Rome
An Empire's Story
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Rome in the archaic age was a minor satellite between the Etruscan and Greek world. This book traces the expansion of Roman influence first within Italy, then around the Mediterranean world and finally, at breakneck speed, deep into Europe, out to the Atlantic, along the edge of the Sahara and down the Red Sea. But there had been other empires that had expanded rapidily: what made Rome remarkable was that it managed to sustain its position for so long. Rome's Fall poses less of a mystery than its survival. Understanding how this happens involves understanding the building blocks of imperial society -- slavery , cities , the economy -- and also the chaotic narrative of growth, civil war, stability, near disaster and then a managed downsizing. Rome. An empire's story tells the story of Rome in chapters that alternate with examination of key features of Roman society. This new edition is based on the very latest research, including studies of climate change and ecology, and deals at greater length than the first edition did with the later Roman empire, and with the material culture of empire.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this passionately told exploration of the history of Rome, University of St. Andrews historian Woolf (editor, The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Roman World) peers closely at what enabled Rome to resist defeats and capitalize on victories, and how it evolved to face new needs and new threats. With dazzling detail, Woolf retells the long story from Rome's birth in 753 B.C.E. to the republic, the empire, and the empire's fall, not in the sixth century as is usually accepted, but in 711 when Muslims invaded Spain. As Woolf points out, complex forces were always at work. For example, in the final 100 years of the Republic, Roman literary and intellectual culture achieved its classic form amid bloody civil wars. The early Empire, by contrast, was at peace, with emperors focused on building projects and scaling back military expansion. The Roman Empire faded not only when outside forces invaded in the sixth and seventh centuries, but when internal strife tore it apart at the same time, borders shrank, and the empire collapsed back on itself. Woolf points out that western Christendom, Islam, and Byzantium were the empire's heirs, each with its own imperial destiny. 31 b&w illus.; maps.
