ABSTRACT
On the face of it, it would be hard to fi nd a more diverse political entity than the Roman Empire. The longest-lived empire that western Eurasia has ever seen, it lasted at pretty much full extent certainly for 400 years, and, in Britain aside (a minor appendage), for over half a millennium. It was also enormous. Running from Hadrian’s Wall to the river Euphrates, it encompassed a huge range of diverse geographical, economic, political and cultural contexts. Indeed, when it fi rst came into existence, there were only a few actual Romans: a small privileged group in mainly central and southern Italy who enjoyed the legal and other privileges of citizenship. In the early imperial period, the widespread human diversity which the empire encompassed at its outset was not just recognised de facto, but often licensed de jure.
