The freedman in the Roman world /

The Roman libertus (freed slave) has not lacked attention. In English alone, there is Susan Treggiari's now classic Roman Freedmen during the Late Republic (1969) and Arnold Mackay Duff's Freedmen in the Early Roman Empire (1928; reprinted 1958 and now consulted primarily as a reference text.) Mouritsen (King's College, London) claims strong credentials in Roman politics (Plebs and Politics in the Late Roman Republic, CH, Feb'02, 39-3539), Pompeian politics (Elections, Magistrates, and Municipal Elite, 1988), and, perhaps less well known, a well-grounded study of ancient Italian Unification (1988). He is well prepared, especially because of his firm grounding in Greek and Latin epigraphy, to tackle the diverse sources for the roles, status, and activities of the Roman freedman. The study is arranged thematically, not chronologically, and is nearly comprehensive on legal, status, and economic aspects, fully exploiting literary, documentary, and epigraphic evidence. The chapter on Roman freedmen's "identity and experiences" is a historiographic gem that every historian of the ancient world should ponder. Readers would have benefited from the inclusion of the extensive iconographic evidence. Mouritsen will become the standard, accessible (because highly readable) resource for Anglophone readers. An economical paperback would thus well serve upper-division and graduate courses in Roman social and legal history. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above. P. B. Harvey Jr. Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus