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'Genocide' and Rome, 343-146 BCE: State Expansion and the Social Dynamics of Annihilation

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'Genocide' and Rome, 343-146 BCE: State Expansion and the Social Dynamics of Annihilation ‘Genocide’ and Rome, 343-146 BCE: state expansion and the social dynamics of annihilation David John Colwill Presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ancient History 2017 Cardiff University Title page image: Detail from Thomas Allom, 1870. The Sack of Corinth. Oil on canvas. Abstract As the nascent power of Rome grew to dominance over the Mediterranean world in the Middle Republic, they carried out mass killing, mass enslavement, and urban annihilation. In doing so, they showed an intention to destroy other groups, therefore committing genocide. This study looks at the kinds of destruction enacted by Romans between 343 BCE and 146 BCE, using a novel application of definitions and frameworks of analysis from the field of Genocide Studies. It proposes typologies through which the genocidal behaviours of the Romans can be explored and described. Mass killing, enslavement, and urban annihilation normally occurred in the context of siege warfare, when the entire population became legitimate targets. Initial indiscriminate killing could be followed by the enslavement of the survivors and burning of their settlement. While genocide is a valid historiographical tool of analysis, Roman behaviours were distinct from modern patterns of mass killing in lacking a substantial component of racial or ethnic motivation. These phenomena were complex and varied, and the utter destruction of groups not regularly intended. Roman genocidal violence was a normative, but not typical, adaptation of the Romans of the Middle Republic to the ancient anarchic interstate system. In antiquity, there was no international law to govern conflict and international relations, only customs. This study posits that the Roman moral-based custom of fides as an internal preventative regime that inhibited genocide through rituals of submission to Roman hegemony. This process was flawed, and cultural miscommunication risked causing mass violence. Furthermore, the wide discretion of Roman commanders accepting submission could result in them flouting the moral obligation to protect i surrendered groups. In such cases, attempts at punishment and restitution from other members of the elite were only partially effective. ii Acknowledgements I am grateful to so many people for their help and assistance in undertaking this research. The faculty and staff at the Cardiff School of History, Archaeology and Religion, have been a constant source of advice, knowledge, and inspiration over the years. I am indebted to the encouragement of my primary supervisor, Guy Bradley, in pursuing this project, as well as on many other matters. The advice of Louis Rawlings, my second supervisor, has been invaluable. Any errors remaining in this work are, of course, my own. I owe Helen Szewczyk for her administrative wizardry. My fellow PhD candidates, Ulriika Vihervalli and Ioan McAvoy provided valuable advice on matters historical and personal, and without them doctoral studies would have been much less fun. This work could not have been completed without the assistance of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Block Partnership Grant Scheme. Various trips for conferences and research travel to many of the places mentioned in this study could not have been completed without various grants from the School, the AHRC Research Training Support Grant scheme, and others. Thanks go, of course, to my family for their support, and for their many bemused inquiries after my progress. Finally, my eternal appreciation goes out to my wife, Lorna, for her indulgence and unwavering support. Thank you for accompanying me on this adventure, I look forwards to many more together. D.J.C. Cardiff, 2017 iii Abbreviations and translations Abbreviations of ancient authors and their works follow the usage in Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow, eds. 2012. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. 4th edition. The abbreviation HEpOL is used for the Hispania Epigraphica Online Database. Short passages of classical texts have been translated by the author. For longer passages, the translator is indicated in the footnote. In most cases these are from the Loeb Classical Library series. iv Contents CHAPTER ONE — INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 WHAT IS GENOCIDE? .................................................................................................................. 3 GROUPS IN ANTIQUITY .............................................................................................................. 15 WHAT IS ‘DESTRUCTION’? ......................................................................................................... 21 HISTORICAL CONTEXT .............................................................................................................. 23 EVIDENCE AND SOURCES .......................................................................................................... 25 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ...................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER TWO — MASS KILLING .................................................................................... 31 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 31 MASS KILLING IN URBAN CENTRES ............................................................................................. 33 NORM-FLOUTING KILLING .......................................................................................................... 51 THE BACCHANALIAN AFFAIR ..................................................................................................... 58 WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION ............................................................................................ 62 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER THREE — MASS ENSLAVEMENT .................................................................... 72 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 72 PATTERNS OF MASS ENSLAVEMENT ........................................................................................... 74 TYPES OF ROMAN GENOCIDAL MASS ENSLAVEMENT ................................................................. 100 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 101 CHAPTER FOUR — URBAN ANNIHILATION................................................................... 107 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 107 PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION OF CITIES ......................................................................................... 114 SYMBOLIC CAPITAL OF DESTRUCTION ...................................................................................... 126 AUTHORITY TO DESTROY ........................................................................................................ 137 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 149 CHAPTER FIVE — FORCED URBAN RELOCATION ...................................................... 152 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 152 TRANSLATIONAL URBAN RELOCATION ...................................................................................... 153 CONCENTRATIVE RELOCATION ................................................................................................ 178 RELOCATION AND COLONISATION ............................................................................................ 184 FROM HIGHLANDS TO LOWLANDS ............................................................................................ 187 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 189 FIGURES ................................................................................................................................ 193 CHAPTER SIX — SUBMISSION TO ROME ...................................................................... 201 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 201 DEDITIO IN FIDEM POPULI ROMANI ........................................................................................... 202 FAILING TO PREVENT GENOCIDE .............................................................................................. 213 PUNISHMENT OF GÉNOCIDAIRES AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE .................................................... 226 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 236 CHAPTER SEVEN — CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 240 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 249 APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................... 275 v Maps MAP 1. SITES OF INTEREST ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN ........................................................
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