Harriet I. Flower

Professor Flower argues for a new periodization of Roman Republican history. Her point is that we too often view the Roman Republic as unchanging until the failure of the 1st century BC, but the sources show that such a view is demonstrably wrong. She argues that the republic of the nobiles lasted from around 300 BC down to the civil wars of the 80s. The period after the 80s was transitional to one-man rule.
Perceptive and engaging, this book is suitable for upperclass men in college and for show more graduate students, as it deals with the problem of periodization in Roman history. You don’t need to agree with all of Flower’s arguments to see that in general she must be correct. In my opinion, Professor Flower should now enlarge upon her arguments with a series of detailed discussion about transitions between Roman republics. show less

“…Flower has a really original and striking interpretation of Roman history, and she explains it very clearly in this short book. The thesis is that the Roman Republic is not a single, monolithic power from the very beginning, and then 450 years later it suddenly crumbles and falls to pieces in the first century BC. She says there were multiple republics…” (reviewed by Adrienne Mayor in FiveBooks).



The full interview is available here: show more target="_top">http://fivebooks.com/interviews/adrienne-mayor-on-enemies-ancient-rome show less