The Oxford History of the Roman World Author: John Boardman | Language: English | ISBN:
0192802038 | Format: EPUB
The Oxford History of the Roman World Description
In less than fifty-three years, Rome subjected most of the known world to its rule. This authoritative and compelling work tells the story of the rise of Rome from its origins as a cluster of villages to the foundation of the Roman Empire by Augustus, to its consolidation in the first two centuries CE. It also discusses aspects of the later Empire and its influence on Western civilization, not least of which was the adoption of Christianity.
Packed with fascinating detail and written by acknowledged experts in Roman history, the book expertly interweaves chapters on social and political history, the Emperors, art and architecture, and the works of leading Roman poets, historians, and philosophers. Reinforcing the book's historical framework are maps, diagrams, a useful chronology, and a full bibliography.
Taken as a whole, this rich work offers an indispensable resource on the history of one of the world's greatest empires.
- Paperback: 536 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Reprint edition (November 29, 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0192802038
- ISBN-13: 978-0192802033
- Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
The Oxford History of the Roman World is, first and foremost, an excellent edition and a perfect primer for the lay-historian and undergraduate. I am not denying that fact (though in this case I wish it was possible to give this book 4 1/2 stars, but nevertheless...); what I will do now, however, is go into a bit more detail about the positives and negatives of this broad history.
Being The Oxford HISTORY of the Roman World, one logically starts with the pure historiography. It is very good indeed, but, unlike the Oxford History of Greece (a superior volume), the pure history stops about mid-way through the book and is replaced with more specific chapters dealing with literature, philosophy, religion, art and architecture. All of these are fascinating, in particular literature and philosophy, but the history of the later Imperial times becomes somewhat muddled due to no chapter dedicated solely to the background of the period. This is disappointing, even more so because it certainly could have been done: the final chapter, Envoi: Taking Leave of Antiquity, is an excellent chapter on, among other things, the (very) general history of the fifth century Roman Empire (up to its collapse in 476 AD by the Goths), and the Cambridge authority who wrote it, I feel, could have easily written a larger chapter on solely the history of the Imperial period to be slotted into it's appropriate place. Unfortunately that is not the case and the volume, in this regard, is left feeling naggingly incomplete.
The chapters on philosophy and literature, as I have said, are excellent (philosophy, I feel, more interesting.) Like the Greek history had its chapter dedicated to Homer, so does the Roman history have a chapter dedicated to Virgil - both are fascinating.
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