Violence in Roman Egypt: A Study in Legal Interpretation (Empire and After)

What can we learn about the world of an ancient empire from the ways that people complain when they feel that they have been violated? What role did law play in people's lives? And what did they expect their government to do for them when they felt harmed and helpless? If ancient historians have frequently written about nonelite people as if they were undifferentiated and interchangeable, Ari Z. Bryen counters by drawing on one of our few sources of personal narratives from the Roman world: over a hundred papyrus petitions, submitted to local and imperial officials, in which individuals from the Egyptian countryside sought redress for acts of violence committed against them. By assembling these long-neglected materials (also translated as an appendix to the book) and putting them in conversation with contemporary perspectives from legal anthropology and social theory, Bryen shows how legal stories were used to work out relations of deference within local communities. Rather than a simple force of imperial power, an open legal system allowed petitioners to define their relationships with their local adversaries while contributing to the body of rules and expectations by which they would live in the future. In so doing, these Egyptian petitioners contributed to the creation of Roman imperial order more generally.

What can we learn about the world of an ancient empire from the ways that people complain when they feel that they have been violated? What role did law play in people's lives? And what did they expect their government to do for them when they felt harmed and helpless?

If ancient historians have frequently written about nonelite people as if they were undifferentiated and interchangeable, Ari Z. Bryen counters by drawing on one of our few sources of personal narratives from the Roman world: over a hundred papyrus petitions, submitted to local and imperial officials, in which individuals from the Egyptian countryside sought redress for acts of violence committed against them. By assembling these long-neglected materials (also translated as an appendix to the book) and putting them in conversation with contemporary perspectives from legal anthropology and social theory, Bryen shows how legal stories were used to work out relations of deference within local communities.

Rather than a simple force of imperial power, an open legal system allowed petitioners to define their relationships with their local adversaries while contributing to the body of rules and expectations by which they would live in the future. In so doing, these Egyptian petitioners contributed to the creation of Roman imperial order more generally.

If Ancient Historians Have Frequently Written About Nonelite People As If They Were Undifferentiated And Interchangeable, Ari Z. Bryen Counters By Drawing On One Of Our Few Sources Of Personal Narratives From The Roman World: Over A Hundred Papyrus Petitions, Submitted To Local And Imperial Officials, In Which Individuals From The Egyptian Countryside Sought Redress For Acts Of Violence Committed Against Them. By Assembling These Long-neglected Materials (also Translated As An Appendix To The Book) And Putting Them In Conversation With Contemporary Perspectives From Legal Anthropology And Social Theory, Bryen Shows How Legal Stories Were Used To Work Out Relations Of Deference Within Local Communities.--publisher. Introduction: The Presentation Of The Self In Everyday Life -- Part I. The Texture Of The Problem -- Chapter 1. Ptolemaios Complains -- Chapter 2. Violent Egypt -- Chapter 3. Violence, Modern And Ancient -- Part Ii. From The Language Of Pain To The Language Of Law -- Chapter 4. Narrating Injury -- Chapter 5. The Work Of Law -- Chapter 6. Fission And Fusion -- Conclusion. Nomos And Its Narratives -- Appendix A. The Papyrus On The Page -- Appendix B. Translations Of Petitions Concerning Violence -- List Of Papyri In Checklist Order. Ari Z. Bryen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [327]-344) And Index. If ancient historians have frequently written about non-elite people as if they were undifferentiated and interchangeable, the author counters by drawing on one of our few sources of personal narratives from the Roman world: over a hundred papyrus petitions, submitted to local and imperial officials, in which individuals from the Egyptian countryside sought redress for acts of violence committed against them. By assembling these long-neglected materials (also translated as an appendix to the book) and putting them in conversation with contemporary perspectives from legal anthropology and social theory, the author shows how legal stories were used to work out relations of deference within local communities. -- Publisher's description Drawing on over a hundred papyrus petitions, one of the only sources of personal narrative from the Roman world, Ari Z. Bryen investigates how people living in Roman Egypt negotiated their relationships to local communities and the Empire through legal stories.