Ethnic Identity and Imperial Power: The Batavians in the Early Roman Empire (Amsterdam University Press - Amsterdam Archaeological Studies)

This probing case study examines the evolution of the ethnic identity of the Batavians, a lower Rhineland tribe in the western marches of the Roman Empire. Drawing on extensive historical and archaeological data, Nico Roymans examines how between 50 BCE and 70 CE, the Romans cultivated the Batavians as an ethnic ''other'' by intensively recruiting them to the Roman army while simultaneously carrying out extermination campaigns against other tribes in the region. Roymans also considers how the status of the Batavian settlement reveals intriguing insights into Roman definitions of ''civilization'' and ''barbarism.'' Ethnic Identity and Imperial Power is a fascinating anthropological study on how ancient frontier peoples negotiated their self-image. This study explores the theme of Batavian ethnicity and ethnogenesis in the context of the Early Roman Empire, starting with the current view of ethnicity as a culturally determined, subjective construct shaped through interaction with an ethnic 'other'. The study analyses literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources relating to the Batavian image and self-image against the background of the specific integration of the Batavian community into the Roman world. The Batavian society was exploited by the Roman authorities for the recruitment of auxiliary soldiers. As a result it developed into a full-blown military community. The study's main conclusion is that Rome exerted a profound influence on the formation of the Batavians both as a political entity and as an ethnic group. The combination of an explicit theoretical framework and a clear presentation of empirical data makes this book an indispensable work for all those interested in ethnicity and ethnogenesis in the context of the Roman Empire. In dit tiende deel van de AAS-serie staat de etnische ontwikkeling en etnogenese van de Bataven centraal in de context van het vroeg-Romeinse Rijk. Uitgangspunt vormt de duidige visie op etnische identiteit als een cultureel bepaalde, subjectieve constructie die tot stand komt in de interactie met de etnische 'ander'. Roymans maakt gebruik van historische en archeologische bronnen om het Bataafse imago en zelfbeeld te bestuderen tegen de achtergrond van de integratie van de Bataven in de Romeinse wereld. De Bataafse gemeenschap werd intensief geëxploiteerd door de Romeinse autoriteiten voor de recrutering van hulpsoldaten. Als het gevolg daarvan ontwikkelde zij zich tot een sterk gemilitariseerde gemeenschap. De belangrijkste conclusie in deze studie is dat Rome een vergaande invloed uitoefende op de vorming van de Bataven als politieke entiteit en als een etnische groep. De combinatie van een uitgebreid theoretisch kader met een heldere presentatie van empirische informatie maken dit boek tot een onmisbaar werk voor iedereen die geïnteresseerd in etniciteit en etnogenese ten tijde van de Romeinse overheersing This Study Explores The Theme Of Batavian Ethnicity And Ethnogenesis In The Context Of The Early Roman Empire. Its Starting Point Is The Current View In The Social And Historical Sciences Of Ethnicity As A Culturally Determined, Subjective Construct That Is Shaped Through Interaction With An Ethnic 'other'. The Study Analyses Literary, Epigraphic And Archaeological Sources Relating To The Batavian Image And Self-image Against The Backdrop Of Batavian Integration Into The Roman World. The Batavians Were Intensively Exploited By The Roman Authorities For The Recruitment Of Auxiliary Soldiers, With The Result That Their Society Developed Into A Full-blown Military Community.--jacket. 1. Research Aims, Central Concepts And Perspectives -- 2. Social Change In The Late Iron Age Lower Rhine Region -- 3. Caesar's Conquest And The Ethnic Reshuffling Of The Lower Rhine Frontier Zone -- 4. The Gold Triskeles Coinages Of The Eburones -- 5. Roman Frontier Politics And The Formation Of A Batavian Polity -- 6. The Lower Rhine Triquetrum Coinages And The Formation Of A Batavian Polity -- 7. Kessel/lith : A Late Iron Age Central Place In The Rhine/meuse Delta -- 8. The Political And Institutional Structure Of The Pre-flavian Civitas Batavorum -- 9. Foederis Romani Monumenta : Public Memorials Of The Alliance With Rome -- 10. Image And Self-image Of The Batavians. Nico Roymans. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 261-274) And Index.