Rome and the Resolution of Territorial Interstate Disputes in the Greek World during the Second Century BC: A Reappraisal

In ancient Greece, the possession of land was one of the principal causes of conflict between states. Over time, the Greek poleis developed alternative mechanisms for resolving territorial disputes, most notably arbitration by a third state, a practice attested epigraphically from the fourth century BCE onward.
During the Hellenistic period, as new and more powerful actors entered the political landscape of the Aegean and, more broadly, the eastern Mediterranean, the poleis increasingly turned to these emerging ‘superpowers’ to resolve their territorial controversies, thereby also securing strong external legitimation for their claims. Rome was no exception to this dynamic. Starting from the early second century BCE, the Roman Senate was repeatedly invited by Greek communities to act as ‘arbiter’ in disputes over land and boundaries.
This lecture examines the role of Rome in the resolution of interstate territorial disputes within the Greek world. It offers an overview of the principal cases of Roman arbitration, both in Greece and Asia Minor, highlighting their most characteristic features and the modalities of intervention employed by the Senate. It proposes a historical interpretation of the nature and scope of this phenomenon within the broader process of the integration of the Greek world into Roman dominion, during a crucial phase of Roman expansion toward the Greek East.

ERC 2021 COG PR. Nr. 101043954, P.I. Elena Franchi