ABOUT THIS BOOK

For hundreds of years, the Roman people produced laws in popular assemblies attended by tens of thousands of voters to publicly forge resolutions to issues that might otherwise have been unmanageable. Callie Williamson's book,The Law of the Roman People, finds that the key to Rome's survival and growth during the most formative period of empire, roughly 350 to 44 B.C.E., lies in its hitherto enigmatic public lawmaking assemblies which helped extend Roman influence and control. Williamson bases her rigorous and innovative work on the entire body of surviving laws preserved in ancient reports of proposed and enacted legislation from these public assemblies.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Callie Williamson holds a Ph.D. in Roman history from the University of London and is practicing law in North Carolina.

REVIEWS

"This intellectually powerful and highly original book examines Roman expansion through the lens of public lawmaking, the process of negotiation and debate by which citizen assemblies resolved conflict and expressed consensus. Williamson incisively examines how problems of expansion were managed, and boldly argues that in the end it was expansion itself—both of the electorate and its leadership—that overwhelmed the problem-solving capacities of public lawmaking and led to the breakdown of the Republic."
—American Historical Association

— American Historical Association

"[The Laws of the Roman People] is stimulating and significant. It is tackling hugely important and difficult questions."
—Bryn Mawr Classical Review

— Elizabeth A. Meyer, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

". . . important and learned . . .well-argued and provocative . . ."
—Choice

— K. W. Harl, Choice

"Anyone with an interest in ancient Rome, regardless of their level of interest in law and government, will find Williamson's work relevant and thorough."
--CJ-Online

— MOlly Jones-Lewis, CJ-Online

"In this extraordinary book, Williamson takes on a daunting and demanding subject—the character and consequences of Roman expansion in Italy over a period of 300 years, the incorporation of Italic peoples into the Roman system, and the resultant tensions and pressures that culminated in the fall of the Republic. No brief review can begin to do justice to the richness and complexity of this work."
—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

— Erich Gruen, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Winner: American Historical Association (AHA) 2007 James Henry Breasted Prize for the best book in English on any period before 1000 A.D.

— AHA, AHA James Henry Breasted Prize

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

List of Tables

List of Maps

Abbreviations

Part One: Patterns and Process

1. Public Law in Rome

2. Presentation: Oratory and Law Drafts

3. Legitimization: Participants and Procedures

Part Two: The Expansion of Rome

4. The Conquest of Italy

5. Incorporation: Citizenship and Military Service

6. Convergence: The City of Rome

Part Three: The Decline of the Republic

7. A Roman Balance

8. Crisis and Restoration, 91–70

9. The Demise of Public Law, 69–44

Epilogue

Appendix A: Assembling and Processing Evidence

Appendix B: Representativeness of Compilation

Appendix C: List of Reliable Laws and Proposals by Year, Latin Name, and Subject, 350–25 BCE

Cited Works and Select Bibliography

Index

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