In 2015, Franz Steiner Verlag published a collection of papers presented during the international conference entitled “Provincial Clientelae in the Roman Empire: A Reconsideration,” which took place at the University of Zaragoza on 14–15 March 2013. The title of the book refers to Ernst Badian's classic work, Foreign Clientelae (264‒70 B.C.), published by Clarendon Press Oxford in 1958.

Published almost six decades ago, Badian's book became an important voice in the discussion on the relationships between the Republic and the states which came into its sphere of infl uence, but most importantly between Rome with its elites and the inhabitants of provinces. Badian's (1925–2011) doctoral dissertation was an attempt to look at the Roman hegemony in the context not only of the Republic's activities as a state and its institutions, but also of the policy of making subordinate areas dependent through personal relations between members of the Roman aristocracy and local elites. In his dissertation, written under the supervision of Sir Ronald Syme, Badian chose the institution of the Roman clientelae as the foundation for his studies. He considered it the basis of all relationships between Rome and its representatives and the organisms subject to the Republic, which became an instrument of control over the conquered. Such an approach was informed not only by the experiences of Syme; Badian also used the works of historians such as Theodor Mommsen, Fustel de Coulanges, Matthias Gelzer, and Anton von Premerstein.2 The author was aware that the term clientelae was not the only one to describe close relationships between individuals and political bodies in the Roman legal terminology (there was also amicitia, hospitium, etc.),3 but in his interpretations he as- sumed its superior role. This approach drew criticism, voiced by many historians almost immediately after the publication of Foreign Clientelae.4 The criticism has continued until the present day, which is refl ected in the texts included in the reviewed volume. It should be added that Badian's book was not the only work of this kind. Almost at the same time, the French historian Louis Harmand published Le patronat sur les collectivités publiques des origines au Bas-Empire. Un aspect social et politique du monde romain (Paris 1957).