Kategoria BISAC: History >> Ancient - Rome

The legacy of Rome is still very much with us in Europe. It forms part of our cultural backdrop, and is enshrined in the European mind, whether through classical literature, education and jurisprudence, or spectacular ruins. In Rome and Its Empire, first published in 1989, Stephen Johnson examines our understanding of the archaeological aspects of Roman civilisation, and traces the development of archaeology from the earliest post-Roman times, through to its real discovery in the eighteenth century, and its burgeoning in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Later Roman Britain, first published in 1980, charts the end of Roman rule in Britain and gives an overall impression of the beginning of the so-called 'Dark Ages' of British history, the transitional period which saw the breakdown of Roman administration and the beginnings of Saxon settlement.

Stephen Johnson traces the flourishing of Romano-British society and the pressures upon it which produced its eventual fragmentation, examining the province's barbarian neighbours and the way the defence was organised against the many threats to its security. The final chapters,...

The Roman Mother, first published in 1988, traces the traditional Roman attitude towards mothers to its republican origins, examining the diverse roles and the relative power and influence associated with motherhood.

The importance of the paterfamilias with his wide-ranging legal rights and obligations is familiar, but much less attention has been devoted to the equally interesting position and duties of mothers and the particular limitations on their actions. The author considers the legal position of the mother, the status of the widow and her testamentary...

In "Pannonia and Upper Moesia," first published" "1974, Andras Mocsy surveys the Middle Danube Provinces from the latest pre-Roman Iron Age up to the beginning of the Great Migrations. His primary concern is to develop a general synthesis of the archaeological and historical researches in the Danube Basin, which lead to a more detailed knowledge of the Roman culture of the area.

The economic and social development, town and country life, culture and religion in the Provinces are all investigated, and the local background of the so-called Illyrian Predominance during the third century...

The Coming of Rome, first published in 1979, examines some basic features of Roman Britain: the cities, the towns, and the monuments of an urban culture. J.S. Wacher considers the evidence, mainly from inscriptions, of the people who inhabited or visited Britain during approximately the first two centuries of Roman rule.

The Roman conquest of Britain and the progressive extension of Roman control marked a dramatic transformation of British society. Although there was much contact between pre-Roman Britain and the Continent, the advent of Romanisation meant...

Roman Gaul, first published in 1983, makes use of a wealth of archaeological discoveries and modern methods of interpretation to give an account of the Roman presence in Gaul, from the time of Caesar's conquests until the Crisis of the third century. Professor Drinkwater emphasises the changes caused in the Three Gauls and Germany by the impact of Romanisation - urbanisation, agriculture, trade and education - and points out the often curious ways in which Roman influences survive in these areas to the present day.

Particular attention is paid to the evolution of the...

Lucius Aemilius Paullus was largely responsible for the inclusion of Greece in the growing empire of the Republic. He is most often presented as a man of pristine virtue and philhellenic persuasion, but this image has clouded his personality as well as the events in which he was involved.

Aemilius Paullus: Conqueror of Greece, first published in 1988, aims to construct an accurate picture of the soldier and politician by scrutiny of the main sources - Livy, Plutarch and Polybius (the last of whom worked under the direct patronage of Paullus). The Polybian concepts of the...

Roman literature seems to provide plenty of instances of contempt towards foreign or black individuals, but it is an untenable assumption that such distaste amounts to a racist attitude, particularly considering how elusive the definitions of 'race' and 'racism' are.

Making extensive use of developments in sociological theory and psychology, Romans and Blacks, first published in 1989, presents an innovative and illuminating picture of black-white relations in Roman society. It is argued that 'race' as a somatic identification that entails permanent and genetically...

The first two centuries of the Christian era were largely a period of consolidation for the Roman Empire. However, the history of the heyday of Roman imperium is far from dull, for Augustus' successors ranged from capable administrators - Tiberius, Claudius and Hadrian - to near-madmen like Caligula and the amateur gladiator Commodus, who might have wrecked the system but for its inherent strength.

Albino Garzetti's classic From Tiberius to the Antonines, first published in 1960, presents a definitive account of this fascinating period, which combines a clear...

In A History of Earliest Italy, first published in 1984, Professor Pallottino illumines the wide variety of peoples, languages, and traditions of culture and trade that constituted the pre-Roman Italic world.

Since the written sources are fragmentary, archaeology provides the central reservoir for evidence of the societies and institutions of the varied peoples of early Italy. This incisive and immensely readable account unfolds from the Bronze Age to the unification of the Italian peninsula and Sicily by Rome following the flourishing Archaic period. It examines the...

Julian: An Intellectual Biography, first published in 1981, presents a penetrating and scholarly analysis of Julian's intellectual development against the background of philosophy and religion in the late Roman Empire.

Professor Polymnia Athanassiadi tells the story of Julian's transformation from a reclusive and scholarly adolescent into a capable general and an audacious social reformer. However, his character was fraught with a great many contradictions, tensions and inconsistencies: he could be sensitive and intelligent, but also uncontrollably spontaneous and subject...

The Roman Republic was governed by a small group of men who agreed far more than they disagreed on the fundamental questions facing the state. The details of their public behaviour can thus only be understood in relation to the idiosyncrasies deeply embedded in Roman political culture, one of the most important of which was that of personal hatred inimicitia .

Personal Enmity in Roman Politics, first published in 1987, explores how inimicitia could arise and how it was often central in the formation of political factions. In particular, groups opposing such powerful figures...

The years from the battle of Actium to the death of Nero stand at the very heart of Roman history. Yet the sources of this key period, particularly the inscriptions, papyri and coins, are not readily accessible. Crucial new discoveries remain buried in learned periodicals, and now that the study of the ancient world is widespread among those without Latin and Greek, the lack of translations is proving a serious handicap.

Augustus to Nero, first published in 1985, contains numerous texts not only for students of traditional political history, but also of those interested in...