Imperial Ideals in the Roman West
Representation, Circulation, Power

This book shows how the circulation of ideals associated with the Roman emperor generated ideological unification among aristocracies and reinforced Roman power.

Carlos F. Noreña (Author)

9781107005082, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 June 2011

480 pages, 79 b/w illus. 3 maps 11 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.81 kg

'Noreña's work provides the readership with ample material for further discussion of the same topic in the East and in Late Antiquity.' Arctos

This book examines the figure of the Roman emperor as a unifying symbol for the western empire. It documents an extensive correspondence between the ideals cited in honorific inscriptions for the emperor erected across the Western Empire and those advertised on imperial coins minted at Rome. This reveals that the dissemination of specific imperial ideals was more pervasive than previously thought, and indicates a high degree of ideological unification amongst the aristocracies of the western provinces. The widespread circulation of a particular set of imperial ideals, and the particular form of ideological unification that this brought about, not only reinforced the power of the Roman imperial state, but also increased the authority of local aristocrats, thereby facilitating a general convergence of social power that defined the high Roman empire.

1. Introduction
Part I. Representation: Introduction to Part I: representation
2. Values and virtues: the ethical profile of the emperor
3. The benefits of empire and monarchy
Part II. Circulation: Introduction to Part II: circulation
4. The diffusion of imperial ideals in time and space
5. Central communication and local response
Part III. Power: 6. Ideological unification and social power in the Roman west
Appendices 1-15.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]