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Livy, Book 45 : historical commentary and study of sources

University of British Columbia

In Part One the composition of Book 45 of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita is studied and an attempt is made to trace portions of the book to a small number of principal sources. It is demonstrated that Livy used the work of the Greek historian Polybius for his account of Roman activities in the Hellenistic east and for Roman relations with the Hellenistic states. Livy's Latin sources in this book were the Sullan annalists Valerius Antias and Q. Claudius Quadrigarius, of whom Claudius may have been the more prominent. Livy used these late annalists for his account of events in Rome and the west, and for administrative details such as lists of magistrates. This analysis of Livy's work helps us to evaluate the relative worth of his account, since Polybius was generally more reliable than the annalists in his description of affairs in the Hellenistic east, while the annalists seem to have provided an important service by preserving "archival" material in their writings. The detailed commentary on Book 45 appears in Part Two. Although problems of many kinds are treated, the emphasis is on international relations, prosopography, political groups in Rome, chronology and the other traditions which treat the events described by Livy. In Appendix One and Appendix Three an attempt is made to clarify the diplomatic relations of Rome with the Rhodians and with the Ptolemaic kingdom, respectively, during the years 172 - 167. This attempt involves an evaluation and synthesis of a variety of sources belonging to different traditions. The attitude towards the Rhodians reflected in the work of the Roman annalists forms the subject of Appendix Two. In Appendix Four the relations between Rome and the Hellenistic states are considered. The most usual bond between Rome and these states in the second century B. C. seems to have been that of amicitia, a relationship which denoted friendship without clearly defining the terms by which friendly relations were to be maintained. The Romans, however, became more and more insistent that their foreign amici should follow Roman foreign policy much as the Italian socii did. A few Hellenistic states, however, were granted, or were forced to accept, foedera with Rome which imposed upon them obligations similar to those of the Italian socii, but these non-Italian socii of Rome were never fully absorbed into the system of the "Roman alliance".

Text

2010-01-21

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/18831

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University of British Columbia

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