Kingdom of Snow: Roman Rule and Greek Culture in Cappadocia (review)

Reviews 247 Parergon 20.2 (2003) the treatises, and in legislation regarding the presence of women in military camps – and the treatment of women in the drama, is truly inspiring. Ultimately, the merit of Taunton’s study, as a contribution to the cultural history of early modern England, rests on the author’s capacity to bring to life the topical character and political engagement and significance of this selection of dramatic texts in the years in which they were produced. Ivan Cañadas Department of English Hallym University Van Dam, Raymond, Kingdom of Snow: Roman Rule and Greek Culture in Cappadocia, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002; cloth; pp. 290; RRP US$49.95; ISBN 0812236815. The region of Cappadocia was often marginal territory in large, distant empires from the time of the Achaemenid Persians through centuries of Roman rule and well into the Byzantine period. Cappadocia’s extraordinary geography and climate dominated by mountains, plateaus and deep snow conspired to maintain its marginal status and also allowed it to retain its unique identity despite official outside control. In this book, Van Dam has succeeded in bringing Cappadocia to life with particular reference to the fourth century C.E. by which time the Roman Empire had controlled it for over three hundred years. This is the first of a trilogy of books on Roman Cappadocia to be published by Van Dam. The forthcoming titles are Families and Friends in Late Roman Cappadocia and Becoming Christian: The Conversion of Roman Cappadocia (both to be published by University of Pennsylvania Press). An integral part of all three books is the lives and writings of three prominent individuals of the fourth century who were either native to Cappadocia or had spent considerable time there. These figures were Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and the Emperor Julian. Their extensive surviving texts form the basis of the evidence Van Dam uses for his detailed, three part investigation of Cappadocia at this time. This book is an attempt to investigate the impact of Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia in late antiquity. Van Dam claims that in writing this book he has attempted to combine close readings of the texts with a sense of the larger historical and cultural rhythms of the region. The intersection of ecclesiastical texts with social and political history is designed to provide a greater awareness 248 Reviews Parergon 20.2 (2003) of the realities of Greek and Roman society to Patristic scholars while providing deeper familiarity with the ecclesiastical texts to social and cultural historians. To the extent that this is possible, Van Dam achieves his objective. The book is divided into three parts with the first part – ‘Badlands’ – examining local notables within Cappadocia and their interactions with each other and with outside rulers. We are introduced here to the harsh and breathtaking landscape of Cappadocia as well as the social and economic hierarchies in which local notables maintained and enhanced their power. This is explained against the backdrop of Roman rule with the importance of Roman imperial patronage receiving detailed consideration. Issues such as land ownership and the slow development of urbanisation under Roman rule are explored as are the tensions which emerged as a result of cities becoming ‘beacons of Greekness in a vast sea of uncivilised Cappadocians’. The harsh landscape of Cappadocia meant hardship for many and the manipulation of food, water and clothing supply by aristocratic landowners had devastating effects on Cappadocians in the cities and in rural areas. The Cappadocian Fathers attempted to limit the impact of efforts by landowners to build power and economic fortunes through this manipulation. The figure of Basil of Caesarea looms large in this part as one attempting through the force of rhetorical persuasion to ameliorate the situation. The participation of Cappadocians in the wider political and ecclesiastical structures of the empire is also discussed with particular reference to the establishment of the new eastern capital of Constantinople. Part Two, ‘Empire and Province’, deals with the impact of Roman provincial government and administration in Cappadocia.The importance of Basil and Gregory as brokers between local Cappadocian populations and imperial appointees who spoke the same language of classical Greek culture...