The Romans: From Village to Empire

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 937 EAN: 9780195118766 ISBN: 0195118766 Label: Oxford University Press, USA Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 544 Publication Date: 2004-07-15 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editorial Reviews: How did a single village community in the Italian peninsula eventually become one of the most powerful imperial powers the world has ever known? In The Romans: From Village to Empire, Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel Gargola, and Richard J.A. Talbert explore this question as they guide readers through a comprehensive sweep of Roman history, ranging from the prehistoric settlements to the age of Constantine. Vividly written and accessible, The Romans traces Rome's remarkable evolution from village, to monarchy, to republic, and eventually to one-man rule by an emperor whose power at its peak stretched from Scotland to Iraq and the Nile Valley. Firmly grounded in ancient literary and material sources, the book describes and analyzes major political and military landmarks, from the Punic Wars, to Caesar's conquest of Gaul and his crossing of the Rubicon, to the victory of Octavian over Mark Antony, and to Constantine's adoption of Christianity. It also introduces such captivating individuals as Hannibal, Mithridates, Pompey, Cicero, Cleopatra, Augustus, Livia, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Shapur. The authors cover issues that still confront modern states worldwide, including warfare, empire building, consensus forging, and political fragmentation. They also integrate glimpses of many aspects of everyday Roman life and perspective--such as the role of women, literature, entertainment, town-planning, portraiture, and religion--demonstrating how Rome's growth as a state is inseparable from its social and cultural development. Ideal for courses in Roman history and Roman civilization, The Romans is enhanced by almost 100 illustrations, more than 30 maps (most produced by the Ancient World Mapping Center), and 22 textual extracts that provide fascinating cultural observations made by ancient Romans themselves.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Interesting and Thorough, but too simple Comment: It's all there, from the beginning to the end, but at a level more fit for elementary school students. Customer Rating: Summary: Good overview, very boring. Comment: This was one of our main texts for a class on the Ancient Rome I just took this semester. The information in here is solid, but in many (most) parts of the book I was bored to tears...something I've rarely said about any history book. A very dry read. Truely devoted students of Ancient Rome or Classics may find this book useful, casual readers or general history buffs I suggest look elsewhere. Customer Rating: Summary: A solid introduction Comment: 'The Romans: From Village to Empire' is a new book by the Oxford University Press meant to be a companion to their earlier volume on the Greek civilisation. This text, written by scholars Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard J.A. Talbert, in intended for several audiences - those with a general interest in history, beginning undergraduate students in historical survey courses, those with interest in archaeology, culture, and military events, and those who want a better understanding of the secular and sacred empire that preceded but gave rise to the current world of Christendom and European nation-states. The book is not one that is heavy on details, but is very well documented and annotated, with pictures, maps and drawings complementing most pages. Maps are generously provided throughout, including maps on the front and back binding pages. The authors do not limit themselves to a particular historical method - sometimes the events will be see primarily through the biographical sketches of particular people (there are some historical periods for which the only surviving text evidence is later biographical writing about key figures), sometimes the events will be recreated through interpretation of archaeological finds, and sometimes on analogy and speculation based on other contemporary settlements and writers, although not Roman. The authors make clear at many points in the text that our textual evidence is most certainly a biased report - historians in the ancient world did not strive to write objective history as it is considered today, but rather often wrote with a specific intention, often the glorification of Rome or some family or person in Rome. The authors cite the Greek influence on Roman historical production - there were three primary ways to write a history: one, concentrate on a particular significant event or person; two, write a complete history of the city from its foundation to the present; and three, write a comprehensive history of the whole known world. Most Roman historians opted for the first two; the histories of founding-to-present done by different hands at different times highlights the difficulty of working with history, when events are so far removed from the author's time. The conflicting and contradictory tales of Rome's early days only add to the frustration of knowing the history before the Republic and Empire. Rome did at one point have a king - the authors list the seven kings according to Varro's list, including their dates (Romulus, from 753 BC to Tarquin, who died in 510 BC). These dates and identities are far from uncontroversial, as are the figures who follow. Some consuls, tribunes and other leaders are well-known names because of the significant events and accomplishments with which their names are attached, but the political instability of a growing city-state with (for most of this early history) strict safeguards against tyranny that include one-year, usually non-renewable terms of office make for a confusing narrative. There were more likely more consuls in Rome during any particular century from the end of the kingly era to the time of Julius Caesar than there have been Monarchs of Britain and Presidents of the United States combined. Add to this confusion that they often came from the same inter-related