Peasants, Pastoralists, and <i>Pax Romana</i>: A Different View

Abstract

In a recent article in "BASOR", E. B. Banning argued through evidence from the Wadi el-Ḥasā Survey that the relationship between the sedentary and nomadic populations of the region was characterized by beneficial "mutualism" rather than the traditional view of conflict. This paper contradicts Banning's argument by marshalling literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence that suggests considerable conflict along the frontier during the Roman/Byzantine period. Although a mutually beneficial relationship between peasants and pastoralists did exist periodically, this was possible only when a strong government effectively policed the frontier.