Rome and the Enemy

"Susan P. Mattern reconstructs here the world view of Roman decision makers, the emperors and the tiny elite from which they drew their advisers. She demonstrates that Onasander's indifference to expertise is completely characteristic of the policymakers she presents. They did not weigh possible risks against potential advantages. They were more strongly influenced by compulsion to avenge what they felt was an insult than by any thought of defensible borders. They carried out campaigns more to construct and preserve an image of Roman might than to exercise that might itself." "This book draws upon the literature, especially the historiography, composed by the members of the elite who conducted Roman foreign affairs. From this evidence, Mattern has drawn a rich, detailed portrait of their statecraft and the values it was fashioned to articulate."--BOOK JACKET.