Books by Mattia Pietro Balbo
Oxford University Press, New York, 2023
This volume gathers twelve studies on key aspects of the history of Rome and her empire between t... more This volume gathers twelve studies on key aspects of the history of Rome and her empire between the end of the Hannibalic War (200 bce) and the election of Tiberius Gracchus to the tribunate (134 bce). Through this periodization, which places the focus on what intervened between two major and well-studied historical turning points in Republican history, we aim to bring new light on the interplay between imperial expansion, political volatility, and intellectual developments, and to explore in detail the various levels on which historical change unfolded. There is no continuous ancient narrative for this period, even late or derivative, and this has shaped much of the historiographical discourse about it. Our working hypothesis is that through this prism we can both get a new sense of the depth and richness of the period and establish new connections among aspects of human agency and action that are usually considered in isolation from one another.
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Edizioni Saecula, Zermeghedo (VI), 2018
I dodici anni che danno il titolo a questo volume (133-121 a.C.) sono quelli in cui la Repubblica... more I dodici anni che danno il titolo a questo volume (133-121 a.C.) sono quelli in cui la Repubblica romana fu travolta dalle violenze seguite al tentativo dei Gracchi di riformare le istituzioni. Tiberio e Gaio Gracco, due rampolli della nobiltà sensibili alla questione sociale, cercarono di attuare una serie di riforme per mitigare le profonde diseguaglianze esistenti nelle campagne italiche e per allargare la partecipazione politica i ceti esclusi. Proposte come la riforma agraria, le leggi anticorruzione e l'allargamento della cittadinanza erano però fumo negli occhi per la classe senatoria tradizionale, che lottava invece per mantenere il privilegio esclusivo di governare un impero in forte ascesa. Il libro ricostruisce, in forma intelligibile anche per i non specialisti, le implicazioni economiche, sociali e politiche che sono alla base dei singoli episodi, facendo luce su un periodo che non cessa di affascinare gli storici e che ha lasciato una grande eco nel nostro immaginario, come dimostrano la sopravvivenza del mito graccano durante la Rivoluzione francese e la sua vitalità nella cultura contemporanea.
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A political and economic study on the Lex Sempronia agraria (133-123 BC)
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POPOLAZIONE, RISORSE E URBANIZZAZIONE NELLA CAMPANIA ANTICA Dall'età preromana alla tarda antichità a cura di Marco Maiuro e Mattia Balbo, 2019
La Campania antica (nell’accezione territoriale più ampia) è un laboratorio di forme di insediame... more La Campania antica (nell’accezione territoriale più ampia) è un laboratorio di forme di insediamento, di morfologie dello sfruttamento agrario, di compresenza di gruppi umani con specifici tratti culturali sin dall’età pre-romana: questo suo carattere peculiare rimane vitale per tutto l’evo antico. La Campania non ha, tuttavia, rivestito quel ruolo centrale nel dibattito storiografico degli ultimi due decenni sulla demografia dell’Italia antica, che ha portato a riconsiderare il ruolo socio-economico di altre aree della Penisola. I contributi raccolti in questo volume indagano i cambiamenti avvenuti sul lungo periodo nel rapporto tra popolazione, risorse e urbanizzazione in Campania, dall’età pre-romana al tardoantico. Una prima parte riguarda la fisionomia della regione in termini generali ed è seguita da una sezione dedicata a specifici territori oggetto di particolare interesse (Capua, Pompei). Il libro si chiude con una sezione monografica dedicata all’Albo di Ercolano, una fonte di primaria importanza per la demografia e la storia sociale della città antica.
