Captive-Taking in the Late Roman Republic and Early Principate: Historical Realities and Elite Representations
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Captive-taking in the Late Roman Republic and Early Principate: Historical Realities and Elite Representations Elinor Grace Cosgrave Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds The School of Languages, Cultures and Societies April 2021 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. The right of Elinor Grace Cosgrave to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Acknowledgements This project would only have been possible with the financial support of the University of Leeds Research Scholarship, and the further support of the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies. Thanks to Penny Goodman and Regine May for supervising this project. They have provided excellent advice on this thesis and various papers over the last three years. Further thanks go to Bev Back for allowing me to audit Latin lessons. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the late Ken Belcher for his support as my personal tutor during my undergraduate degree. I will always be grateful for his help in my transfer from Newcastle University to Leeds following my father’s death. The University of Leeds library and support staff in LCS have been instrumental ‘behind-the-scenes’. Thanks! I have also benefitted from training from the British Museum’s Numismatic Department, having attended their Summer School in 2017. Similarly, my volunteering experience at Vindolanda Roman Fort (2017) and attendance at JACT Latin Summer Camp in Wells (2017) have proved invaluable. However, a large part of this journey takes place well before my entry into Higher Education. At school, I always felt like an outsider as I am a (very proud) ‘girly swot’, and it was the teachers at the state schools I attended, Morley High School and Notre Dame Sixth Form College, who always took the time to encourage and challenge me. To name just a few: Ms Smithson, Ms Halliday, Ms Sharp, Mr Bardsley, Ms Cox, and, my wonderful Classics teachers: Dr Beaumont, Mr Brown and Ms Yates at Notre Dame. Thank you! On a more personal note… I wouldn’t be here at all without my friend Charlotte Bolton’s clear foresight. The answer is yes, I would have regretted it! To continue in this vein, my dearest friends and colleagues, Maria Haley and Sophie Milner, have been a source of constant support over the past three years. Thanks for your advice on ancient Greek accents, pottery, personifications, and a bizarre assortment of deeply unpleasant (but fascinating) topics. Our ‘Pod Pals’ collective, including Marc Cole and Georgia Newmarch, has made this PhD manageable, with coffee, rants, and (often hysterical) laughter a daily occurrence. Cheers, sweeties! Thanks to my partner in both life and PhD, Ben Steele. I truly appreciate all your support, ability to (mostly) keep calm in the face of a tempest, and your patience in allowing me to divulge, in minute detail, everything I have ever learned about Roman captive-taking. For her continued support throughout my education, even in the darkest of times, my deepest and most heartfelt thanks go to my truly fabulous mum, Beverley Farrar. I am endlessly grateful for the past two plus decades of proofreading, Maths related challenges, pivotal role in cultivating my interest in history and literature, and unwavering belief in my abilities even in my many moments of self-doubt. This thesis would not have been possible without you. Further thanks go to Izzy Cosgrave, Jan Farrar, and Jeff Backhouse for their encouragement and attendance at various talks and events over the years. And, of course, to Otto Von Stockport and Ava Gardeneater who have eaten, peed on, and even unhelpfully contributed (‘zzzzz’) to various versions of this thesis. Finally, my late grandparents Stanley and Muriel Farrar cannot go without a mention. Their hours of dedication to my education, recognition of education’s role in social mobility and self-improvement, and constant encouragement continue to fuel my pursuit and love of knowledge. This thesis is dedicated to their memory. Abstract Captives in Roman warfare are often overlooked yet played a key role in Roman society. Scholarship has previously considered institutions which involved captive- taking, including slavery and Imperialism, but there has not yet been a comprehensive study of the stages involved in acquiring captives. Previous scholarship has been confined by linguistic parameters, such as studies which have focussed on those labelled as ‘hostages’ or enslaved people exclusively. I have taken an holistic approach and use ‘captive’ as an umbrella term which refers to individuals captured by the Romans during warfare, including those who were, or have been in recent scholarship, described as: hostages, enslaved people, or prisoners of war. This has enabled me to compare the treatment of individuals or groups of people who were not explicitly labelled using language associated with captive or hostage-taking, but who held a similar status in Roman society. The different stages of captive-taking have been defined by the treatment captive people experienced at the hands of the Romans. Captive-taking in the Roman world was used for or involved: military intelligence, massacre, sexual violence, enslavement, hostage-taking, and the appearance of captives in triumphs. I address each of these factors in turn, arguing that the Romans recognised a process of captive-taking which involved treatment designed to humiliate an enemy people, thereby rendering them more compliant with Roman demands. This thesis uses Greco-Roman literature, art, and iconography to outline and explore the process of captive-taking in Roman warfare. Greco-Roman evidence relating to captive-taking is written from a Roman perspective, or a viewpoint heavily influenced by Roman culture. Therefore, it has been necessary in this thesis to utilise examples which were written by the elite and promotional in nature to consider the historical realities and expectations implicit within such sources and to develop a fuller picture of captive-taking practices. The Roman elite were acutely aware of representation, and the treatment of captives was also influenced by such consideration. I have also made use of comparative examples of captive-taking and the processes briefly outlined above from modern history and current affairs to further discussion where Roman sources on the subject are limited. Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 i. Captive-taking in the Roman World ........................................................................ 1 ii. Modern Captives ........................................................................................................ 2 iii. Defining Ancient Captives ........................................................................................ 4 iv. Language and Methodology ..................................................................................... 6 v. Plautus’ Captivi ............................................................................................................ 8 vi. Sources ....................................................................................................................... 11 vii. Time Period ............................................................................................................... 12 viii. Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 14 a. Warfare and Imperialism............................................................................................. 15 b. Slavery ............................................................................................................................ 17 c. Hostages ......................................................................................................................... 19 d. Triumphs ....................................................................................................................... 21 e. Classical Art and Numismatics .................................................................................. 23 ix. Structure and approach .............................................................................................. 24 Chapter One - The Rules of War and Captives’ Military Value ................................. 26 1.1. The Rules of War........................................................................................................ 26 1.2. Exempla and the Battle of Cannae ............................................................................ 27 1.3. Justifying Rule-breaking ........................................................................................... 29 1.4. Rule-breaking as an Indicator of Character ........................................................... 31 1.5. Military Intelligence .................................................................................................. 33 1.6. Deceitful Captives...................................................................................................... 35 1.7. The ‘Inferior’ Enemy ................................................................................................