Relativism and the Frontiers of Empire

This volume explores Rome’s frontiers through the lens of cultural relativism, integrating post-colonial and positional approaches. It emphasizes the scholar’s standpoint in shaping knowledge and recontextualizes frontier studies within broader cultural frameworks.

Relativism and the Frontiers of Empire captures a moment in the development of agendas in the study of Rome’s frontiers, whilst highlighting the legacy of a classic anthropological concept. The volume adopts the theme of cultural relativism as an umbrella term, which allows opening to a range of post-colonial, positional and relational approaches that rely on contextualising frontiers within their cultural frameworks and recognising the significance of the standpoint of the scholar in production of knowledge; the two key tenets of anthropological cultural relativism.

Dedication
Relativism and the Other in the Study of Rome’s Frontiers – Anna Walas and Andrew Birley

Part 1: Roman Frontiers Repositioned

The Demise of Roman Frontier Studies? – David J. Mattingly

Frontiers and the Roman Empire: A Comparative Perspective – Andrew Gardner

From French Conquest to Algerian Independence: French Foreign Legion and the Roman Legionary Base at Lambaesis – Anna Walas

The Frontiers of the Concept: Are Romanization and Islamization Comparable? – José Cristóbal Carvajal López

Reflections on ‘Writing the Legions’: Roman Military Scholarship – Rebecca H. Jones

Visualising Roman Military Bases in Cities: The Challenge of Rome’s Castra Nova – Ian Haynes

Part 2: De-Colonial Approaches to Relations on Rome’s Frontiers

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Cross: Diplomacy, Evangelism and Ignorance on Justinian’s African Frontier – Andy Merrills

The Malevolent Spirit of the Red Sea – Michel Reddé

Torcs Transformed: A Fresh Look at Late Iron Age and Romano-British Beaded Torcs – Fraser Hunter

Expressions of Cultural Affiliation Reflecting the Dynamic Creation of Roman Auxiliary Communities – Elizabeth M. Greene

Part 3: Relativist Deconstructions of Imperial Culture

Sculpture from Old Carlisle, Cumbria, and What It Tells Us about Life in the Hinterland of Hadrian’s Wall – Lindsay Allason-Jones

Setting the Frame: Further Thoughts on the Suovetaurilia Scene on the Bridgeness Distance Slab – David J. Breeze, Christof Flügel and Erik P. Graafstal

Tracing the Life of a Dipinto: A Revision of the Iarhibol Dipinto from the Military Clerical Office in Dura-Europos – Lucinda Dirven

Effluvia of Empire: Sanitation and the Roman Army – Simon Esmonde Cleary

Part 4: Cultural Relativism and Belonging on the Frontiers

The Roman Military on the Syrian Euphrates: Small Finds in Roman Global Worlds – J. A. Baird

The Men of Dura-Europos: A Demographic Profile of the Cohors XX Palmyrenorum – Carol van Driel-Murray

Ceramics and Social Practice on Roman Military Sites – Penelope Allison

Frontiers and Dehumanisation: Mobility, Materiality and Religious Activity in Frontier Zones – Adam Rogers

Part 5: Relativism and Cultures of Violence

Which Side Does Sir Dress? – M. C. Bishop

Differentiation and Conflict on the Northern Frontier – Alexander Meyer

The Enemy You Know: Evidence for Complex Relationships and Interpersonal Conflict on the Northern Frontier of Roman Britain – Andrew Birley

Simon James, Bibliography

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Dedication
Relativism and the Other in the Study of Rome’s Frontiers – Anna Walas and Andrew Birley

Part 1: Roman Frontiers Repositioned

The Demise of Roman Frontier Studies? – David J. Mattingly

Frontiers and the Roman Empire: A Comparative Perspective – Andrew Gardner

From French Conquest to Algerian Independence: French Foreign Legion and the Roman Legionary Base at Lambaesis – Anna Walas

The Frontiers of the Concept: Are Romanization and Islamization Comparable? – José Cristóbal Carvajal López

Reflections on ‘Writing the Legions’: Roman Military Scholarship – Rebecca H. Jones

Visualising Roman Military Bases in Cities: The Challenge of Rome’s Castra Nova – Ian Haynes

Part 2: De-Colonial Approaches to Relations on Rome’s Frontiers

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Cross: Diplomacy, Evangelism and Ignorance on Justinian’s African Frontier – Andy Merrills

The Malevolent Spirit of the Red Sea – Michel Reddé

Torcs Transformed: A Fresh Look at Late Iron Age and Romano-British Beaded Torcs – Fraser Hunter

Expressions of Cultural Affiliation Reflecting the Dynamic Creation of Roman Auxiliary Communities – Elizabeth M. Greene

Part 3: Relativist Deconstructions of Imperial Culture

Sculpture from Old Carlisle, Cumbria, and What It Tells Us about Life in the Hinterland of Hadrian’s Wall – Lindsay Allason-Jones

Setting the Frame: Further Thoughts on the Suovetaurilia Scene on the Bridgeness Distance Slab – David J. Breeze, Christof Flügel and Erik P. Graafstal

Tracing the Life of a Dipinto: A Revision of the Iarhibol Dipinto from the Military Clerical Office in Dura-Europos – Lucinda Dirven

Effluvia of Empire: Sanitation and the Roman Army – Simon Esmonde Cleary

Part 4: Cultural Relativism and Belonging on the Frontiers

The Roman Military on the Syrian Euphrates: Small Finds in Roman Global Worlds – J. A. Baird

The Men of Dura-Europos: A Demographic Profile of the Cohors XX Palmyrenorum – Carol van Driel-Murray

Ceramics and Social Practice on Roman Military Sites – Penelope Allison

Frontiers and Dehumanisation: Mobility, Materiality and Religious Activity in Frontier Zones – Adam Rogers

Part 5: Relativism and Cultures of Violence

Which Side Does Sir Dress? – M. C. Bishop

Differentiation and Conflict on the Northern Frontier – Alexander Meyer

The Enemy You Know: Evidence for Complex Relationships and Interpersonal Conflict on the Northern Frontier of Roman Britain – Andrew Birley

Simon James, Bibliography

• Edited by Anna Walas
• Edited by Andrew Birley