The Quaestorship in the Roman Republic (Klio / Beihefte - Neue Folge) (Klio / Nroytshr xit S;yrm Hrdvjovjyr)

This book is the fruit of the project 'The quaestorship duringt he Republic at Rome and abroad',s ponsored by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía yC ompetitividad (HAR2013-43477-P). The authors are very grateful to some individuals and institutions that have helped make this project ar eality.E ach author would like to express his gratitudes eparately. Francisco Pina Polo took the first steps in researching the elusive quaestors in 2014,when he spent threem onths at Princeton'sI nstitutef or Advanced Studya nd enjoyed not onlyt he wonderful atmosphere but alsoaplace in its beautiful library overlooking the pond and woods.In2015 and 2016,Iwas aguest for some weeks first at the Seminarfür AlteGeschichte of Münsterand then at the Institut für Geschichte (Lehrstuhl für AlteG eschichte) of Dresden, which are directed by two good friends and excellent colleagues, Johannes Hahn and Martin Jehne, respectively.Their hospitality and joviality trulyh elped me advancet his project.L ast but not least,i n 2017 Ihad the privilegeofbeing aV isiting ResearchF ellow at Merton Collegeduring Trinity term. Anyone who has ever spent some time working in the Sackler and Bodleian Libraries knows very wellw hat this meansf or an ancient historian: paradise. Fort his privilegeIam very much indebted to Jonathan Prag,P rofessor of Ancient History in Merton and himself ag reat expert on the Roman quaestorship. Iw ould also like to thank other Oxonian colleagues who generouslydiscussed some aspects of this book with me,i ncludingF ergusM illar and Henriette van der Blom (now in Birmingham).S omec olleagues, including WernerE ck and AnneK olb, have given their advice on various questions or have provided useful bibliographical items, for which Ia mv ery grateful. Io we av ery special debt of gratitudet om yc olleague and friend Cristina Rosillo-López(University Pablo de Olavide, Seville), since she has patiently read substantial parts of the book and has always contributed invaluable advice and recommendations that have improved it.N eedless to say, none of these colleagues and friends can be blamed for anyi nfelicities or mistakes in the book. Alejandro Díaz Fernándezc ontinued the work initiated by Francisco Pina Polo duringt wo successive research trips in Rome (2016 and 2017)t hat weref inanced by the University of Málagawith the invaluable help of the Escuela Española de Historia yArqueología of Rome (EEHAR-CSIC). Iamsincerelygrateful to Emma Chesterman for the translation and improvement of my text,a sw ella st om ycolleagues in the Departmento fH istorical Sciences of the University of Málaga, my dear friend Francho and my familyf or their support and unconditional patience: completing this project would indeed have been impossiblew ithout the kind collaboration of so manyp eople and institutions. Finally, we want to thank Benjamin Jerue for the completer evision of the text and stylistic improvement. The lack of evidence has proved to be the greatest obstacle involved in reconstructing the quaestorship and has probably discouraged scholars from undertaking a large-scale study of the office. As a consequence, a comprehensive study of the quaestorship has long been a desideratum: this book aims to fill this gap in the scholarship.
The book contains a study of the quaestorship throughout the Roman Republic, both in Italy (particularly at Rome) and in the overseas provinces. It includes a history of the office, an analysis of its role within the cursus honorum and its larger importance for the Roman constitution as well as the prosopography of all quaestors known during the Republican period based on the literary, epigraphic and numismatic evidence.
The quaestorship was always an office for beginners who aspired to follow a political career and hence served as institutional entrance to the senate. Despite their youth, quaestors were endowed with functions of great significance at Rome and abroad, such as the control and supervision of Rome’s finances. As the book shows, the quaestorship was a prominent and essential part of the Roman administration. "The lack of evidence has proved to be the greatest obstacle involved in reconstructing the quaestorship and has probably discouraged scholars from undertaking a large-scale study of the office. As a consequence, a comprehensive study of the quaestorship has long been a desideratum: this book aims to fill this gap in the scholarship. The book contains a study of the quaestorship throughout the Roman Republic, both in Italy (particularly at Rome) and in the overseas provinces. It includes a history of the office, an analysis of its role within the cursus honorum and its larger importance for the Roman constitution as well as the prosopography of all quaestors known during the Republican period based on the literary, epigraphic and numismatic evidence. The quaestorship was always an office for beginners who aspired to follow a political career and hence served as institutional entrance to the senate. Despite their youth, quaestors were endowed with functions of great significance at Rome and abroad, such as the control and supervision of Rome's finances. As the book shows, the quaestorship was a prominent and essential part of the Roman administration."