Public Order in Ancient Rome

This is a critical study of the system of law and order in ancient Rome in both Republican and Imperial periods.

Wilfried Nippel (Author)

9780521387491, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 21 September 1995

176 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1 cm, 0.385 kg

' … this is a persuasive and helpful book'. Prudentia

The absence of a professional police force in the city of Rome in classical times is often identified as a major cause of the collapse of the Republic. But this alleged 'structural weakness' was not removed by the Emperor Augustus and his successors, and was in fact shared with other pre-modern states: a specialised police force is a modern invention. In this critical study of the system of law and order in ancient Rome in both Republican and Imperial periods, Wilfried Nippel identifies the mechanisms of self-regulation which operated as a stabilising force within Roman society. This case-study of ancient Rome has a comparative dimension and will interest legal historians of other pre-modern societies as well as ancient historians, anthropologists, sociologists and political scientists.

Introduction
1. Republican principles of policing
2. Late Republican political violence
3. The collapse of the Republican order
4. Features of the new Imperial order
Epilogue: Law and order in comparative perspective
Bibliographical essay
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG]