Imperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic

The book "Imperatores Victi" explores how competition among aristocrats in the Roman Republic was limited,which helped to curb the potential destructive effects of all-out contests between individuals. It examines the beliefs about the religious origins of defeat, assumptions about common soldiers' duties in battle, and definitions of honorable behavior of an aristocrat during a crisis, which shifted the onus of failure away from a general's person and offered positive strategies for a general to win glory and respect even in defeat.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 236 pages
Publication date: 19 August 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

The intense competition among aristocrats seeking public office in the middle and late Roman Republic raises concerns about the potential undermining of the state or damage to the ruling class's cohesion. However, as Rosenstein's book, Imperatores Victi, demonstrates, the competition among these aristocrats was surprisingly limited. This limited competition curtailed the destructive effects of all-out contests between individuals.

Military success was a significant source of prestige and political strength in Rome, and generals who led armies to victory enjoyed a better chance of securing higher office upon their return. However, this study shows that defeated generals were not barred from public office and went on to win the Republic's most highly coveted and hotly contested offices in numbers virtually identical to those of their undefeated peers.

Rosenstein explores how this unexpected limit to competition functions by examining beliefs about the religious origins of defeat, assumptions about common soldiers' duties in battle, and definitions of honorable behavior of an aristocrat during a crisis. These perspectives were instrumental in shifting the onus of failure away from a general's person and offering positive strategies for a general to win glory and respect even in defeat and to silence potential critics among a failed general's peers.

Such limits to competition had an impact on the larger problems of stability and cohesiveness in the Roman Republic. The book provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of aristocratic competition and its impact on Roman politics and society.

Weight: 363g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520334007