Rome Enters the Greek East
From Anarchy to Hierarchy in the Hellenistic Mediterranean, 230-170 BC
April 2008
456 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
This volume examines the period from Rome's earliest involvement in
the eastern Mediterranean to the establishment of Roman
geopolitical dominance over all the Greek states from the Adriatic
Sea to Syria by the 180s BC.
* Applies modern political theory to ancient Mediterranean
history, taking a Realist approach to its analysis of Roman
involvement in the Greek Mediterranean
* Focuses on the harsh nature of interactions among states under
conditions of anarchy while examining the conduct of both Rome and
Greek states during the period, and focuses on what the concepts of
modern political science can tell us about ancient international
relations
* Includes detailed discussion of the crisis that convulsed the
Greek world in the last decade of the third century BC
* Provides a balanced portrait of Roman militarism and
imperialism in the Hellenistic world
List of Maps vii
Part I Rome in Contact with the Greek East, 230-205
BC 1
1 Roman Expansion and the Pressures of Anarchy 3
2 Rome and Illyria, ca. 230-217 bc 29
3 Rome, the Greek States, and Macedon, 217-205 bc 77
Part II The Power-Transition Crisis in the Greek
Mediterranean, 207-200 BC 119
4 The Pact Between the Kings and the Crisis in the Eastern
Mediterranean State-System, 207-200 bc 121
5 Reaction: Diplomatic Revolution in the Mediterranean,
203/202-200 bc 181
6 Diplomatic Revolution in the Mediterranean, II: The Roman
Decision to Intervene, 201/200 bc 230
Part III From Hegemonic War to Hierarchy, 200-170
BC 271
7 Hegemonic War, I: Rome and Macedon, 200-196 bc 273
8 Hegemonic War, II: Rome and Antiochus the Great, 200-188
bc 306
9 Hierarchy and Unipolarity, ca. 188-170 bc 342
Bibliography 382
Index 402
international relations theory with the detailed history of the
transformation of the Hellenistic multipolar anarchy from the First
Illyrian War to the period of Roman "unipolarity". This
consolidates the placement of political theory within current
historiography of the interstate relations of the mid- Republic and
Hellenistic world. Based on the reception of IR Realism in the
various studies cited here which have engaged directly or
peripherally with Eckstein's volume, there are two major
ideas for which he argues that are already working their way
through the ancient historical consciousness: that fear, threat,
force and violence underpin interstate discourses and were
commonplace in the experiences and strategies of both primary and
secondary polities; and that all polities were stakeholders in
international relations, with neither Roman (or others')
ambivalence preventing their participation, nor secondary
states' comparative weakness limiting their determination to
join the negotiation of conflict. We shall in future see much more
scholarship based upon these two central arguments."
(Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 7 May 2013)
"In this excellent book, Arthur Eckstein utilizes modern
political science and interstate relations theory, especially
so-called Realist theory, in order to illuminate the topic of Roman
expansion during the middle Republic." (New England
Classical Journal, May 2009)
"Clearly and engagingly written and augmented by four maps,
this book will appeal to students and scholars alike."
(Choice, April 2009)
"This is a stimulating and provocative book that will force
scholars to look afresh at Rome's conquest of the eastern
Mediterranean."
-Andrew Erskine, University of Edinburgh
