The Question of Roman National Identity in the Ancient World

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the problem of the existence of nations and national identity in the premodern era, using the society of Ancient Rome primarily the period of the Roman Republic as a case study. At the center of the research is the debate between the modernist paradigm, which regards nations as exclusively a product of the modern age, and alternative approaches to the concept of «national identity». As contemporary representatives of modernist theory, the works of Ernest Gellner, Eric Hobsbawm, and Benedict Anderson are considered, while the studies of Anthony Smith, Azar Gat, and Caspar Hirschi are considered as those of their opponents. The author examines their key positions and proposes their own definition of a «national community», based on a synthesis of the principal theories, for the purpose of analyzing Roman society. In this context, the concept of the «imagined community» occupies an important place, being regarded as a universal tool for the analysis of large human collectives regardless of the era in which they existed.

The specificity of Roman identity is examined through the lens of the political institutions of the Republic, citizenship, the principle of formal equality among citizens, and conceptions of popular sovereignty. The views of ancient authors particularly Cicero, Polybius, Livy, Cato, and Vitruvius are analyzed as sources for reconstructing the Roman understanding of their own past and the place of the Romans among other peoples. The article also presents the positions of modern historians who address this issue and support the idea of the existence of «national communities» in the Ancient world. Based on an analysis of both primary sources and historiography, it is demonstrated that Roman literature and political theory contributed to the formation of a shared historical narrative and a sense of belonging to a broader community that extended beyond the boundaries of individual cities.

Based on archaeological and written sources, the article substantiates the thesis of a gradual cultural and political integration of Italian communities, which laid the groundwork for the formation of a broader Roman identity. In conclusion, the article argues that, despite significant differences from modern nations, the Roman community of the Republican period exhibits several key national characteristics, making it possible to speak of the existence of a Roman nation in the ancient context. At the same time, the study demonstrates that addressing this issue is inseparably linked to the researcher’s own conceptual position, since it first requires defining the concept of «nation» as the key analytical category.