide range of epigraphic documents, which will be carefully compared with literary, legal, papyrological, numismatic and archaeological sources.

Part B: Reading of Res gestae divi Augusti (Prof. S. Segenni)
Part B will involve the analysis and reading, in the original languages (Latin and Greek) and in translation, of some of the most significant passages from Augustus's *Res Gestae*, through which it will be possible to explore themes and issues of the Augustan era in greater depth, including their specific provincial manifestations.

Part C: The army (Prof. M. Bellomo)
Part C will be devoted to the study of inscriptions relating to the Roman army, from the Republican period to the Imperial age. Through the analysis of different types of epigraphic documents - including funerary inscriptions, dedications, military diplomas, and public inscriptions - the course will explore the role of soldiers and military institutions within Roman society. Epigraphic evidence will be examined alongside other categories of sources, such as papyri, coins, and literary texts, in order to reconstruct more fully the organisation of the army, the nature of military service, and the lives of soldiers in both their private and public dimensions. The analysis of these sources will make it possible to understand how military institutions constituted one of the fundamental pillars of Roman society and a crucial instrument linking the centres of power with the diverse provincial communities of the Mediterranean world.