The Aims of Appian (I)—The Roman History as a History

Abstract This chapter addresses the question of what Appian intends the Roman History to achieve. Methodological statements in the Preface are more centred on how Appian intends to write, and the importance of the Roman Empire, than on what the Roman History is for, although the Preface’s insistence on moral qualities is suggestive. The chapter therefore looks beyond the Preface, examining what Appian has to say at the beginning of Civil Wars book 1, and the introduction to the proscriptions narratives in book 4. Appian’s language and the nature of much contemporary literature suggest that he is using the strategies of a selector and compiler, who empowers his readers to pursue their own interests. At the same time, however, the texture of the narrative throughout most of the Roman History, and Appian’s tendency to use the standard vocabulary of Greco-Roman historiography, suggest that it is misleading to see Appian as positioning his work outside the ancient genre of history.