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Rating: 
Summary: Whoz Ya Callin' a Barbarian? Identity & Change in the West
Review: ROME AND THE BARBARIANS, 100 B.C. - 400 A.D. by Thomas S. Burns is a book designed for general readers about the peoples of the Western Empire in what is largely Europe from Great Britain to the Balkans. Burns is interested in the military, political, and commercial interactions between the Romans and the indigenous peoples of this area, which were termed by the Romans as barbarians. He does this through analyzing literary sources and looking at the archaeological record, as it is currently understood. Burns also discusses the mechanisms by which barbarians became Roman and the role of the military in this process.
The book is divided into seven chapters and a short epilogue.
Chapter 1 - Sometimes Bitter Friends. This is the layout of the book. Investigation of Roman and barbarian relations through literary sources and archaeology. Roman rhetoric and mental landscape. How they thought of barbarians. Terminology is discussed. What were barbarians, Germans, Celts, citizens, peregrini (foreigners)? The rest of the book is three phases laid out in six chapters, with two chapters a piece for each phase. The phases: first expansion, second consolidation with some expansion, third confusion that impacted on the eras that followed.
Chapter 2 - Recognition, Confrontation, and Coexistence. First half the of the chapter is Roman relationship with the Celts in what is now southern France beginning in the second century B.C. Discussion of the long presence of the Celts in this area before the Roman incursion. Archaeological record of oppida (proto-towns/market places) also in place before the coming of the Romans. Greek contact with the Celts and the Roman idea of the Celts deriving from the Greek idea of the Celts. The Roman patron-client relationship is discussed. The second half deals with the Cimbri and Teutones and the barbarians in Bavaria area. Marius and other generals contact with these peoples.
Chapter 3 - Through Caesar's Eyes. THE GALLIC WARS by Julius Caesar is analyzed. This is fascinating.
Chapter 4 - The Early Empire and the Barbarians: An Overview. A time of rapid change. The end of oppida for civitates. The financing and reorganization of the military by Augustus. The barbarians join the military and win Roman citizenship. The impact of the military on the growth of towns through trade and building program. The continuing idea of the barbarians as threat whereas most war was caused by rebellions or civil war. The change from personal patron-client relationships to provinces.
Chapter 5 -- Perspectives from Pannonia. Pannonia used as specific example to demonstrate the generalities of chapter 4. Pannonia is the area that would be western Hungary, parts of Serbia and Croatia, and bits of Slovenia and Austria. The wars in this region from Augustus to Caracalla. Caracalla's edict on citizenship for all who lived within the Roman Empire.
Chapter 6 - The Barbarians and the "Crisis" of the Empire. Change again. The shrinking of towns. Lack of dynastic emperors. Breakdown of central administration. Lack of literary sources contemporary to this time. A look at Cassius Dio and others. Violent society rewards violent behavior that changes society.
Chapter 7 - Barbarians and the Late Roman Empire. Changes to Roman administration, military fortifications along the frontier, and the civilian population from Constantine onwards. The fluid identity of barbarian to Roman. The impact of Christianity on barbarians inside the Roman empire and outside it. Arianism as practiced by some barbarians like the Goths.
Epilogue. Discussion of the breakdown of the Roman Empire into small kingdoms and the need for barbarian kings to identify with the Roman military past. The Huns and later barbarians and their effect on late antiquity. This leads to the medieval time period.
The book also includes an appendix (Most Important Roman Emperors and Usurpers), maps and illustrations, notes, bibliography, and an index. The maps are very helpful. The bibliography is divided between primary sources, classical authors from Agathias to Zosimus, and secondary sources, that is modern authors.
Perhaps it's because I come from an art and archaeological background, but this doesn't seem like revisionism. The Thomas S. Burns writes in flowing but clear prose and explains intricate ideas even to the non-scholar. This is probably due to the fact that he is a professor and must explain these concepts to his students.
This book will interest those readers interested in Rome and its impact on other peoples. For another look at Roman perspectives on non-Romans see ROMANS AND ALIENS by J. P. Balsdon (1980). This is out of print, but look at used books or the library. For a look at the barbarians see BEYOND CELTS, GERMANS, AND SCYTHIANS: ARCHAEOLOGY AND IDENTITY IN IRON-AGE EUROPE by Peter S. Wells. For the Roman impact on another part of the world see ROMAN SYRIA AND THE NEAR EAST by Kevin Butcher. For the Roman military see IN THE NAME OF ROME: THE MEN WHO WON THE ROMAN EMPIRE and THE COMPLETE ROMAN ARMY both by Adrian Goldsworthy. For a specific Roman-barbarian confrontation see THE BATTLE THAT STOPPED ROME by Peter S. Wells.
