The Arsacids of Rome

At the beginning of the common era, the two major imperial powers of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East were Rome and Parthia. In this book, Jake Nabel analyzes Roman-Parthian interstate politics by focusing on a group of princes from the Arsacid family—the ruling dynasty of Parthia—who were sent to live at the Roman court. Although Roman authors called these figures “hostages” and scholars have studied them as such, Nabel draws on Iranian and Armenian sources to argue that the Parthians would have seen them as the emperor’s foster-children. These divergent perspectives allowed each empire to perceive itself as superior to the other, since the two sides interpreted the exchange of royal children through conflicting cultural frameworks. Moving beyond the paradigm of great powers in conflict, The Arsacids of Rome advances a new vision of interstate relations with misunderstanding at its center.

“A masterful work of political, diplomatic, and cultural history.” — MATTHEW P. CANEPA, University of California, Irvine

“With theoretical ambition, Jake Nabel leads the way towards a truly inclusive study of the ancient world. A transformative work.” — ALBERT DE JONG, Leiden University

“In a world in which human proxies continue to play an outsized role in international relations, this book offers lessons of value still for today.” — JOHN BODEL, Brown University

“Nabel’s thesis of ‘pragmatic misunderstanding,’ confirmed by historical comparison and stupendous criticism of the sources, places research on the political settlements of Roman-Parthian relations on an entirely new footing.” — JOSEF WIESEHÖFER, University of Kiel

JAKE NABEL is the Tombros Early Career Professor of Classical Studies and Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State University.