Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
historian with
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
citizenship who flourished during the reigns of
Emperors of Rome
The Roman emperors were the rulers of the Roman Empire from the granting of the name and title ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' to Augustus, Octavian by the Roman Senate in 27 BC onward. Augustus maintained a facade of Republican rule, rejecting mo ...
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
,
Hadrian, and
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatori ...
.
He was born c. 95 in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. After holding the senior offices in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Aegyptus (Egypt), he went to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
c. 120, where he practised as an
advocate, pleading cases before the emperors (probably as ''advocatus fisci'', an important official of the imperial treasury).
It was in 147 at the earliest that he was appointed to the office of
procurator
Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to:
* Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency
* ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...
, probably in Egypt, on the recommendation of his friend
Marcus Cornelius Fronto
Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was suffect consul for the '' nundin ...
, an influential rhetorician and advocate. Because the position of procurator was open only to members of the
equestrian order
The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian ...
(the "knightly" class), his possession of this office tells us about Appian's family background.
His principal surviving work (Ρωμαϊκά ''Romaiká'', known in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
as ''Historia Romana'' and in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
as ''Roman History'') was written in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
in 24 books, before 165. This work more closely resembles a
series of monographs than a connected history. It gives an account of various peoples and countries from the earliest times down to their incorporation into the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, and survives in complete books and considerable fragments.
[ The work is very valuable, especially for the period of the ]civil wars
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
.
''The Civil Wars'', books 13–17 of the ''Roman History'', concern mainly the end of the Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
and take a conflict-based view and approach to history. Despite the lack of cited sources for his works, these books of the ''Roman History'' are the only extant comprehensive description of these momentous decades of Roman history. The other extant work of Appian is his "The Foreign Wars", which includes an ethnographic style history recounting the various military conflicts against a foreign enemy in Roman history, until the time of Appian.
Life
Little is known of the life of Appian of Alexandria. He wrote an autobiography that has been almost completely lost. Information about Appian is distilled from his own writings and a letter by his friend Cornelius Fronto
Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was suffect consul for the '' nundini ...
.[Michael Petrus Josephus Van Den Hout, ''A Commentary on the Letters of M. Cornelius Fronto'', Volume 190 of ''Mnemosyne'' (Brill, 1999)] However, it is certain that Appian was born around the year AD 95 in Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt. Since his parents were Roman citizens capable of paying for their son's education, it can be inferred that Appian belonged to the wealthy upper classes.
It is believed that Appian moved to Rome in 120, where he became a barrister. In the introduction to his ''Roman History,'' he boasts "that he pleaded cases in Rome before the emperors." The emperors he claims to have addressed must have been either Hadrian or Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
and definitely Antoninus Pius, for Appian remained in Egypt at least until the end of the reign of Trajan (117). In the letter of Cornelius Fronto, it is revealed that a request on behalf of Appian to receive the rank of procurator occurred during the co-regency
A coregency is the situation where a monarchical position (such as prince, princess, king, queen, emperor or empress), normally held by only a single person, is held by two or more. It is to be distinguished from diarchies or duumvirates such ...
of Marcus Aurelius and his brother Lucius Verus between 147 and 161. Although Appian won this office, it is unclear whether it was a real job or an honorific title. The only other certain biographical datum is that Appian's ''Roman History'' appeared sometime before 162. This is one of the few primary historical sources for the period.
Works
Appian's ''Roman History'' and ''The Civil Wars''
Appian began writing his history around the middle of the second century AD.
Only sections from half of the original 24 books survive today of a much larger history known as ''The Roman History''. The section of this history known as ''The Civil Wars'' comprises books 13–17 of the original 24 of the ''Roman History''. This history narrates the history of the Romans from the time of the Gracchan tribunates, through the civil wars of Marius, Sulla, Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
and Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
, to break off in the time of the Second Triumvirate. These five books stand out because they are one of the few comprehensive histories available on the transition of the Roman state from Republic to Empire and the ensuing civil and military strife.
Besides Appian, this period is also covered by a handful of ancient authors with varying degrees of detail and viewpoints. The commentaries of Julius Caesar record his personal, mainly military, observations of the Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
. Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
's Roman biographies sketch the lives of the major leaders of the late Republican period, recording events Plutarch thought interesting and give only a perfunctory explanation of historic events. The Roman author Velleius
Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...
' history examines Roman history from the city's foundation until AD 29. This history is more detailed in the late Republic and early Empire period, while the earlier history is condensed. The ''Epitome of Roman History'' by Florus, also covers Roman history from mythical times until the 5th century AD in an extremely condensed format. The history of Diodorus
Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...
of Sicily also covers Roman history until the Gallic Wars, but his history becomes fragmentary after around 300 BC.
''The Foreign Wars''
Another work of Appian's history which still survives mostly extant is called ''The Foreign Wars''. This history describes the wars the Romans fought against other cultures throughout their history. The mostly extant work narrates the wars in Spain, the Punic Wars in both Italy and Africa, the wars against the Seleucid Empire, and the Mithridatic Wars
The Mithridatic Wars were three conflicts fought by Rome against the Kingdom of Pontus and its allies between 88 BC and 63 BC. They are named after Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus who initiated the hostilities after annexing the Roman provi ...
