Jensen has undoubtedly undertaken an ambitious task with this work as he seeks to chart the interactions between the Greek, Roman, and Barbarian worlds covering the period from Mycenaean Greece to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Even while exploring such an enormous span of history, Jensen has remained remarkably thorough, arranging his material in a chronological fashion with sections covering the rise of Greek identity, contact with the outside world, the Greco-Persian Wars, the Hellenistic period and then a shift in focus to the Roman world, Rome's place in Italy, contact between Greek and Roman identities, governing an empire, managing frontiers and then the eventual move towards the disintegration of the Roman Empire. The scope of the material is simply vast, aiming for an absolutely comprehensive overview which could function as a starting point for anyone with an interest in the relationships between different peoples of the ancient world. In an effort to maintain focus, however, each chapter is divided into smaller subsections which usually contain an exploration of views of the barbarian and (where possible) any views the barbarian has of the culture with which they are interacting. The whole work is meticulously footnoted, meaning it could easily function as a springboard for further research and is accompanied by a variety of maps and a small number of images of archaeological finds. Jensen's select bibliography should provide a wealth of inspiration to students with an interest in the topic.
In many ways, this comprehensive approach to the subject has allowed Jensen to explore it in a way which should prove useful to a student coming at it from any level. He puts considerable time into establishing a language by which he can discuss the idea of the barbarian (‘Meeting the Barbarians’), exploring theories of what it means to be a barbarian and how the modern world has received these ideas and reflected them in its own culture. The usual discussion concerning the onomatopoeic origins of the term βἀρβαροϛ and its Latin equivalent, barbarus, are present, along with the social implications of the word and any notions of inferiority (or not) of the person to whom the term is applied. Similarly, he challenges our own preconceptions of what a barbarian is or, indeed, isn't. One of the areas which I felt Jensen tackled particularly well in the early stages of the work is the problematic nature of identity, citing the tomb of an Egyptian administrator, Petosiris, who has deftly merged both Roman and Egyptian identity so that it is impossible to tell with which culture he identifies most.
Similarly compelling was Jensen's final section (‘Remembering the Barbarians’), reflecting on the way in which the tropes he has explored were used in areas as diverse as the defeat of the French at Waterloo or the Spanish governance of their colonies. Jensen suggests that, even today, ancient perception of the barbarian colours our response to societal issues, even including the perception of Sharia law by some people. He further asserts that the impact of the barbarian in the ancient world can be seen in the characters of Tolkien and Star Trek. These discussions about perception and impact were, to my mind, by far the most interesting in the work.
Despite these moments which created great enthusiasm within me, I was less enthralled with the main bulk of the work. The chronological approach, while lending itself to a thorough survey also meant that the work seemed not to know what its aim was at times, easily lapsing into narrative history. Particularly in the early chapters discussing Greece and Persia, I often felt like I was reading a history of the Greco-Persian Wars which offered very little outside the normal sphere of discussion. The result was comprehensive, but not particularly illuminating. Jensen also seemed determined to rubbish the idea that culture was a feature of the conflict. While to some extent I agree with him in terms of the causes of the war, culture (at least in my opinion) became a defining aspect of them once they were over in terms of the way the conflict was portrayed. Undoubtedly there were other moments where I felt Jensen was taking an extreme stance to be controversial when a more measured approach would have been of more use to his reader. This continued to some extent through the period of the Peloponnesian War and into his section on Greek interaction with Macedonia, with narration of events and battles, seemingly relevant only because they involved barbarian peoples.
I did, however, find that my interest heightened a little when we came to Alexander the Great and then Rome. The world which Jensen now described was more about empire and the shared experiences of people living within them which naturally meant that cultural elements, the intermingling of rituals, customs, and ideas from different peoples, played a more active part in his narrative. There was still less than I would have liked and some peoples, despite being seemingly important ones such as those of Himlingøje or the Kush people, felt reduced to little more than names on a page. The interactions, trading, and conflict still seemed more important than the cultures of the people engaging in them.
In all, Jensen's work has lots to recommend it. It is thorough, it is well researched, it is accessible, and would provide a great introduction to the topic. It is not, however, a survey of barbarian peoples and their culture, nor will you come away from reading it with a feeling that you understand the various peoples of the ancient world considerably better. It also contains little which is fundamentally new. You will, however, have a much greater historical awareness of how the barbarians fit into the worlds of the Greeks and Romans and when and why they interacted with them.
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