P.S. If we look at the medieval era as perfume, it would definitely be a blend. Certainly Christianization and Romanization are the dominant top notes. The ones that you notice the most. But the quiet notes, the ones that add mystery, allure, an intriguing element to the blend, these are the peoples of Europe, the ones that the Romans called barbarians. Whether they were in place before the Romans, during the Romans, or after the Romans, they are the supporting scent of the medieval Europe, and that time period couldn't exist without them.
The Romans were intelligent and practical, but conservative. They didn't view technology as we do. Technology only advanced when a practical adjustment was needed to accomplish what was needed for the Republic or Empire. Even though the ancients may be our ancestors, they lived differently and it isn't a good idea put our modern Western values upon them.
Rating: 
Summary: a revisionist history
Review: This is the revisionist account that grafts modern concepts of 'diversity' 'tolerance' and 'cultural awareness' onto people who lived in 100 B.C. In this book it is assumed that since Rome dared to make value judgments and condemn the barbarians, who in fact were savage and ruthless, that Rome must somehow be some sort of evil hegemon like America and the Barbarians must have been 'noble savages' like innocent peace loving native Americans. Unfortunately this is revisionist tripe. The reality is the barbarians actually were savage and it took Roman civilization to pacify and civilize them. Only by serving in the legion and learning roman ways of life and settling in the provinces did the barbarian tribes like the Gauls adopt civilization and become what we know today as the medieval europeans. If it hadn't been for Rome and Rome's extraordinary pursuit of science and technology and administration Europe would be a cultural backwater of feuding tribes to this day, much the way Creaser found it in 30 AD. In fact Rome's influence is so broad that not a major town exists in Europe today that doesn't include the trappings of a Roman wall, aqueduct and amphitheater. The Barbarians on the other hand built few lasting structures. Seth J. Frantzman
Rating:
Summary: a revisionist history
Review: This is the revisionist account that grafts modern concepts of `diversity' `tolerance' and `cultural awareness' onto people who lived in 100 B.C. In this book it is assumed that since Rome dared to make value judgments and condemn the barbarians, who in fact were savage and ruthless, that Rome must somehow be some sort of evil hegemon like America and the Barbarians must have been `noble savages' like innocent peace loving native Americans. Unfortunately this is revisionist tripe. The reality is the barbarians actually were savage and it took Roman civilization to pacify and civilize them. Only by serving in the legion and learning roman ways of life and settling in the provinces did the barbarian tribes like the Gauls adopt civilization and become what we know today as the medieval europeans. If it hadn't been for Rome and Rome's extraordinary pursuit of science and technology and administration Europe would be a cultural backwater of feuding tribes to this day, much the way Creaser found it in 30 AD. In fact Rome's influence is so broad that not a major town exists in Europe today that doesn't include the trappings of a Roman wall, aqueduct and amphitheater. The Barbarians on the other hand built few lasting structures. Seth J. Frantzman
Rating:
Summary: Roman containment or Roman envelopment?
Review: Thomas Burns has painstakingly compiled a career's worth of educational study to show the relationships created, nurtured and harnessed between the Roman people and the ancient tribes of Western and Eastern Europe. You may find it suprising the actual dependencies held between both groups. The establishment of border "Barbarians" to shield long held Roman interests from the more savage of the norther tribes is a very old view of modern allied states. The Roman Republic and subsequent Empire was, in a very few words, a complex diplomatic, economic and military machine. The numerous working parts required much more than the strong arm presumed by most passing readers. The ability to successfully manage this type of entity placed incredible demands on Rome and its leaders while, at the same time, provided the proving (battle) grounds for all aspiring Roman up and comers. Burns does a fantastic job in showing that not only did Rome use the Barbarian tribes to prove the mettle of Roman officers, but integrated these same tribes into what would eventually become the ancient worlds greatest "modern" economy. The fall of the Roman Empire is shown not to be the cause of irresistible hordes of barbarian invaders, but the inherent impossibility of managing the vastness of Roman interests. Thomas Burns has earned his merits as a Roman scholar and in doing so brings to light a broad expanse of history and speculation that is integral to the study of Rome. Recommend this book to anyone who seeks a wide understanding of Rome and the group who both sustained and eventually became its citizenry - the Barbarians.
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