Intelligence activities have always been an integral part of statecraft, and the Romans could not have built and protected their empire without them. In both the Republic and the Empire the Romans realized that to keep their borders safe, to control their population, to keep abreast of political developments abroad, and for the internal security of their own regime, they needed a means to collect the intelligence which enabled them to make informed decisions. The Romans certainly did not have our technology nor did they use our terminology. A search for the Roman equivalent of the CIA is...

Professor Sheldon uses the modern concept of the intelligence cycle to trace intelligence activities in Rome whether they were done by private citizens, the government, or the military.

Examining a broad range of activities the book looks at the many types of espionage tradecraft that have left their traces in the ancient sources:

* intelligence and counterintelligence gathering
* covert action
* clandestine operations
* the use of codes and ciphers

Dispelling the myth that such activities are a modern invention, Professor Sheldon explores how these...

Saul of Tarsus is one of the best known and most beloved figures of Christianity. This man, later known as St. Paul, set the tone for Christianity, including an emphasis on celibacy, the theory of divine grace and salvation, and the elimination of circumcision. It was Paul who wrote a large part of the New Testament, and who called it euangelion, "the gospel." There is another side of Paul, however, that has been little studied and that is his connection to the Roman military establishment and its intelligence arm. While other scholars and writers have suggested the idea that Paul was...