Hostages and Hostage-Taking in the Roman Empire [Paperback]

This book examines hostage-taking in ancient Rome, which was a standard practice of international diplomacy.This 2006 book examines hostage-taking in ancient Rome, which was a standard practice of international diplomacy. Hundreds of foreign hostages, typically adolescents, were detained as the empire grew in the Republic and early Principate.This 2006 book examines hostage-taking in ancient Rome, which was a standard practice of international diplomacy. Hundreds of foreign hostages, typically adolescents, were detained as the empire grew in the Republic and early Principate.Hundreds of foreign hostages were detained among the Romans as the empire grew in the Republic and early Principate. As prominent figures at the center of diplomacy and as ?exotic? representatives, or symbols, of the outside world, they drew considerable attention in Roman literature and other artistic media. Our sources discuss hostages in terms of the geopolitics that motivated their detention, as well as in accordance with other structures of power. Hostages, thus, could be located in a social hierarchy, in a family network, in a cultural continuum, or in a sexual role. In these schemes, an individual Roman, or Rome in general, becomes not just a conqueror, but also a patron, father, teacher, or generically masculine. By focusing on the characterizations of hostages in Roman culture, we witness Roman attitudes toward ethnicity and imperial power. Joel Allen received his Ph.D. from Yale University and currently is Assistant Professor of History at Queens College, City University of New York.1. Introduction; 2. Creditor-collateral; 3. Host-guest; 4. Conqueror-trophy; 5. Father-son; 6. Teacher-student; 7. Masculine-feminine; 8. Polybious as a hostage; 9. Tacitus on hostage-taking and heroism. Allen's Study is a major contribution demonstrating, above all, that no real understanding of Roman imperialism is possible without confronting the hostage.
Susan Mattern, The International—