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Review
This mervellous little book...succeeds in sketching the remarkable way in which the Roman Empire spread across Europe... (Barbara Finney, The Journal of Classics Teaching )
"...the author has succeeded admirably. This is no cop out - themes are chosen sensibly and well presented. This book does what it says on the cover... This book is intellectual, yet accessible, well written, stimulating, original, and essential for those who wish to gain a rapid overview of the subject without getting bogged down." (Dr Mark Merrony, Minerva )
"...the author has succeeded admirably. This is no cop out - themes are chosen sensibly and well presented. This book does what it says on the cover... This book is intellectual, yet accessible, well written, stimulating, original, and essential for those who wish to gain a rapid overview of the subject without getting bogged down." (Dr Mark Merrony, Minerva )
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 drizzle-soaked northern England to the sun-baked banks of the Euphrates in Syria, 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. This Very Short Introduction covers the history of the Empire from Augustus (the first Emperor) to Marcus Aurelius, describing how the empire was formed, how it was run, its religions and its social structure. It examines how local cultures were "romanised" and how people in far away lands came to believe in the emperor as a god. The book also examines how the Roman Empire has been considered and depicted in more recent times, from the writings of Edward Gibbon, to the differing attitudes of the Victorians and recent Hollywood blockbuster films.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This excellent introduction to the Roman Empire is succinct and selective rather than superficial. Its compass ranges from the iconography of the Imperial cult to contemporary perceptions of Rome in the cinema.
Far from being a conventional, political history centred on the Roman elite, Kelly is most impressive when trying to recreate the ordinary lives of the silent and all but invisible majority, who have left no historical trace and only the faintest of impressions in the archaeological record. He is especially interesting and perceptive when writing about elusive topics like population studies within the Empire. Hard evidence on such matters is, naturally, very scant. Kelly uses statistical models and contemporary demographic studies of the developing world to reach his conclusions, some of which are startling - for example, the life expectancy at birth for emperors who died from natural causes between the 1st and 7th centuries: 26.3 years (no greater, therefore, than the life expectancy of people in much poorer and less privileged social groups).
This slim volume manages to be authoritative, concise and thought-provoking. Anyone wanting to investigate further, meanwhile, can make good use of its extensive bibliography.
Far from being a conventional, political history centred on the Roman elite, Kelly is most impressive when trying to recreate the ordinary lives of the silent and all but invisible majority, who have left no historical trace and only the faintest of impressions in the archaeological record. He is especially interesting and perceptive when writing about elusive topics like population studies within the Empire. Hard evidence on such matters is, naturally, very scant. Kelly uses statistical models and contemporary demographic studies of the developing world to reach his conclusions, some of which are startling - for example, the life expectancy at birth for emperors who died from natural causes between the 1st and 7th centuries: 26.3 years (no greater, therefore, than the life expectancy of people in much poorer and less privileged social groups).
This slim volume manages to be authoritative, concise and thought-provoking. Anyone wanting to investigate further, meanwhile, can make good use of its extensive bibliography.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very short introduction to life under the Roman Empire would be a more accurate title, though to say this isn't really a criticism of this solidly written primer. It more than succeeds in giving a flavour of what it meant for the ordinary citizen to live under Roman rule, though perhaps those wanting to learn about the Empire for the first time would probably like a few more chronological narratives.
I did found the book to be a little patchy. It seems to get bogged down a little early in over detailed comparisons of how this obscure town in Asia Minor paid homage to the Emperor compared to another obscure town in Asia Minor down the Roman road. However, it more than comes to life when discussing matters such as the Christian conversion of the empire, a subject particularly illuminated by the author's approach of looking at the man on the street - here giving us the mindset of both the early persecuted Christians and the sense of bewilderment, mixed with sadism and fear, of the Amphitheatre crowds who watched them being tortured, burnt and thrown to the Lions.
The final chapter, the inevitable look at Rome through the eyes of later ages (itself interpreted through the subjective lens of 21st century fashionable post-modernist academia) isn't quite as revealing as it could have been. But, all in all, the book serves its purpose ; to convey a sense of the ordinary and mundane that is often obscured by the magnificence of the most legendary of empires.
I did found the book to be a little patchy. It seems to get bogged down a little early in over detailed comparisons of how this obscure town in Asia Minor paid homage to the Emperor compared to another obscure town in Asia Minor down the Roman road. However, it more than comes to life when discussing matters such as the Christian conversion of the empire, a subject particularly illuminated by the author's approach of looking at the man on the street - here giving us the mindset of both the early persecuted Christians and the sense of bewilderment, mixed with sadism and fear, of the Amphitheatre crowds who watched them being tortured, burnt and thrown to the Lions.
The final chapter, the inevitable look at Rome through the eyes of later ages (itself interpreted through the subjective lens of 21st century fashionable post-modernist academia) isn't quite as revealing as it could have been. But, all in all, the book serves its purpose ; to convey a sense of the ordinary and mundane that is often obscured by the magnificence of the most legendary of empires.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Too Short to be an Introduction
I purchased this book hoping for a very short introduction to the Roman Empire. This book is not that. It is very limited and fails to cover key areas. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Michael P.
Roman empire
This is a brilliant introduction to this topic. It is no way dry or dull to read and gives great insight into Roman life and how they administered their empire. Read more
Published on 5 Nov 2006 by Spider Monkey
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