Review of "Ownership and Exploitation of Land and Natural Resources in the Roman World", Erdkamp P.P.M., Verboven K., Zuiderhoek A.

a

COMPTES ^RENDUS 815

protagonista, que tiene que ser un personaje socialmente "perdedor" ^ante el poderoso para que

la

flerza de la utopía cómica pueda funcionar no sólo paIódicamente ^sino también como liberación. Animo a que se consulte bibliografía española, italiana y por- tuguesa (se pueden encontrar contenidos pertinentes al tema tratado) y a que _se incorpo- ren referencias más actualizadas, pues la bibliografía utilizada

-

^{toda ella de referencia}

y

de necesaria aparición

-

^{apenas recoge} una docena de títulos posteriores a 2007' cuando el tema, los autores y las obras han sido abordados en distintos trabajos de espe- cialistas cuyas conclusiones podrían haber ofrecido otros puntos de vista interesantes que podrían haberse incorporado en las contribuciones de este monografía. Es éste, pues' un volumen de calidad que aporta algunas respuestas al tema de reflexión planteado y ^que ofrece la oportunidad para convocar otra jomada de estudio en la que se pueda valorar de qué modo pueden ser extrapolables a los otros autores de comedia las estimulantes conclusiones de estos capítulos. Por ejemplo, de qué manera funciona el metateatro en la comedia de Terencio en comparación con el análisis aquí descrito en Plauto y no solamente en los prólogos o en pasajes aislados: sería el caso del desarrollo argumental en Eunuchus y en el juego de la doble identidad de su joven protagonista, que no sería un personaje del estilo que ^se tratan en este volumen, y que no duda en disfrazar su personalidad para alcanzar su objetivo amoroso (¿el fin justifica los medios?); o ^cómo los códigos menandreos descritos son reconocibles y se mantienen en la palliata (o no).

Quizá no solamente la Comedia Nueva influye en los códigos morales de la palliata romana

y

sea necesario acudir en ocasiones a la comedia aristofánica para ^entender algunos códigos teatrales (¿morales?) de la comedia plautina y su subversión, pues ^la capacidad de romper la norma que el sarsinate regala a ålguna de ^sus matronas pueda encontrar referentes en la configuración de algunos personajes femeninos de la Comedia Antigua. Enhorabuena a las editoras y a los autores. Esperamos pronto otro título en la

colección.

Carmen GoNzíuez-YÃzQvnz.

Paul Enn<aup / Koenraad VensoveN / Arjan ZuroenHoEK (ed.), Owtership and Exploita' tion of Land and Natural Resources in the RomanWorld, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015 (Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy), 24,5

x

16,5 cm, XIV-407 p.' fig., cartes, 1 12,5 f., ISBN 978-0- 1 9 -87 2892-4.

This volume brings together a variety of approaches to the economic history of the Roman countryside and investigates the structural and institutional contexts in which agriculture and the exploitation of natural resources in the Roman wofld took place. The individual contributions cover a broad geographical and chronological spectrum, ^and come from a variety of methodological directions. While there is a firm emphasis on ancient historical approaches, archaeological ones are also included. The book ^has been divided into three main ^sections, which are preceded by two introductory chaptels, ^and followed by a concluding discussion by the three editors. The introductory ^chapters, by Zuiderhoek and Erdkamp, ^serve to position the volume in its historiographical and theoretical context. Zuiderhoek's chapter ^presents a usefully detailed critical overview of the debate so far and discusses the meaning of New Institutional Economics for our understanding

of

the economic history

of

land exploitation

in

the Roman world.

Erdkamp, subsequently, explores the idea that the institutional environment sutrounding agriculture in the Roman world allowed for (intensive) economic growth, e.g. through specialization, and though a more efficient use of the labour capacity of farmers and their families. The first section of the volume is devoted to the theme of ownership and control, and basically deals with the structures and realities of land ownership and access to water.

It

starts with a chapter by Kyle Harper on the evolution of patterns of

816 COMPTES RENDUS

landholding in the long term, which offers a very powerful argument against the idea that there was a consistent accumulation of wealth that led to a dominance of large elite landowners and the marginalization of smaller-scale farmers. The subsequent chapter by Elio Lo Cascio discusses the development of the property portfolio of the Roman Emper- ors, arguing that though the amount of property under control of the emperor increased over time, it always remained relatively limited in size, and private in nature. The role of the emperor in landed property in Roman Egypt is the focus of Laurens Tacoma's chapter on the Julio-Claudian ousiai.Tacoma argues that these estates were given away by the emperor as a gift, and this offered the emperor a way to build his network with local elites

-

productivity was not the central issue. The following two chapters approach the theme of landownership from a more juridical perspective.

A

chapter by Dennis Kehoe analyses how government policy and Rome's legal framework impacted on agri- culture, and argues that the Roman authorities sought to balance the interests of (large scale) landowners with those of smaller-scale farmers, as they were dependent on both groups for tax revenue. The next chapter, by Eva Jakab, offers a more technical discus- sion about the developing nature of property rights and its relation to agricultural prac- tice. For the last two chapters of the first section, the focus shifts from land to water.

A chapter by Christer Bruun highlights the (uridical) ways in which access to water was regulated in the imperial period, particularly looking at the mechanisms that allowed private persons to water their agricultural land. The subsequent chapter by Yuri Marano highlights (urban) water management in Ostrogothic ltaly, stressing the continued inter- est in maintenance and development of aqueducts and baths until the mid-sixth century.

The second section

of

the volume looks at organization and modes

of

production.

