A History of the Roman World
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Authors: H. H. Scullard
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Scullard
A History of the Roman World
753 to 146
BC
With a new foreword by Tim Cornell
First published in 1935
Second edition 1951
Third edition 1961
Fourth edition published 1980 by Methuen & Co. Ltd
Reprinted 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007
by Routledge
First published in Routledge Classics 2013
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© H. H. Scullard 1980, 2013
Foreword © 2013 Tim Cornell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Scullard, H. H. (Howard Hayes), 1903–1983.
A history of the Roman world : 753 to 146
BC
/ H.H. Scullard.—4th ed.
p. cm. — (Routledge classics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Rome—History—Kings, 753–510 B.C. 2. Rome—History— Republic, 510–30 B.C. I. Title.
DG231.S35 2013
937’.02—dc23
2012016837
ISBN: 978-0-415-52227-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-10379-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Joanna MT
by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
ONTENTS
FOREWORD TO THE ROUTLEDGE CLASSICS EDITION
1 The foundation of Rome: archaeological evidence
2 The foundation of Rome: the legends
III The New Republic and the Struggle of the Orders
IV The Roman Republic and its Neighbours
V The Union of the Orders and the Constitution
VI Rome’s Conquest and Organization of Italy
IX Hannibal’s Offensive and Rome’s Defensive
PART III ROME AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
XIII Rome and the Eastern Mediterranean
XIV Rome, Italy and the Western Mediterranean
XV Roman Policy and the Government
PART IV ROMAN LIFE AND CULTURE
XVI Economic and Social Organization
APS
III Greece and the Aegean area
IV Spain and Africa
Inset: plans of Carthago Nova and Carthage
From drawings by Richard Cribb
OREWORD
TO THE
R
OUTLEDGE
C
LASSICS
E
DITION
When Howard Scullard’s
History of the Roman World
was submitted to the Press, in October 1934, Britain was ruled by King George V (still bearing the title Emperor of India), Ramsay MacDonald was Prime Minister, the world economy was in the depths of the Great Depression, and Adolf Hitler had only recently come to power. The work belongs, in other words, to a past age, and the readership at which it was aimed is now either dead or well advanced in years. And yet, unlike most comparable books of its time, it continues to be read, and has enduring value as an authoritative and readable introduction to its subject. Like his other major work of synthesis,
From the Gracchi to Nero
(first published in 1959), which was written as a sequel to the present book, it still serves as the principal textbook on its period of Roman history for students and general readers alike. Even today, for many sixth-form and university students, revision of a course in Roman history largely consists in learning as much of Scullard as possible, with a view to regurgitating his text in the exam, ideally word for word. While one can understand the irritation of examiners and teachers, who rightly complain of their pupils’ failure to make direct use of primary sources, or to engage with the latest findings of recent scholarship, it is neither fair nor reasonable to put the blame on Scullard. It would be more sensible to ask why his works enjoy the monopoly they do and why they continue to be so widely used.
A large part of the answer must be that teachers and lecturers have only themselves to blame for their own failure, even after so many years, to produce anything that can stand comparison with Scullard. If he is sometimes disparaged, that should be put down to the academic snobbery and professional jealousy surrounding all ‘popular’ books. What actually explains the success and continuing appeal of Scullard’s work is its general excellence. His
books are popular because they are good, and because they continue to give students what they need and general readers what they want – namely a clear, accessible, reliable and well-informed account of Roman history from the origins to the early Empire.
Scullard never made any great claim to originality, but rather set out with the more modest aim of providing a narrative of events that was clearly based on the evidence of the ancient sources and guided by the findings of the latest scholarship. The author’s modesty, and his good judgement in identifying the best and most lasting contributions of his fellow scholars, are the principal reasons for the enduring success of the
History of the Roman World
. His conservative and respectful approach to the evidence of the ancient sources, his distaste for revisionism and his careful avoidance of novelty for its own sake meant that the substance of his account could be retained through many revised and updated editions, and remains basically sound to this day, while many of its more adventurous and iconoclastic competitors have been discredited, superseded or forgotten.
