|
|
Books
- with Daniel J. Gargola, Noel Lenski and Richard J. A. Talbert. The Romans From Village to Empire: A History of Rome from Earliest Times to the End of the Western Empire. Oxford University Press,
(2011). (2nd, expanded edition. Czech translation
published 12/12) [available here]
Abstract:
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, Second Edition, Mary T.
Boatwright, Daniel J. Gargola, Richard J.A.
Talbert, and new coauthor Noel Lenski explore
this question as they guide students through
a comprehensive sweep of Roman history,
ranging from the prehistoric settlements to
the fall of the empire in 476. Addressing
issues that still confront modern states
worldwide--including warfare, empire
building, consensus forging, and political
fragmentation--the authors also provide
glimpses into everyday Roman life and
perspective, demonstrating how Rome's growth
as a state is inseparable from its social and
cultural development.
Vividly written and accessible, The Romans,
Second Edition, traces Rome's remarkable
evolution from village, to monarchy, to
republic, to one-man rule by an
emperor--whose power at its peak stretched
from Scotland to Iraq and the Nile Valley--to
the empire's fall in 476. Firmly grounded in
ancient literary and material sources, the
text 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 through Constantine's
adoption of Christianity. Featuring two new
chapters (13 and 14), the second edition
extends the book's coverage through the rise
of Christianity, the growth of the Barbarian
threat, the final years of the empire, its
fall in 476, and, finally, to its revival in
the East as Byzantium. This edition also
combines chapters 1 and 2 into one--"Archaic
Italy and the Origins of Rome"--and
integrates more material on women, religion,
and cultural history throughout.
Ideal for courses in Roman history and Roman
civilization, The Romans, Second Edition, is
enhanced by two new 8-page, 4-color inserts
and almost 100 extensively captioned
illustrations. It also includes more than 30
ancient maps, revised and improved under the
supervision of coauthor Richard J. A.
Talbert, and textual extracts that provide
fascinating cultural observations made by
ancient Romans themselves. A new Image Bank
CD contains PowerPoint-based slides of all
the photos and maps in the text.
|