Who’s Anti-Roman? Sallust and Pompeius Trogus on Mithridates

Contemporary scholars of Roman imperialism have discussed the Ways in which ancient historians denigrate non-Romans and thereby present intellectual justifications for Roman conquest. This paper offers a case study that questions this position\u27s validity: an examination of Sallust\u27s Epistula Mithridatis (Hist. 4.69M) and Pompeius Trogus\u27 speech of Mithridates (Justin 38.4-7). I argue that Sallust offers a more powerful attack on Roman foreign policy than does Trogus, whom many scholars have deemed anti-Roman, and conclude that Roman historians are capable of using speeches of foreigners to engage in Roman self-criticism