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Papers by Mattia Pietro Balbo
Politica Antica, 2023
This paper investigates the modern historiography on the Roman Republican tributum, with a specif... more This paper investigates the modern historiography on the Roman Republican tributum, with a specific focus on the Enlightenment. The prevailing model was formulated in the 16th century by Carlo Sigonio and consisted in the enunciation that the tributum ex censu was first introduced by Servius Tullius, and then resumed at the beginning of the Roman Republic, in order to adopt a fairer tax system. This model had considerable popularity in the 18th century, especially among the reforming economists of the Ancien Régime who consider the Roman land tax as an example of fairness and efficiency. Alongside this theory, there were negative interpretations, such as Montesquieu’s, which emphasised the inequality of taxation between citizens and provincials. At the beginning of the 19th century, Barthold G. Niebuhr and Auguste Dureau de la Malle offered a different view of the republican tributum, which changed the terms of the debate. Recent historiography focuses on the connection between tributum and citizenship within a timocratic society. In this regard, the last section of the paper returns to the debate on censorial sanctions, attempting to establish a link between political sanction and fiscal punishment.
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Archiv für Religionsgeschichte, 2023
This paper reassesses the background of the Sibylline prescription that in 143-140 BC opposed the... more This paper reassesses the background of the Sibylline prescription that in 143-140 BC opposed the building of the Aqua Marcia in Rome. Particular attention is paid to the reasons that allegedly motivated the opposition to the building of an aqueduct. These reasons do not seem to have been only suggested by political hostility towards Q. Marcius Rex, which did exist and played a very relevant role, but could also have depended on a different attitude to water supply, or on an alternative programme. The decemviri sacris faciundis did not attempt to completely stop the construction of the aqueduct, but they especially aimed to exclude the Capitol from the project. A working hypothesis concerns the possibility that the religious scruples depended in part on a sacral and juridical practice, which limited economic development in certain collective spaces of the city: a juridical context in some ways similar to that which governed the mid-republican leges luci, which protected the sacredness of certain public spaces by regulating the activities that could take place there.
KEYWORDS: Aqua Marcia; Sibylline Books; sacred laws; pollution; ancient demography.
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M. Balbo, F. Santangelo (eds.), A Community in Transition. Rome between Hannibal and the Gracchi, New York, Oxford University Press, 2023
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Introduction. Whence and Whither?’, in M. Balbo and F. Santangelo (eds.), A Community in Transiti... more Introduction. Whence and Whither?’, in M. Balbo and F. Santangelo (eds.), A Community in Transition. Rome between the Hannibalic War and the Gracchi, Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 2023, 1-20.
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Silvia Giorcelli Bersani, Marica Venturino (a cura di), I Liguri e Roma. Un popolo tra archeologia e storia, Roma, Quasar, 2021
The relationships between Romans and Ligurians in the second century BCE offer a relevant insight... more The relationships between Romans and Ligurians in the second century BCE offer a relevant insight into the transformation of the Roman Republic after the Hannibalic War. The campaigns against the Apuani (181-179 BCE) and the Statielli (173-172 BCE) provide an interesting case study on the development of prorogatio imperii, on the political debate around the triumph, and on Roman colonization in Italy. In 180 BCE the Romans moved more than 40,000 Apuani from Liguria to Samnium. Indeed, the political nature of this episode is much debated by modern scholars, and can be alternatively interpreted as a forced deportation or an agreed settlement (according to a foedus): in any case, ancient sources compare, from a Roman standpoint, this "soft" treatment with Popilius Laenas' harsh policy against the Statielli. Moreover, also the reliability of the number of Apuani is often challenged. The logic underpinning in Livy's way of reckoning is of much interest: it appears that he or his second-century sources calculate the total amount of the Apuani by multiplying the adult males by three, so 12,000 warriors (i.e. family units of about three members) give the sum of 40,000 Apuani settled in Samnium. This seems to be a typical Roman way to esteem and organize colonists, which even may be interpreted as an attempt to Romanize the Ligurians from a social and a legal standpoint.
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E. Zucchetti, A.M. Cimino (eds.), Antonio Gramsci and the Ancient World, London, Routledge (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies), 2021
This chapter considers Gramsci's approach to the Late Roman Republic (133-31 BCE), starting from ... more This chapter considers Gramsci's approach to the Late Roman Republic (133-31 BCE), starting from the role he attributes to the plebeian tribunes and to the protagonists of the Civil Wars. For him, the Roman Republic was a sort of federative State in which several social groups (e.g. the plebeians) had their own institutions, which sometimes exerted state functions for the whole body of citizens. Further on, Gramsci identifies in the Late Republic a fundamental shift in the history of Italy. According to him, the Middle Republic (300-133 BCE) might have held the seeds of a national identity, but the Roman Revolution, from the Gracchi to Augustus, totally changed the composition of Roman elite. The turning point can be seen in Caesar's policy, which created a cosmopolitan class of intellectuals. In doing so, the Roman Empire created a deep gap between intellectuals and 'regular' people, a division which impacted Italian history up until XIX century.
