Rome and the Barbarians, 100 B.C.-A.D. 400

by Thomas S. Burns

Overview

This historical analysis of Roman-Barbarian relations from the Republic into late antiquity offers a striking new perspective on the fall of the Empire.

The barbarians of antiquity, often portrayed simply as the savages who destroyed Rome, emerge in this colorful, richly textured history as a much more complex factor in the expansion, and eventual unmaking, of the Roman Empire. Thomas S. Burns marshals an abundance of archeological and literary evidence to bring forth a detailed and wide-ranging account of the relations between Romans and non-Romans along the frontiers of western Europe.

Looking at a 500-year time span beginning with early encounters between barbarians and Romans around 100 B.C. and ending with the spread of barbarian settlement in the western Empire, Burns reframes the barbarians as neighbors, friends, and settlers. His nuanced history subtly shows how Rome’s relations with the barbarians slowly evolved from general ignorance, hostility, and suspicion toward tolerance, synergy, and integration. This long period of acculturation led to a new Romano-barbarian hybrid society and culture that anticipated the values and traditions of medieval civilization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801899225
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	02/03/2022
Series:	Ancient Society and History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	522
Sales rank:	465,389
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas S. Burns is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of History at Emory University. His many books include The Ostrogoths: Kingship and Society; A History of the Ostrogoths; Barbarians within the Gates of Rome: Roman Military Policy and the Barbarians; and, with John W. Eadie, Urban Centers and Rural Contexts in Late Antiquity.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Sometimes Bitter Friends
Chapter 2. Recognition, Confrontation, and Coexistence
Chapter 3. Through Caesar's Eyes
Chapter 4. The Early Empire and the Barbarians: An Overview
Chapter 5. Perspectives from Pannonia
Chapter 6. The Barbarians and the "Crisis" of the Empire
Chapter 7. Barbarians and the Late Roman Empire
Epilogue
Appendix: Most Important Roman Emperors and Usurpers

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Burns brings thirty years of extensive study of the literary and archaeological evidence to bear on the nature of the impact not only that the Romans had on the barbarians but also that the barbarians had on the Romans. Fortified with a thorough exposition of the source material, meticulous analysis, and provocative suggestions, Rome and the Barbarians will take the dialogue to another level.
—Ralph W. Mathisen, University of South Carolina

Ralph W. Mathisen

Burns brings thirty years of extensive study of the literary and archaeological evidence to bear on the nature of the impact not only that the Romans had on the barbarians but also that the barbarians had on the Romans. Fortified with a thorough exposition of the source material, meticulous analysis, and provocative suggestions, Rome and the Barbarians will take the dialogue to another level.

— Ralph W. Mathisen, University of South Carolina

Editorial Reviews

An excellent book that comes from eleven years of painstaking research. Thomas S. Burns has written a readable and well-documented survey of Rome and the numerous peoples to its north . . . The book is exceptionally well organized . . . This book is useful for research and in the classroom not only because of its extensive documentation and bibliography but also because it is readable both for scholars and students.
—John F. DeFelice, History: Reviews of New Books

An excellent study . . . Burns breaks the stereotype of the barbarians as destructive savages held in check by the Roman Empire. In its place he offers a balanced view of an evolving relationship between complex, diverse societies on the barbarian side and the civilized Romans . . . The book is enhanced by Burns's very effective integration of the traditional literary sources with the testimony of archaeological evidence . . . Sheds light on an important aspect of Roman history and is valuable to both the scholar and the beginning student.
—J. P. Karras, Journal of Military History

Anyone who has struggled to convey to a class the manifold ways in which the establishment of a legionary fortress revolutionized the life of a region will envy Burns' pedagogical fluency.
—Michael Kulikowski, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

I recommend the book highly as an informed, up-to-date, and well-written review of a huge amount of data, easily readable and well referenced.
—Peter S. Wells, International History Review

This detailed analysis of Roman-barbarian interaction rests on a very solid scholarly base.
—Choice

Rome and the Barbarians, is a book that will delight both academics and their students.
—Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, Ancient West and East

A thought-provoking analysis . . . A good foundation upon which future studies can build.
—James Chlup, Ordia Prima

A remarkably even-handed portrait of Roman-northern action and reaction.
—Frank M. Clover, Classical Review

A very good read for any student interested in the Romans or the barbarians.
—New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter

From the Publisher

A very good read for any student interested in the Romans or the barbarians.

New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter

Rome and the Barbarians, is a book that will delight both academics and their students.

Ancient West and East - Gocha R. Tsetskhladze

An excellent book that comes from eleven years of painstaking research. Thomas S. Burns has written a readable and well-documented survey of Rome and the numerous peoples to its north . . . The book is exceptionally well organized . . . This book is useful for research and in the classroom not only because of its extensive documentation and bibliography but also because it is readable both for scholars and students.

History: Reviews of New Books - John F. DeFelice

An excellent study . . . Burns breaks the stereotype of the barbarians as destructive savages held in check by the Roman Empire. In its place he offers a balanced view of an evolving relationship between complex, diverse societies on the barbarian side and the civilized Romans . . . The book is enhanced by Burns's very effective integration of the traditional literary sources with the testimony of archaeological evidence . . . Sheds light on an important aspect of Roman history and is valuable to both the scholar and the beginning student.

Journal of Military History - J. P. Karras

A remarkably even-handed portrait of Roman-northern action and reaction.

Classical Review - Frank M. Clover

This detailed analysis of Roman-barbarian interaction rests on a very solid scholarly base.

Choice

A thought-provoking analysis . . . A good foundation upon which future studies can build.

Ordia Prima - James Chlup

I recommend the book highly as an informed, up-to-date, and well-written review of a huge amount of data, easily readable and well referenced.

International History Review - Peter S. Wells

Anyone who has struggled to convey to a class the manifold ways in which the establishment of a legionary fortress revolutionized the life of a region will envy Burns' pedagogical fluency.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Michael Kulikowski

An excellent book that comes from eleven years of painstaking research. Thomas S. Burns has written a readable and well-documented survey of Rome and the numerous peoples to its north... The book is exceptionally well organized... This book is useful for research and in the classroom not only because of its extensive documentation and bibliography but also because it is readable both for scholars and students.

— John F. DeFelice

History: Reviews of New Books

An excellent study... Burns breaks the stereotype of the barbarians as destructive savages held in check by the Roman Empire. In its place he offers a balanced view of an evolving relationship between complex, diverse societies on the barbarian side and the civilized Romans... The book is enhanced by Burns's very effective integration of the traditional literary sources with the testimony of archaeological evidence... Sheds light on an important aspect of Roman history and is valuable to both the scholar and the beginning student.

— J. P. Karras

Journal of Military History

Anyone who has struggled to convey to a class the manifold ways in which the establishment of a legionary fortress revolutionized the life of a region will envy Burns' pedagogical fluency.

— Michael Kulikowski

Bryn Mawr Classical Review

I recommend the book highly as an informed, up-to-date, and well-written review of a huge amount of data, easily readable and well referenced.

— Peter S. Wells

International History Review

Rome and the Barbarians, is a book that will delight both academics and their students.

— Gocha R. Tsetskhladze

Ancient West and East

A thought-provoking analysis... A good foundation upon which future studies can build.

— James Chlup

Ordia Prima

A remarkably even-handed portrait of Roman-northern action and reaction.

— Frank M. Clover

Classical Review