Rome and the Firendly King (Routledge Revivals)

Rome and the Friendly King, first published in 1984, offers a functional definition of what is usually called client kingship – to show what a client king (or ‘friendly king’, to use the Roman term) was in practice.Professor Braund shows how the king’s power related to Roman authority, and to his subjects. The role of Romans in royal wills, principally as recipients of bequests, is also examined, and it is also shown how some kings were assimilated completely into Roman society to become senators in their own right. Also investigated is how both sides benefited from client kingship, and thus the persistent use of such relationships throughout history is also explained.