MOTIVES FOR ROMAN IMPERIALISM IN NORTH AFRICA, 300 BCE TO 100 CE - CORE

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MOTIVES FOR ROMAN IMPERIALISM IN NORTH AFRICA, 300 BCE TO 100 CE

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A Thesis Presented to the

Faculty of San Diego State University

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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts in

History

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by Michael A. DeMonto

Summer 2015

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Copyright ? 2015 by

Michael A. DeMonto All Rights Reserved

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DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to Sara. Thank you for supporting my education venture for these past six years. Your love and support means everything to me. I love you!

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ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Motives For Roman Imperialism in North Africa, 300 BCE to 100 CE by Michael A. DeMonto

Master of Arts in History San Diego State University, 2015

Previous examinations of Roman imperialism in North Africa are insufficient because they lack an appreciation of the balance between the defensive, political, and economic motives. These past arguments have focused on specific regions around the Mediterranean world, but have failed to include North Africa ? an integral part of the Roman Empire. This region was politically and economically integrated into the empire during the first century CE.

This study closely examines the ancient sources for Roman imperialism in North Africa from 300 BCE to 100 CE to construct the narrative for Roman imperialism while juxtaposing corresponding ancient and archaeological evidence. This study examines the ancient and modern constructed narratives against anthropological models for interstate warfare and cooperation. The ancient written sources include Polybius's Histories, Livy's Ab Urbe Condita and Periochae, Appian's Roman History, Dio Cassius's Roman History, Sallust's Jugurthine War, Julius Caesar's De Africo Bello, Velleius Paterculus's Roman History, Augustus's Res Gestae Divi Augusti, Tacitus's Annals and Histories, and Pliny the Elder's Natural Histories. A wide range of archaeological data are examined including settlement patterns, economic structures, agricultural patterns, amphorae studies, roads, the Fossatum Africae, and military structures in North Africa, which offer corroboration of or disjunction from the written source material.

The Roman state aggressively expanded across the Mediterranean from 300 to 100 CE, during which period the Romans incorporated North Africa into their empire. Chapter one establishes a definition of imperialism and considers the usefulness and level of scrutiny required in the examination of the ancient written, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence. Chapter two offers the defensive motives for Roman imperialism in North Africa through cause, effect, and postwar outcomes. Chapter three examines the role of politics at the state and individual levels in addition to political structures. Chapter four focuses on the economic motives for Roman imperialism in North Africa including commodities and structures. Chapter five brings together this range of motives to illustrate the complexity and imperialistic nature of Roman expansion into North Africa from 300 BCE to 100 CE.

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