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- Roman Economy, Roman Epigraphy, Roman social history, Roman Empire, Roman Archaeology, Roman History, and 5 moreRoman Law, Rome in Ancient Chinese Historical Records, 'The Ancient Economy: Diplomacy, Trade and Travel: Contacts between Rome, India and China'., Rome and China: Trade, and Roman municipal administrationedit
Roman cities suffered environmental problems resulting from population growth and industrial activity, as well as from the absence of an ecological awareness amongst citizens. Domestic life produced a large amount of organic waste, which... more
Roman cities suffered environmental problems resulting from population growth and industrial activity, as well as from the absence of an ecological awareness amongst citizens. Domestic life produced a large amount of organic waste, which was dumped into the streets, contributing to pollution. Meanwhile, ceramic and metallurgical workshops, amongst other industrial centers, produced smoke, dust, bad odors and other types of waste that contaminated the nearby areas. In turn the construction industry, and catastrophes like earthquakes, floods or fires generated large amounts of debris, which needed removal. Roman law did not offer provisions directly aimed at protecting the environment. But some leges, senatusconsulta, edicta and interdicta partially considered some environmental problems. Likewise, the maintenance of public salubritas was the responsibility of certain magistrates, both in Rome and in the colonies and municipalities. This paper analyzes these issues with special attention to the available documentation related to Hispania. It also considers the problems of removal and disposal of solid and organic waste, the possible existence of public services performing this task, and the various locations used as landfills.
In the Roman colonies and municipalities, citizens organized in civic units called curiae elected the local magistrates (duoviri, aediles, quaestores). On the polling day, after the votes were counted, the candidates elected by the curiae... more
In the Roman colonies and municipalities, citizens organized in civic units called curiae elected the local magistrates (duoviri, aediles, quaestores). On the polling day, after the votes were counted, the candidates elected by the curiae were proclaimed (renuntiatio) as magistrates creati. From that moment they were considered designati until their inauguration a few months later. This article discusses the situation of the duoviri from the day of their election to their inauguration as the highest local magistrates. It analyses the date frequently chosen for the beginning of their term (magistratum iniere) and the public events and ceremonies held with the occasion of the inauguration.
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The municipal elites of the Roman Empire deeply assimilated the code of civic values and forms of social conduct of the aristocracies of Rome, such as the philotimia or desire to be publicly honored. While numerous honorific inscriptions... more
The municipal elites of the Roman Empire deeply assimilated the code of civic values and forms of social conduct of the aristocracies of Rome, such as the philotimia or desire to be publicly honored. While numerous honorific inscriptions erected in the public spaces of the cities document this pursuit, the phenomenon is scantily reflected in literary sources. An exception to this absence is the speech delivered by Apuleius of Madaura, writer and philosopher of the 2nd century AD, to show gratitude for the official honors conferred to him by the ordo decurionum of Carthago, included in Apuleius’ work Florida. This article compares this oratorical piece with the epigraphic information in order to reconstruct the official process of concession of public honors by local senates and explore what such distinctions, conferred to the famous intellectual in the African metropolis and in other communities, could have meant in his life.
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Este artigo analisa uma região montanhosa da Hispânia romana, o Conventus Cordubensis, cuja capital ficava em Colonia Patricia Corduba, que também era a sede do governador da província Baetica. Estudamos este espaço geográfico de... more
Este artigo analisa uma região montanhosa da Hispânia romana, o Conventus Cordubensis, cuja capital ficava em Colonia Patricia Corduba, que também era a sede do governador da província Baetica. Estudamos este espaço geográfico de diferentes perspectivas. Em primeiro lugar, a sua organização territorial, a rede de comunicações e os principais centros populacionais. Na segunda parte, é considerado o importante papel administrativo exercido por Corduba no seu conventus. Finalmente, são avaliados os recursos económicos de Mons Marianus (florestas, pastagens, gado, etc.), dando-se especial atenção à mineração, que foi o setor produtivo mais destacado naquela área montanhosa do sul da Hispânia.
