The Matrimonial Strategies of the Roman Senatorial Aristocracy during the Civil Wars (61-30 BC)
Beautiful Letters| N° d'inventaire | 22294 |
| Format | 16 x 24 |
| Détails | 528 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2019 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782251450247 |
The end of the Republic is often described as a period in which Roman senators systematically used marriage for political ends and, as a result, given the constantly changing economic climate, the unions they formed served only short-term objectives and almost inevitably ended in divorce. Based on an analysis of all the matrimonial alliances involving senators concluded in the last thirty years of the Republic, which were marked by an uninterrupted division of the political scene into two rival camps and by several phases of civil war, this study shows that this commonly accepted conception must be revised on several points by highlighting the different criteria, whether or not related to the troubled context of the time, which determined the choice of a spouse in Roman senatorial families and, beyond that, by identifying the objectives of their matrimonial strategies, which, far from being defined exclusively by circumstances, were also part of long-term logic. INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I: MARITAL ALLIANCES AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION STRATEGIES A. Genus and symbolic capital 1. Isogamous alliances 2. Anisogamous alliances B. Diuitiae and financial resources C. Clientelae and social power CHAPTER II: THE PLACE OF KINSHIP AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CHOICE OF A SPOUSE A. Alliances concluded between individuals united by a kinship tie 1. The alliance consolidates kinship ties 2. The alliance refers to a prestigious common origin B. Alliances concluded between individuals without kinship ties 1. The alliance strengthens relations of amicitia or recent affinities 2. The alliance refers to old or past relations CHAPTER III: MARITAL STRATEGIES IN THE GAME OF FACTIONS A. The matrimonial alliance as a sanction of a rallying or consolidation of a political agreement 1. Marriage alliances concluded with optimates and between optimates 2. Marriage alliances concluded with Caesar or Pompey or between their amici 3. Marriage alliances concluded with Antony or Octavian or between their amici B. Marriage strategies in the face of the perils of factional confrontation 1. Marriage alliances aimed at establishing links with several different factions 2. Marriage alliances aimed at achieving a rapprochement with a rival faction 3. Marriage alliances demonstrating a refusal to take a position CHAPTER IV: THE MATRIMONIAL STRATEGIES OF DYNASTS A. Marriage alliances and the constitution or consolidation of the faction 1. The marriage alliance brings new resources to the faction 2. The marriage alliance rewards the loyalty of a prominent supporter B. Marriage alliances and compromises between factions 1. Case studies 2. The marriage alliance: an illusory guarantee of harmony 3. Use and exploitation of marriage alliances by dynasts CONCLUSION NOTICES GENEALOGICAL TABLES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF SOURCES INDEX OF PROPER NAMES
The end of the Republic is often described as a period in which Roman senators systematically used marriage for political ends and, as a result, given the constantly changing economic climate, the unions they formed served only short-term objectives and almost inevitably ended in divorce. Based on an analysis of all the matrimonial alliances involving senators concluded in the last thirty years of the Republic, which were marked by an uninterrupted division of the political scene into two rival camps and by several phases of civil war, this study shows that this commonly accepted conception must be revised on several points by highlighting the different criteria, whether or not related to the troubled context of the time, which determined the choice of a spouse in Roman senatorial families and, beyond that, by identifying the objectives of their matrimonial strategies, which, far from being defined exclusively by circumstances, were also part of long-term logic. INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I: MARITAL ALLIANCES AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION STRATEGIES A. Genus and symbolic capital 1. Isogamous alliances 2. Anisogamous alliances B. Diuitiae and financial resources C. Clientelae and social power CHAPTER II: THE PLACE OF KINSHIP AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CHOICE OF A SPOUSE A. Alliances concluded between individuals united by a kinship tie 1. The alliance consolidates kinship ties 2. The alliance refers to a prestigious common origin B. Alliances concluded between individuals without kinship ties 1. The alliance strengthens relations of amicitia or recent affinities 2. The alliance refers to old or past relations CHAPTER III: MARITAL STRATEGIES IN THE GAME OF FACTIONS A. The matrimonial alliance as a sanction of a rallying or consolidation of a political agreement 1. Marriage alliances concluded with optimates and between optimates 2. Marriage alliances concluded with Caesar or Pompey or between their amici 3. Marriage alliances concluded with Antony or Octavian or between their amici B. Marriage strategies in the face of the perils of factional confrontation 1. Marriage alliances aimed at establishing links with several different factions 2. Marriage alliances aimed at achieving a rapprochement with a rival faction 3. Marriage alliances demonstrating a refusal to take a position CHAPTER IV: THE MATRIMONIAL STRATEGIES OF DYNASTS A. Marriage alliances and the constitution or consolidation of the faction 1. The marriage alliance brings new resources to the faction 2. The marriage alliance rewards the loyalty of a prominent supporter B. Marriage alliances and compromises between factions 1. Case studies 2. The marriage alliance: an illusory guarantee of harmony 3. Use and exploitation of marriage alliances by dynasts CONCLUSION NOTICES GENEALOGICAL TABLES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF SOURCES INDEX OF PROPER NAMES