Fighting Crime and Corruption. The Impact of Police Forces and Army on Village Life in Graeco-Roman Egypt.

My research focuses on police forces in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, with particular attention to the impact of Greek and Roman rule on the organization of these forces. Fundamental changes were undoubtedly made to the policing system under Greek and Roman rule, but a comparison between the Ptolemaic and Roman police forces may reveal more continuity than scholars have acknowledged. In the past, scholars were primarily interested in writing a history of violence in Roman Egypt, using petitions for evidence about what sorts of crimes were committed and who committed these crimes against whom. Hardly any attention has been paid to the army as police force an sich in Roman Egypt or to the internal institutions of villages to ensure the safety of its residents. My research aims to provide an innovative approach by (1) comparing the Ptolemaic and Roman police forces with each other, (2) studying the specific policing duties of the army and police forces in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt and (3) providing a social context by examining the interaction between villagers and police forces, with particular attention to the impact of corruption on their relationship. The evidence attests that local people made regular use of police forces, a fact that is, however, incompatible with the general belief that there was an atmosphere of mutual hate and distrust. Closely connected to the topic of interaction between the villagers and police forces is the corruption among military and civilian officials.

Keywords:Crime, Corruption, Policing, Village life, Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt

Disciplines:History