. Several small fragments also survive, describing the wars against the Samnites, Illyrians
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...
, Macedonians, Numidians
The Numidians were the Berber population of Numidia (Algeria and in smaller parts of Tunisia and Morocco). The Numidians were one of the earliest Berber tribes to trade with Carthaginian settlers. As Carthage grew, the relationship with the Nu ...
, and the Gauls. Especially notable is this work's ethnographic
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
structure. Appian most likely used this structure to facilitate his readers' orientation through the sequence of events, which are united only by their relationship to Rome. For example, the chapter on Spain recounts Roman history in Spain chronologically with the Romans' first intervention in Spain during the War with Hannibal. The book goes on to describe the Roman conquest of several regions of Spain, followed by their wars with Spanish tribes and the Numantine War
The Numantine WarThe term Numantine War can refer to the whole conflict lasting from 154 to 133 or to just the latter part, from 143 to 133. Thus, the two conflicts are sometimes called the Numantine Wars (plural) and subdivided into the First an ...
. The chapter on Spain concludes with the war against Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...
in roughly 61 BC. Likewise, the chapter on the Hannibalic wars only recounts the battles that took place on the Italian Peninsula during the second Punic war, while the chapters on the Punic War recount all the action that occurred in northern Africa during the first and second Punic war.
Sources
One might expect that a historical work covering nine centuries and countless different peoples would involve a multitude of sources from different periods. However, Appian's sources remain uncertain, as he only mentions the source of his information under special circumstances. He may have relied primarily on one author for each book, whom he did not follow uncritically, since Appian also used additional sources for precision and correction. At our present state of knowledge questions regarding Appian's sources cannot be resolved.
Editions
*
* '' Editio princeps'', 1551
* Schweighäuser, 1785
* Bekker, 1852
* Ludwig Mendelssohn, 1878–1905, ''Appiani Historia Romana'', Bibliotheca Teubneriana
The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, or ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana'', also known as Teubner editions of Greek and Latin texts, comprise one of the most thorough modern collection published of ancient (and some medieval) ...
* Paul Goukowsky, 1997–, ''Appien. Histoire romaine'' (Greek text, French translation, notes), Collection Budé
The ''Collection Budé'', or the ''Collection des Universités de France'', is an editorial collection comprising the Greek and Latin classics up to the middle of the 6th century (before Emperor Justinian). It is published by Les Belles Lettres, ...
.
* Carsana, Chiara (ed.). ''Commento storico al libro II delle Guerre Civili di Appiano (parte I)''. Pisa: Edizioni ETS, 2007. 309 pp. (Pubblicazioni della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell'Università di Pavia, 116).
;English translations
* W. B., 1578 (black letter) – possibly William Barker William Barker may refer to:
Politicians
*William Barker (translator) ( 1570), English translator and MP for Great Yarmouth and Bramber
* William Barker (MP for Berkshire) (died 1685), English Member of Parliament for Berkshire
* Sir William Bark ...
– used by Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
* J. D vies 1679
* Horace White
Horace White (October 7, 1865 – November 27, 1943) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was the 37th Governor of New York from October 6, 1910 to December 31, 1910.
Life
He attended Syracuse Central High School, Cornell Un ...
, 1899 (Bohn's Classical Library);
* Book I edited by James Leigh Strachan-Davidson
James Leigh Strachan-Davidson (born Strachan; 22 October 1843 – 28 March 1916) was an English classical scholar, academic administrator, translator, and author of books on Roman history. He was Master of Balliol College, Oxford from 1907 ...
, 1902.
* Books XIII–XVII (Civil Wars), trans. John Carter, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1996
References
Citations
Bibliography
* William Smith (ed.) (1870), ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol. 1, pp. 247–248
External links
*
Appian
at Livius.org
Jona Lendering (born 29 October 1964) is a Dutch historian and the author of books on antiquity, Dutch history and modern management. He has an MA in history from Leiden University and an MA in Mediterranean culture from the Amsterdam Free Unive ...
Appian's ''Civil Wars''
at LacusCurtius
LacusCurtius is a website specializing in ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. It went online on August 26, 1997; in July 2021 it had "3707 webpages, 765 photos, 772 drawings & engravings, 120 plans, 139 maps." T ...
*
*
* Review of Paul Goukowsky and Phillippe Torrens, eds.
''Appien: Histoire romaine. Tome X, livre XV: Guerres civiles, livre III''
in: ''Bryn Mawr Classical Review''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appian
95 births
165 deaths
2nd-century historians
1st-century Greek people
2nd-century Greek people
1st-century Romans
2nd-century Romans
Roman-era Greek historians
2nd-century Egyptian people
Ancient Egyptian writers
Roman-era Alexandrians
Tax officials
Government accounting officials
Ancient Roman equites
Ancient Roman jurists