As in his blameless personal and professional life, in his published work Scullard was unassuming, conscientious and scrupulously fair to others. His broad and deep knowledge of published scholarship in all the major European languages enabled him to alert readers to current problems and debates, and to ensure that every reasoned point of view received a hearing. The work was revised and reissued on three occasions, each time with the text basically unchanged except in the fourth and final edition (1980, reprinted here) in which the first two chapters were rewritten to take account of recent Italian archaeology, which had been revolutionised by new finds. The revised chapters were supported by detailed references to the latest publications, and the documentation for the rest of the text was considerably increased. This supporting material had grown with each successive edition, from the original publication, which had relatively few footnotes and a series of appendices devoted to particular problems, to the current volume, in which all the supporting material is incorporated in ninety pages of endnotes. These contain detailed discussion of major problems, with references to sources and full bibliography. This feature, displaying all of Scullard’s gifts of synthesis and his ability to summarise different approaches to contested issues with clarity and fairness, is what makes the book an invaluable guide to further study. The long notes on the transition from monarchy to republic (pp. 414–16 n.49), for example, or the Valerio-Horatian Laws (pp. 420–1 n.20), or the early treaties between Rome and Carthage (pp. 433–5 n.3), are models of their kind, and can still be recommended as the first port of call for professional scholars as well as students. The same is true of the detailed notes to the events of the middle republic, particularly the Punic Wars, which always remained Scullard’s favourite subject.
In his approach to historical problems Scullard tended towards synthesis and compromise, and his implicit conviction that historical knowledge was advanced by open debate and reasoned analysis of the evidence matched his broadly liberal political sympathies and his non-conformist religious beliefs. The history of Rome is presented as a story of progress and advancement, achieved through compromise and reform in the political sphere, and through courage and determination in war. The growth of the Empire was caused by the Romans’ efforts to ensure security for themselves and their allies, and the consequent need to undertake increasing responsibilities in the interests of mostly willing subjects. Trade, industry and cultural exchanges were able to flourish, with the benevolent approval of enlightened politicians such as the Scipios, Flamininus and Aemilius Paullus, and despite the futile if principled opposition of conservatives like Cato. Although he made no attempt to conceal negative aspects of the story, and clearly described episodes of Roman brutality, duplicity and corruption, he equally made no secret of his view that the history of Rome was a story of progress or of his admiration for Rome. Anyone reading the book today will be struck by the apparent naivety and innocence of a work that was written long before the appearance of multiculturalism, postmodernism, or political correctness. Scullard did not hesitate to assert that Rome defeated Hannibal through solid moral qualities, or that the growth of the Roman Empire was one of the chief civilizing forces in the history of mankind. Another typical observation, which needs no further comment, concerns the Lusitanian leader Viriathus, whose treacherous murder was instigated by the Romans in 139
BC
. ‘His courage, his skill in guerilla warfare, his inspiring and magnetic personality, all alike command respect. But like many leaders from the elder Scipios to Wellington, he underestimated the volatility of the Spanish temperament. He failed to discipline his men adequately, to obtain the co-operation of the Celtiberians and to weld the various tribes into a nation.’
These examples merely serve to show that the work is a product of its own time. Many other old-fashioned features will no doubt strike today’s readers, including its sometimes antiquated language and its frequent references to parallel events in medieval and modern history, which at the time of writing could be assumed to be common knowledge among educated readers, but these days are more likely to lead to bafflement rather than clarity. It is doubtful in any case whether Scullard was right to say that the equites ‘gradually became a Third Estate’, or that the Roman mixed constitution of consuls, senate and people could be compared to ‘the English cabinet
vis-à-vis
the Crown, Lords and Commons’.
While its narrative of events remains broadly sound, and its analysis of problems in the source material retains its validity, the long section on ‘Roman Life and Culture’, at the time a novel and ground-breaking feature, is now in
many ways outdated. The acceptance of the nineteenth-century theory of defensive imperialism, and the assertion that Roman foreign policy had no economic motives, can no longer be accepted without question; the view that Roman political life was dominated by groups based on the great aristocratic houses is now discredited; and Scullard’s portrayal of Roman religion as a set of ritual practices that had been robbed of all meaning by the State and its priests, and was unable to satisfy the spiritual needs of the individual citizens, is now regarded as a misrepresentation based on Christian prejudice. If another hand were to try to revise and update the book today, this section at least would disintegrate.
Nevertheless the publishers have decided, I am sure rightly, to reissue the book without changes, and in the form in which Scullard left it at his death in 1983. It forms part of the Routledge Classics series. That is exactly what
A History of the Roman World
is – a classic text that belongs to its time and must be read with that fact in mind, but one which is well worth reading and from which we still have much to learn.
T. J. Cornell
University of Manchester
April 2012
