The Construction Of Roman Identity And Roman Historical Writing Of "Barbarians"

Rome's development from a small state in the Latium region to an empire in the Mediterranean world relied on a strong military force,a political strategy that was constantly adjusted to the needs of the situation,and an effective allocation of human resources.However,the Romans attributed their ruling power to their unique nature or"fate".This view has also been used by historians to explain the reason why the Romans got the ruling power.Under this thought,when the history of Rome refers to non-Romans,the direction and criteria of its judgment are according to Rome,without considering the characteristics of non-Romans themselves.In the works of Caesar,Virgil,Tacitus and other Roman historians,it is very obvious that the cruelty of Gauls,the fraud of Carthaginians and the barbarism of the Germans have become the important ways to shape the image of the Roman people and establish the superiority of the Romans.In this way,the barbarians they wrote about were actually people different from the Romans,not their own appearance.During the transition period from the Republic to the Empire in the first century BC,until the Roman Empire became stable in the first century,the Romans needed to shape the "barbarians" to strengthen their ruling authority.The appearance of "barbarians" in historical writing has become the object of the Roman identity construction.The Romans carried the mission of ruling the world and spreading civilization to the entire ethnic group.The Romans wanted to tame the barbarians and make them civilized.Once the "barbarians" are conquered,they are considered to have peace and order.Therefore,the barbarian concept of the Romans is not simply the binary opposition between the Romans and the barbarians,which can be resolved by accepting the Roman enlightenment.The "barbarians" used as reference objects in historical writing are under the control of Rome.The civilization of the country reduced the "barbarians" to a passive recipient of civilization and established the identity of "civilized communicator" This process became an important way for Rome to shape the identity of "imperial ruler" and"civilized communicator".