Rome An Empire's Story

by Woolf, Greg

• ISBN13: 9780199775293
• ISBN10: 019977529X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The very idea of empire was created in ancient Rome and even today traces of its monuments, literature, and institutions can be found across Europe, the Near East, and North Africa - and sometimes even further afield. In Rome, historian Greg Woolf expertly recounts how this mammoth empire was created, how it was sustained in crisis, and how it shaped the world of its rulers and subjects - a story spanning a millennium and a half of history. The personalities and events of Roman history have become part of theWest's cultural lexicon, and Woolf provides brilliant retellings of each of these, from the war with Carthage to Octavian's victory over Cleopatra, from the height of territorial expansion under the emperors Trajan and Hadrian to the founding of Constantinople and the barbarian invasions whichresulted in Rome's ultimate collapse. Throughout, Woolf carefully considers the conditions that made Rome's success possible and so durable, covering topics as diverse as ecology, slavery, and religion. Woolf also compares Rome to other ancient empires and to its many later imitators, bringing intovivid relief the Empire's most distinctive and enduring features. As Woolf demonstrates, nobody ever planned to create a state that would last more than a millennium and a half, yet Rome was able, in the end, to survive barbarian migrations, economic collapse and even the conflicts between a series of world religions that had grown up within its borders, in theprocess generating an image and a myth of empire that is apparently indestructible. Based on new research and compellingly told, this sweeping account promises to eclipse all previously published histories of the empire.

Author Biography

Greg Woolf is Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews. He is the author of Et Tu, Brute?: A Short History of Political Murder and editor of The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Roman World.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. xii
List of Maps	p. xiv
Notes on Further Reading	p. xv
The Whole Story	p. 1
Empires of the Mind	p. 13
Rulers of Italy	p. 31
Imperial Ecology	p. 48
Mediterranean Hegemony	p. 63
Slavery and Empire	p. 82
Crisis	p. 97
At Heavens Command?	p. 113
The Generals	p. 129
The Enjoyment of Empire	p. 146
Emperors	p. 163
Resourcing Empire	p. 185
War	p. 201
Imperial Identities	p. 218
Recovery and Collapse	p. 233
A Christian Empire	p. 254
Things Fall Apart	p. 273
The Roman Past and the Roman Future	p. 288
Notes	p. 301
Bibliography	p. 327
Glossary of Technical Terms	p. 357
Photographic Acknowledgements	p. 361
Index	p. 362
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