The Roman Empire was shaped and consolidated by pro-Roman and imperialistic discourses, but also by the words and actions of its enemies and critics. Discourses and actions of opposition to Rome had an impact on how Rome was conceived and forced the Empire to react. Repressing them was one response, but other reactions were also possible. In that sense, the very enunciation of Rome and its Empire as 'enemy', or the selection of certain features of the empire against which opposition was exercised, can be interpreted as a way of shaping or consolidating the empire.
Juan Manuel Cortés Copete, PhD (1994), Universidad de Sevilla, is Professor of Ancient History at University Pablo de Olavide (Seville). He works on Hadrian, Second Sophistic and the cultural diversity of the Roman Empire.
Rocío Gordillo Hervás, PhD (2011) Università degli Studi di Firenze. She currently is Associate Professor of Ancient History at University Pablo de Olavide. She is also co-director of the project Making the Orbis Romanus (PID2024-156861NB-C21).
Olivier Hekster, PhD (2002), Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, is Professor of Ancient History and Chair of the Impact of Empire network. He has published widely on Roman imperial history.
Contributors are: J. R. Ballesteros, S. Benoist, C. Bruun, L. Capponi, J. M. Cortés-Copete, F. Bono, G. Mitropoulos, N. Hächler, O. Hekster, T. Kaizer, B. A. Jerue, L. Lizarzategui Elu, A. Llamazares Martín, P. Cosme, M. Russo, G. Schörner.