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J. Pelgrom, A. Weststeijn (eds.), The Renaissance of Roman Colonization. Carlo Sigonio and the Making of Legal Colonial Discourse, Oxford, Oxford University Press (The History and Theory of International Law), 2020
This chapter analyses the development of Roman legal colonial discourse in the eighteenth and ear... more This chapter analyses the development of Roman legal colonial discourse in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, focusing on the studies of Louis de Beaufort and Barthold Georg Niebuhr, who are generally considered to have revolutionized Roman studies by their critical approach to the literary sources. Beaufort’s attempt to disconnect Roman land-distribution programmes from colonization schemes was part of a wider anti-feudal political agenda, advocating the redistribution of land to diminish aristocratic power and improve the living conditions of lower classes. Niebuhr continued this interest in Roman land division policies, focusing especially on the legal definition of different types of landholding and of the personal status of the farmers. His detailed studies convincingly showed the legal differences between colonial programmes and viritane land division schemes. Moreover, he argued that this last practice was restricted only to public lands, and was not used to redistribute private properties of aristocratic landowners.
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I. Gildenhard, C. Viglietti (eds.), Roman Frugality. Modes of Moderation from the Archaic Age to the Early Empire and Beyond, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Classical Studies), 2020
This paper reconsiders the transformation of smallholding in the late second century BCE in relat... more This paper reconsiders the transformation of smallholding in the late second century BCE in relation to developments within Rome's political economy in the decades after the Second Punic War, which had profound repercussions on economic activity broadly conceived, perhaps even triggering an 'economic revolution'. The discussion focuses chiefly on landholding during the Gracchan Age (133-121 BCE), with a specific emphasis on the recurrence of frugal ideals in the political debate arising from the Gracchan reforms and the role of smallholdings in the face of significant changes brought about by the emergence of large market-oriented estates and related developments, such as the rise in the price of land, increase in the number of slaves, the consequences of imperial plunder and tax-farming and the management of the grain supply and subsidies. The chapter pays equal attention to the ideological framework that defined smallholding in the Gracchan age and its practical consequences.
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BEPAA, 2019
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M.T. Schettino, G. Zecchini (a cura di), La generazione postsillana. Il patrimonio memoriale, Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2019
Il testo considera la presunta eredità politica dei Gracchi nella legislazione agraria e frumenta... more Il testo considera la presunta eredità politica dei Gracchi nella legislazione agraria e frumentaria della prima metà del I secolo a.C., alla luce del dibattito sulle varie strategie di riforma politico-economica successive a Silla. Particolare attenzione è prestata alla concezione ciceroniana del mercato fondiario e alle possibili differenze, in termini di scopi e destinatari, tra le riforme del periodo post-sillano e il programma graccano.
This paper considers the supposed Gracchan legacy on the mid-first-century-BC agrarian and grain laws, as well as the political debate on the reforming strategies after Sulla's domination. It dwells on Cicero's concept of land market, and it considers the possible differences, concerning aims and recipients, between the post-Sullan reforms and the Gracchan programme.
