The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) | 
|  | | | Title: | The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) | | Author: | Christopher Kelly | | Publisher: | Oxford University Press, USA | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 14 September, 2006 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0192803913 / 9780192803917 | | List Price: | $11.95 | | You Save: | $2.39 | | Amazon Price: | $9.56 | |
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Product Description
The Roman Empire was a remarkable achievement. It had a population of sixty million people spread across lands encircling the Mediterranean and stretching from northern England to the sun-baked banks of the Euphrates, and from the Rhine to the North African coast. It was, above all else, an empire of force--employing a mixture of violence, suppression, order, and tactical use of power to develop an astonishingly uniform culture.
Here, historian Christopher Kelly covers the history of the Empire from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius, describing the empire's formation, and its political, religious, cultural, and social structures. It looks at the daily lives of the Empire's people: both those in Rome as well as those living in its furthest colonies. Romans used astonishing logistical feats, political savvy, and military oppression to rule their vast empire. This Very Short Introduction examines how they "romanised" the cultures they conquered, imposing their own culture in order to subsume them completely. The book also looks at how the Roman Empire has been considered and depicted in more recent times, from the writings of Edward Gibbon to the Hollywood blockbuster Gladiator. It will prove a valuable introduction for readers interested in classical history.
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Customer Reviews:
• Some Strong Chapters, 08 January, 2007
especially the first, and some surprising omissions. One finds little on Rome's view of their barbarian neighbors and their effect on Roman civilization. And Kelly includes nothing on slavery. Perhaps the overplus (for such a short book) of information on Roman houses, inscriptions, and monuments did not allow enough space for consideration of these topics.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AMVZ4CIAWRC4E
• Outlines Debates Within The Empire, Engenders A Realistic Understanding Of It 16 March, 2007
The author highlights some distinguishing aspects of the Roman Empire that are quite interesting. Among these: the bureaucracy that governed the huge geographic area of the Empire was astonishingly small, compared to later empires. The chapter on Christians is quite interesting, particularly the "martyr complex" of the early communities of the faithful and their belief that the world's end was imminent.
There is a good outline of debates within the Roman empire at the time, about how civilized an empire that used brutal means to establish and maintain its authority really was.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A6WYLA5ZTMFCR
• Lives Up To Billing 30 March, 2007
It is indeed very short, and quite pleasant to read. No doubt the author might have selected other topics from the vast field of possibilities, but in the spirit of reviewing the book he wrote rather than some other that he might possibly have written I must rate this quite highly. He manages a balance between political and social history, with a dollop of economic history as well, and adds a coda about the uses to which Roman history is put in the modern world, including commentary about films.
- Reviewed by customer ID: ARJ1P9IS56IE4
• Conclse, Compelling, And Clear 23 March, 2008
Written in a clear, compelling style, the author chronicles the rise of Rome and reflects upon the purposes, achievements, and costs of empire. The generous use of appropriate illustrations, concise summaries of long wars, and poignant profiles engage and inform. Kelly's details the brutal expansion of the empire, highlighting the suppression of dissent and rebellion. The precarious and complex role of conquered elites' role in the Roman Empire seems particularly strong. Likewise, the final chapter (Rome Revisited) surprised and satisfied with brief overviews of how British historians looked at the ancient Roman empire and their own empire. The author also surveys the enduring appeal, for worse and for better, of ancient Roman architecture and some vivid Hollywood movies centered around intense personal struggles.
Despite underplaying the importance of slavery and a too brief discussion of civil wars within ancient Rome, this thin primer remains - by far - the best introduction to ancient Rome that I've seen. This book should find a large audience among history buffs, Latin students, and college students.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1V1SAUOHP3WWV
• Excursions Through Imperial Rome 24 June, 2007
This Very Short Introduction is blessedly free of the typos that usually infect this otherwise excellent series, and for once, the illustrations are relevant, indeed central, to the text. There is a timeline and a very useful map at the end of the book, but the text itself is not a conventional, chronological narrative of the rise of Empire. It is rather a series of essays on a selection of topics, covering the period from Augustus to Commodus, that is, from around 30 BC to about AD 190. These excursions through aspects of the subject are concerned almost as much with how history is rewritten and reinterpreted as it is with the actual facts of history. There is an emphasis on architecture, particularly as an expression of social status and political ideology, an emphasis that will suit the taste of some readers more than others. The prose is clear and very readable, with the occasional topical, colloquial flourish ("The Empire writes back", "Through the keyhole") which can seem somewhat forced. Authoritative and illuminating, this little book is an essential addition to the reading list of anyone interested in ancient history.
- Reviewed by customer ID: ABTUNH7645QJL
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