Rome and the Friendly King, first published in 1984, offers a functional definition of what is usually called client kingship – to show what a client king (or ‘friendly king’, to use the Roman term) was in practice.

Each aspect of this complex role is examined over a period of six centuries: the making of a king; exposure to Roman institutions and individuals; formal recognition as a friendly ruler. Professor Braund shows how the king’s power related to Roman authority, and to his subjects. The role of Romans in royal wills, principally as recipients of bequests,...