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M. Maiuro, M. Balbo (a cura di), Popolazione, risorse e urbanizzazione nella Campania antica. Dall'età preromana alla tarda antichità, Bari, Edipuglia, 2019
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Giochi e Spettacoli nel mondo antico. Problematiche e nuove scoperte (Atti del convegno 24 Marzo Reggio Emilia), Roma, 2019
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Marco Maiuro, Giovanna Daniela Merola, Mauro De Nardis, Gianluca Soricelli (a cura di), Uomini, istituzioni, mercati. Studi di storia per Elio Lo Cascio, Bari, Edipuglia, 2019
Il testo riprende in considerazione i dati disponibili e le ipotesi recenti sulle dimensioni 'tip... more Il testo riprende in considerazione i dati disponibili e le ipotesi recenti sulle dimensioni 'tipiche' dei lotti assegnati dai Gracchi in Italia centro-meridionale, le cui dimensioni paiono decisamente superiori allo standard 'ideologico' della piccola proprietà contadina (30-50 iugeri contro canonici 7), ma anche alla prassi tradizionale delle assegnazioni viritane. Questa maggiore ampiezza può essere dovuta, oltre ovviamente alla diversa qualità e al valore dei terreni da riconvertire a uso agricolo, all'intenzione dei promotori di creare un'agricoltura 'market oriented' (e non di sussistenza) in aree dove questa era apparentemente meno sviluppata (Sannio, Lucania, Hirpinia, Daunia?) e di creare aziende agricole di medie dimensioni che, col loro valore patrimoniale, aumentassero il numero di assidui reclutabili.
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Geographia Antiqua, 2018
Pliny the Elder mentions a lex censoria setting a limit on the inhabitants of the gold mines of V... more Pliny the Elder mentions a lex censoria setting a limit on the inhabitants of the gold mines of Victimulae (Biella): the mines were leased to publicans just after the Roman conquest (2nd c. BCE).The comparison with Strabo allows to suppose that such a provision dates back to the end of 2nd century BCE, just before the creation of the first Roman colony in the area (Eporedia).The terms employed by the sources refer to the legal status of societates aurifodinarum.The leasing of gold mines can be connected to the creation of a territorial province in Cisalpine Gaul (2nd c.-1st c. BCE).
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Massimo Vallerani (a cura di), Valore delle cose e valore delle persone. Dall'antichità all'Età moderna, Roma, Viella, 2018
This paper considers the specific features of Roman censorship in the second century BCE.
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Elio Lo Cascio, Dario Mantovani (a cura di), Diritto romano e economia. Due modi di pensare e organizzare il mondo (nei primi tre secoli dell'Impero), Pavia, Pavia University Press, 2018
In D. 19.2.19.2, Ulpian affirms that a landlord who leases an equipped farm must furnish the tena... more In D. 19.2.19.2, Ulpian affirms that a landlord who leases an equipped farm must furnish the tenant with the specific equipment that is envisaged by customary rules. He quotes, from Neratius, the inventory of the usual equipment which is provided to produce olive oil or wine. This paper analyzes the juridical principle that is implied in Neratius' list, and considers the social and economic context of such a provision (1st -2nd century CE). The list includes the main, durable, equipment, which is essential to the enjoyment of the leased farm, whereas the lessee must only give the final touches. Therefore, the considerable investment made by the landlord is perhaps more suitable to a context where land prices are high and there is a great demand for cash crops.
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Books by Mattia Pietro Balbo
Papers by Mattia Pietro Balbo
KEYWORDS: Aqua Marcia; Sibylline Books; sacred laws; pollution; ancient demography.
This paper considers the supposed Gracchan legacy on the mid-first-century-BC agrarian and grain laws, as well as the political debate on the reforming strategies after Sulla's domination. It dwells on Cicero's concept of land market, and it considers the possible differences, concerning aims and recipients, between the post-Sullan reforms and the Gracchan programme.
KEYWORDS: Aqua Marcia; Sibylline Books; sacred laws; pollution; ancient demography.
This paper considers the supposed Gracchan legacy on the mid-first-century-BC agrarian and grain laws, as well as the political debate on the reforming strategies after Sulla's domination. It dwells on Cicero's concept of land market, and it considers the possible differences, concerning aims and recipients, between the post-Sullan reforms and the Gracchan programme.
The lack of a continuous ancient narrative for this period, even late or derivative, has shaped much of the historiographical discourse about it. This volume seeks to convey a new sense of the depth of the period and establishes new connections among aspects of human agency and action that are usually considered in isolation from one another. It puts in dialogue contributions on a range of topics as diverse as climate change, oratory, agrarian laws, urban architecture, and the civilian military, among others. The result is a diverse, multifocal, non-hierarchical assessment of a critical but often understudied period in Roman history.