History Essay: The Roman Empire from Augustus to Domitian

For this assignment, you are asked to write a brief analysis of a piece of documentary

evidence from the Roman world. Your task is to explain the source and its significance for

understanding the early Roman Empire. Your analysis should aim at

informing an audience of readers who are interested but do not necessarily know much

about Rome. (For example, imagine that you are writing for a Roman History blog with a

100k followers: lots of potential but 1 chance to get it right).

Here are some questions to get you thinking:

• Can you find out anything about the find context? Where was

it found? Was it displayed in private or in public? Was it found together with other

objects?

• Does the object connect / support / contradict information found in other sources for

the same event / period?

• Does the object provide any unique information?

In writing your analysis, please also keep in mind the following formal requirements:

• Word limit: 800 words (+/- 10%)

• Double space the text (use the line spacing function in your word processor). Please do

this as it makes my work a lot easier when marking.

• Make sure to reference adequately (in-text or with footnotes) and format your

bibliography correctly. Even though you are writing for a non-specialist audience, this is

still an essential skill.

• In referencing keep in mind the distinction between primary sources and secondary

literature (for more information, see the file about tips for “using modern scholarship”).

• You are expected to reference meaningfully at least 3 pieces of modern scholarship.

Please make sure that this is reasonably up-to-date scholarship.



SOURCE. Funerary inscription in praise of a woman named Murdia (CIL 6.10320 = ILS 8394) (transl. diotimadoctafemina.org)



BEGINNING DAMAGED AND TEXT PARTLY LOST



She made all her sons equal heirs, after she gave a bequest to her daughter.



A mother’s love is composed of her affection for her children and equal distribution to each child.



She willed her husband [the speaker’s stepfather] a fixed sum, so that his dower right would be

increased by the honour of her deliberate choice.



Recalling my father’s memory and taking account of it and of the trust she owed him, she

bequeathed certain property to me. She did so not in order to wound my brothers by preferring me to

them, but remembering my father’s generosity, she decided that I should have returned to me the

part of my inheritance which she had received by the decision of her husband, so that what had been

taken care of by his orders should be restored to my ownership.



In such action she determined to maintain the marriages given to her by her parents to worthy men,

with obedience and propriety, and as a bride to become more beloved because of her merits, to be

thought dearer because of her loyalty, to be left in greater honour because of her judgement, and

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after her death to be praised in the estimation of her fellow citizens, since the division of her estate

indicated her grateful and honourable intentions towards her husbands, her fairness to her children

and the justice shown by her sincerity.



For these reasons, praise for all good women is simple and similar, since their native goodness and

the trust they have maintained do not require a diversity of words. Sufficient is the fact that they

have all done the same good deeds that deserve fine reputation, and since their lives fluctuate with

less diversity, by necessity we pay tribute to values they hold in common, so that nothing may be lost

from fair precepts and harm what remains.



Still, my dearest mother deserved greater praise than all others, since in modesty, propriety, chastity,

obedience, woolworking, industry, and loyalty she was on a equal level with other good women, nor

did she take second place to any woman in virtue, work and wisdom in times of danger.



REMAINING TEXT LOST