It

kicks off with a chapter by Alessandro Launaro on the transformation of agriculture in Italy between the Late Republic and the Early Empire, emphasizing how the emer- gence of a villa system should not be associated with a disappearance of the free rural population, but rather with the emergence of (free) tenant-farmers. This is followed by a well-documented chapter by Annalisa Marzano emphasizing how villa-owners diver- sified their economic strategies according to the natural resources available on their property. These include not only clay, stone and lime, but also, occasionally, sulphur;

Marzano particularly highlights the evidence

for

fish-farming along the Tyrrhenian coast. Matthew Hobson subsequently offe¡s a reassessment of the origins and context of the second century AD agricultural boom of Roman North Africa, incorporating large amounts of evidence for agricultural production

-

particularly oil presses

-

^{from field}

surveys into the picture, and both confirming and slightly nuancing earlier work on this topic. Julia Hoffmann-Salz follows with a chapter on the history of agricultural organi- zation in the Oasis Environment of Palmyra, highlighting how patterns of agriculture and water-management, though looking Roman, in fact had roots in the local, tribal tradition.

The final chapter by Michael MacKinnon moves into completely different territory, highlighting the changes

in

animal husbandry in the Roman Mediterranean. Using a

wealth of zooarchaeological data, MacKinnon shows that the scale of animal husbandry improved, and that height increases occurred for cattle, sheep and pigs alike

-

^{first in}

Italy, subsequently also in the provinces. The third section consists of three papers focus- ing on the exploitation of non-agricultural resources. First, there is an interesting chapter by Isabela Tsigarida highlighting evidence for conflicts between Roman publicani and local communities about the ownership of salt works in Asia Minor. While the article is mostly based on two small cases, it gives a detailed insight in how natural resources like salt could be at the heart of serious, long-running financial disputes. The next chapter by Alfred Hirt offers a fascinating glimpse into the role of the imperial authorities in quarrying. Hirt sketches how the imperial authorities used their control over quarries

of

COMPTES RENDUS 817

coloured stone to monopolize these materials and shows how a direct intervention by ^the emperor Hadrian in 136-137 AD had a profound impact on the operation of quarries in different pafts of the empire. The third chapter, by Fernando López Sánchez, focuses on gold mining (and minting) in the 'Romano-Byzantine' ^and Arabic realm of the first millennium of our era. His longue-durée approach emphasizes how, independent of his- torical context, gold mines were controlled by large imperial states, not by other entities.

The final chapter of the book offers an overview of presented arguments and ^connects them to ongoing discourse. This chapter is useful, but ^perhaps, it would have been better placed at the start of the volume.

All

in all, this is a rich volume, that at once highlights the importance of land and natural resources to our understanding of Roman economic history, and the wealth of evidence available for studying them. It is a clear merit that the volume analyses agricultural alongside non-agricultural forms of land-exploitation

-

^{as these belong} to different conceptual categories in the modern scholarly mindset, they are too often analysed independent of each other, while this volume aptly show- cases the potential merit

of

approaching 'land'

in

a more integrated way. Readers may quibble that the chapters vary too much in chronological ^and geographical scope, and some may feel that more could have been done to strengthen the narrative from chapter to chapter, but that should not detract from the point that this volume ^{has a} lot to offer both on the level of evidence ^presented and on the level of historical models

and

thinking.

^{Miko Ft.osn-}

Thorsten FöcsN

/

Richard WanneN (ed.), Graeco-Ronøn Antiquity and tlrc Idea of

Nationalisn't in the lgtr' Century: Case Studies, Berlin / New York, ^W. de Gruyter, ^2016, 23,5

x

15,5 cm, 304 p., ill., 109,95 €, ISBN 978-3-11-047178-6.

Cet ouvrage collectif, situé à la croisée de l'étude de la réception de I'Antiquité clas- sique et des nationalismes européens au XIX" siècle (seule I'Europe septentrionale et centrale est prise en compte) selon une approche interdisciplinaire (histoire ^de I'Antiquité, philologie, archéologie, histoire de I'art, histoire des mentalités, réception de I'Antiquité, sociologie etc.), est issu d'un colloque ayant eu lieu à Durham en juin 2013. L'introduction (p. 1-18) délimite le sujet et ^expose les différents problèmes théoriques soulevés par le concept de nationalisme (envisagé

ici

plutôt du point de vue des sciences politiques), dont les éditeurs renoncent à donner une définition qui fasse autorité. Cette ^impasse théorique à propos des concepts utilisés semble d'ailleurs intrinsèquement liée ^à la dis- cipline historique, continuellement ^écartelée parmi les cas particuliers. En outre, I'intro- duction soulève les principaux problèmes méthodologiques auxquels sont confrontées les études de réception de I'Antiquité classique. Enfin, il est appréciable que les éditeurs aient fourni au lecteur une orientation historiographique ^et bibliographique de ce champ d'investigation en pleine expansion. L introduction laisse place à deux contributions qui brossent un panorama de I'impact de la réception de I'Antiquité classique dans la forma- tion des nationalismes européens au XIX" siècle. A. D. Smith, dans Classical ldeals and the Formation of Modern Nations in Europe (p. 19-a3), analyse I'influence des idéaux classiques sur la formation des nationalismes modernes par le biais du néo-classicisme.

Son exposé accorde une place aussi bien aux idées abstraites (cultes de la nature, de l'authenticité et de la perfectibilité hérités des Lumières ; vertu héroïque ; ^{idées de} patrie et d'indépendance; citoyenneté et fraternité) qu'aux représentations artistiques (architec- ture, sculpture et peinture) en envisageant tant l'Angleterre que la France, tant I'Allemagne que I'Italie. En conclusion, I'auteur rappelle qu'il serait simpliste, dans l'étude des nationa- lismes européens modemes, d'opposer systématiquement la cultule classique à la culture judéo-chrétienne, autant que d'opposer romantisme et néo-classicisme. A. S. Leoussi, dans