Unrest in the Roman Empire: A Discursive History

Despite Roman claims to have brought peace, unrest was widespread in the Roman Empire. Revolts, protests, and piracy were common occurrences. How did contemporaries relate to and make sense of such phenomena?

This volume gathers eleven contributions by specialists in the various literatures and modes of thinking that flourished in the empire between the second century BCE and the fifth century CE, including Graeco-Roman historiography and philosophy, Jewish prophecy, Christian apology, and the writings of the Tannaitic rabbis, to investigate these questions. Each contribution analyzes the discourses by which the diverse authors of these texts understood instances of unrest. Together, the contributions expand our understanding of the varied politics that pervaded the Roman empire. They highlight the intellectual labor at every level of society that went to (re)making this imperial formation throughout its long history.