Imperium Romanum: Politics and Administration [Paperback]

Andrew Lintott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 25, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0415093759 | ISBN-13: 978-0415093750

The Roman Empire at its height encompassed the majority of the world known to the Romans. This important synthesis of recent findings and scholarship demonstrates how the Romans acquired, kept and controlled their Empire. Lintott goes beyond the preconceptions formed in the period of British Imperial rule and provides a contemporary post-imperial approach to the Roman exercise of power.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`... will be a most useful student textbook. It is an up-to -date survey of the administration of Roman provinces before the third century AD.'

'This series is relevant for all teachers whatever their own particular circumstances. Above all, it is the quality of the communication between teachers and children and the organisation and the nature of the tasks provided that matter. This series ... makes a useful contribution to the professional development of teachers in a practical, non-threatening way.' - Times Educational Supplement

'Focusing on classroom strategies and organisation, the - Classroom Skills series offers a welath of advice and practical suggestions.'

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (June 25, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415093759
• ISBN-13: 978-0415093750
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,160,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Roman Administration, March 11, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imperium Romanum: Politics and Administration (Paperback)

There really aren't many positive things to say about Andrew Lintott's book on Roman administration. The forward says this is an important addition to the study of administration in the Roman era. If this is true, we are all in a lot of trouble. Lintott tries to maintain an organizational structure to the book, but fails because he constantly veers from presenting his own specialized research to generalized themes. The result is a book that is awkward to read and awkward to study. My professor said it best: "Lintott claims to be writing this for his students. One wonders what they must think of him."

Lintott examines the effects of Roman administration in both the city and the province. I'm not going to waste much time discussing details here. There are too many of them and most of them are boring. In short, he looks at provincial administration, economics, etc. Lintott's conclusion is interesting. He feels that we shouldn't claim too much for the Roman Empire because it couldn't provide the kind of coherence that a city/state or constitution could. But Rome as a political and geographical expression lasted for 1500+ years. Who cares if it didn't provide city/state coherence? The economic and social links sufficed to hold Rome together. That should be enough.

Beware Lintott's writing style. It is so tedious due to misplaced clauses that you'll be ready to toss this one into the fireplace by the time you get to the end. I should probably lump this into the editing problems. For an academic text, the editing is atrocious. Mistakes abound everywhere. Lintott also drops so many Latin phrases, without explanation, that even Julius Caesar would have had trouble reading this. If you have to read this book for a class (as I did), take a deep breath before diving in.