The study explores how Romans used lists to visualise and organise their empire, influencing their behaviours and attitudes.
Summary The Romans kept two lists or registers of their Italian allies ( formula togatorum ) and Mediterranean allies and friends ( formula sociorum/amicorum ). It will be argued that these formulae , most likely displayed as bronze tablets on the Capitol, were an organisational mechanism through which the Romans visualised their empire. This created a particular logic of empire which dictated certain Roman behaviours and attitudes during the middle Republic.
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Connor Beattie (2026) studied this question.
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