Citizens and Captives: Depictions of the “Conquered” in the Roman Empire

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines constructions of Roman citizenship in Roman state art, arguing that beginning in the late republic a broader concept of citizenship was prevalent—one rooted largely in shared culture and defined in opposition to a “barbarian” other. From this reading of state art, two arguments emerge: First, the emphasis on enculturation created an ever-moving line between Roman and barbarian. Second, the subject position created subjected both the Roman viewer and non-Roman subject. The article then turns to a reading of Greek orator Aristides’s Regarding Rome to show that the concept of citizenship stressed in state art is clearly present, though not necessarily well received.