families and thus bore the same names, and one gets a huge task of unraveling the historical record. Boatwright, Gargola and Talbert are to be given great credit for seeing through the task of making the text not only understandable, but enjoyable. In their thirteen chapters, they trace an historical pattern in chronological order, devoting each chapter to a period roughly 50 - 100 years in length. The first chapter looks at the state of early Italy generally, with its indigenous populations (Etruscans, Latins, Campanians, etc.) as well as the colonisers (Greeks, Phoenicians, etc.). The second chapter deals with the beginnings of urbanisation and the formation of city-states, including the early shift from kingdom to republican form of government for Rome. Rome's expansion beyond its own territory, beyond the Latin province and beyond Italy is described not as an inevitable march, but rather one of fits and starts, with set-backs and improbable happenings. How Rome's influence as an imperial power rather than simply as a conqueror in various parts of the Mediterranean world is also described in good detail. Wherever possible, the authors have brought in information about the various classes and orders of people, both in Rome, in Roman communities outside of Rome, and in provinces and subject states, to show the importance and the concerns for the plebs, the 'ordinary' citizens (and often non-citizens) of the city and empire. One will learn about the key issues here (the Punic Wars, Augustus' consolidation, Diocletian's Tetrarchy, etc.), key individuals (Sulla, Pompey, Augustus, Hadrian, etc.), and general trends (the rise and decline of the Senate, the uneasy balance of religion and secular concerns from the start, etc.) - one will also learn new things here, often overlooked in histories that concentrate just on the powerful and 'most noteworthy' people. The book is well indexed, useful and thorough. The appendix material also includes a brief glossary/biography listing of principle ancient authors, a general glossary of terminology, and a twenty-page timeline following four primary strands: West, East, Rome & Italy, and Cultural & Other Landmarks. While the timeline begins with the emergence of agriculture in 4000 BC (the authors use the BC - AD designation rather than the more general BCE - CE form), it really begins in earnest about 1000 - 750 BC, with the foundation of cities, including Rome, Carthage, and other city-states. The authors also use pull-quote boxes to draw original source material quotations to support the general historical narrative being presented, which is very effective in its presentation. Customer Rating: Summary: Self Learner Likes Book Comment: I like this book very much. In reference to the previous review that labeled this book as 'devoid of the humanizing spark that makes history so much fun': I don't require everything I read to take the form of a bedtime story. I am woefully ignorant of history and so I picked this book up to learn about the establishment of Rome. I found it an excellent source - informative, unambiguous, and well written. It wasn't Lord of the Rings, but that's not what it's meant to be. If you are interested in educating yourself about history, like I am, you are probably mature enough to handle something that isn't written like a spy novel. Also, you probably don't want maps littered with troop counts, as one of the other reviewers suggested. This isn't a military history, it's a broad overview. It suited my needs precisely. Now I can move on to a book that takes up where this one leaves off and continues to into the Dark Ages. After that, I can come back and read the military histories and political dramas. Customer Rating: Summary: Dull prose; deplorable maps Comment: I am not well-read in Roman history, and I purchased this book as an introduction to the subject. I believe that the book presented a satisfactory account of the social, political, and military trajectories of Rome from about 500 B.C. to 300 A.D., and I was happy that the authors consistently acknowledged their sources -- oftentimes, the surviving records are miniscule, contradictory, or lacking altogether, and it seems a good idea to be up-front about the limitations imposed upon the historian by ancient texts and modern archeology. At the same time, the book was rather drily written, and was a dull read throughout. Perhaps this is the inevitable result of a collaboration among three authors. What I found especially lamentable was the quality of the maps. I bought the book because the jacket copy promised over 30 new maps specially prepared for this edition. There are basically three variations of maps in this book: a series of maps presenting the evolution of the city of Rome; several maps of Italy; and several of the Mediterranian environs. While this might seem perfectly adequate for a book about ancient Rome and its empire, the maps lack information such as dates of settlements, battle sites, troop movements, and migrations. The maps never even show rough borders to illustrate the extent of the Roman frontier at a given time. For example, when discussing the career of the future-emperor Tiberius from about 20 - 6 B.C., the authors state, "His brilliant exploits during this period (see Map 9.2) have been obscured by the hatred he later aroused among senators, the authors of most Roman histories." We turn to Map 9.2, labeled "Expansion of the Empire in the Age of Augustus", and see a map roughly covering territory from Britian in the northwest to the Arabian peninsula in the southeast, with no mention of Tiberius, his conquests, troop levels, etc. In fact, aside from city and region names, no other information is given. While it is true that some of the information about Tiberius' conquests is given in the text, I cannot fathom why the authors refer you specifically to a map which for all intents and purposes is as just as germane (and just as generic too) as most of the other maps in the book. Again, given my lack of familiarity with the Roman history, I cannot comment on whether or not the authors truly did justice to the subject. But I can say that the prose is dull and the maps are deplorable. More Reviews