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Dans le cadre du programme EMIRE (« Elites municipales italiennes de la Republique et de l’Empire »), dirige par Clara Berrendonner et Mireille Cebeillac-Gervasoni, de l’UMR 8585 du CNRS, le 25 octobre 2008, une journee de travail a reuni... more
Dans le cadre du programme EMIRE (« Elites municipales italiennes de la Republique et de l’Empire »), dirige par Clara Berrendonner et Mireille Cebeillac-Gervasoni, de l’UMR 8585 du CNRS, le 25 octobre 2008, une journee de travail a reuni a Paris les membres de ce programme international et des juristes specialistes du droit municipal sur le theme « Les textes juridiques et le fonctionnement institutionnel au quotidien des cites municipales : regards croises de juristes et d’historiens ». Dep...
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This article reviews the status of Colonia Patricia as capital of the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior Baetica from Augustus and, therefore, seat of the governor sent by Rome, with a special focus on the positive aspects that this... more
This article reviews the status of Colonia Patricia as capital of the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior Baetica from Augustus and, therefore, seat of the governor sent by Rome, with a special focus on the positive aspects that this privileged condition entailed for the city. The paper begins with an examination of the office of proconsul and some senators who held it. It then describes the governor´s trip to his province, the receptions organised to welcome him, the members of the provincial bureaucracy, and some cases of corruption documented by the sources. Next, it analyses the framework guiding the relations of the proconsuls with the imperial authority, the delegations visiting him in Corduba, the municipal aristocracies and the concilium Baeticae. Finally, the article approaches the main responsibilities of the proconsul, with particular attention to the provincial tours organized to impart justice.
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espanolLa corrupcion fue un grave problema que afecto profundamente al gobierno del estado romano, principalmente en el ultimo siglo de la Republica. Las abundantes fuentes sobre aquella critica etapa de guerras civiles y convulsiones... more
espanolLa corrupcion fue un grave problema que afecto profundamente al gobierno del estado romano, principalmente en el ultimo siglo de la Republica. Las abundantes fuentes sobre aquella critica etapa de guerras civiles y convulsiones politicas, nos informan sobre las ilegalidades de todo tipo cometidas tanto en los actos administrativos, como en la correspondiente documentacion. Pero el mal tambien estuvo presente en la vida publica de las ciudades romanas, siendo prueba de ello las medidas de prevencion y las multas contra determinados delitos, que se recogen en los estatutos locales de Hispania. Esta dimension municipal del fraude administrativo y la falsificacion documental es el objetivo de este trabajo EnglishCorruption was a serious problem that deeply affected the government of the Roman state, mainly in the last century of the Republic. The abundant sources on that critical stage of civil wars and political convulsions, inform us about illegalities of all kinds committed bo...
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Alvarez Melero Anthony. Juan F. Rodríguez Neila & Enrique Melchor Gil (Ed.), Poder central y autonomía municipal : la proyección pública de las élites romanas de Occidente, 2006. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 77, 2008. pp. 726-729
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This article deals with the main Roman municipal magistracy, the duovirate, by analyzing its tasks as well as its relations with the local society. First it raises the singular characteristics of such function, the factors that gave... more
This article deals with the main Roman municipal magistracy, the duovirate, by analyzing its tasks as well as its relations with the local society. First it raises the singular characteristics of such function, the factors that gave special prestige to it, and its importance within the cursus honorum. Next it approaches the relations of the duovirs with the others magistrates (aediles and quaestores) and their assistants (apparitores), as well as their responsibilities concerning the municipal senate. In a second part it analyzes the main tasks of the duovirate: the management of the municipal finances, the supervision of the public works, the direction of the comitia and the religious ceremonies, among others, as well as the official control of all these activities. Finally the public image of the duovirs is considered from two perspectives: their public liberalities and the official tributes paid to them.
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The Hispania Baetica province was one of the most prosperous of the Roman Empire. Classical authors praised it for its wealth of resources, whose use and development especially favored the families of the high ordines. This study focuses... more
The Hispania Baetica province was one of the most prosperous of the Roman Empire. Classical authors praised it for its wealth of resources, whose use and development especially favored the families of the high ordines. This study focuses on the various sectors of the prosperous economy of southern Hispania (agriculture, trade, industry, banking, etc.), as the foundation of the great fortunes of these social elites. The article examines how these sources of wealth increased their chances of upwards mobility in the social hierarchy.
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Puesta al día sobre los conocimientos de los pueblos romanos del norte de Hispania