The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13: The Late Empire, AD 337-425 [Hardcover]

Averil Cameron (Editor), Peter Garnsey (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 13, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0521302005 | ISBN-13: 978-0521302005

With Volume 13, the new edition of The Cambridge Ancient History moves into fresh territory. The first edition was completed by Volume 12, which closed in AD 324. The editors of the new edition have enlarged the scope of Volume 12 to include the foundation of Constantinople and the death of Constantine, and extended the series with two wholly new volumes taking the History up to AD 600. Volume 13, the first of these new volumes, covers the years 337SH425, from the death of Constantine to the reign of Theodosius II.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'I had bought this volume before I was asked to review it, the best possible compliment surely to publishers, editors, and contributors alike.' The Classical Review

'Cameron and Garnsey deserve congratulations for this: the volume will last at least as long as the first editions of CAH did (of course they did not cover this period at all), and maybe longer.' Journal of Roman Studies

Book Description

With Volume XIII the new edition of The Cambridge Ancient History moves into fresh territory. The first edition was completed by Volume XII which closed in AD 324. The Editors of the new edition have enlarged the scope of Volume XII to include the foundation of Constantinople and the death of Constantine, and extended the series with two wholly new volumes taking the History down to AD 600. Volume XIII, the first of these new volumes, covers the years 337SH425, from the death of Constantine to the reign of Theodosius II.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 905 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521302005
• ISBN-13: 978-0521302005
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,618,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Readable, December 7, 2006

By 

Bruce Brocka (Quad Cities) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 10: The Augustan Empire, 43 BC-AD 69 (Volume 10) (Hardcover)

Being an armchair historian, I found this work to be highly readable and entertaining. The bibliography is exhaustive (about 100 pages), as one might expect, and their are numerous maps and genealogy tables. Despite numerous authors, it does not backtrack nor contradict itself. For a scholarly work, it is impressive for its contribution, compactness (yes, even at 1,000 pages, it could have been 1,000 more) and ease of reading.

That said, it's not for those unfamiliar with the "story" of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. It more or less assumes you're quite familiar with Suetonius, Cassius Dio, Plutarch, et al, and various long standing controversies in interpretation. So if you've read a few books on the subject, you'll be quite comfortable with this work. If you've read the Routledge and Yale Press Imperial Biography series, then this work helps with context, providing the latest (and perhaps alternative) views on current scholarship.

Don't let the price scare you off. It's well worth several other books one might consider, combined.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good, up-to-date overview, July 23, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 14: Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, AD 425-600 (Hardcover)

This review concerns the volume of the Cambridge Ancient history covering 425-600.

This was a very readable book, that I have just completed. I read about eighty percent of it, only skipping or skimmimg a few sections. Admittedly, this would not make a good introductory book, and probably not even a good second book, on the period, but if you are interested in the period and have a working knowledge of it, I am sure you will find much of interest. The book begins with an evocative 150 pages or so of narrative historical overview, with the latest interpretations of chronology. Some of this material is then covered in a more thematic way, and also in an area-by-area manner, later in the book. There are also many sections on various social aspects. One such that I gained much from was the one on education. Interestingly, there was no separate section on women. The bibliography is 100 pages long, so the reading matter itself is about 1000 pages. The book was worth the money to me.