Roman Britain: A Very Short Introduction [Paperback]

Peter Salway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2002

Peter Salway's Very Short Introduction to Roman Britain weaves together the results of archaeological investigation and historical scholarship in a rounded and highly readable concise account. He charts life in Roman Britain from the first Roman invasion under Julius Caesar to the final collapse of the Roman Empire in the West around AD 500.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Salway, formerly a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and subsequently of All Souls College, Oxford, is an Emeritus Professor of the Open University and Chairman of the Oxford Archaeological Unit. His publications include The Oxford Illustrated History of Roman Britain, published by OUP in 1993 (reissued in paperback by OUP in 1997 as A History of Roman Britain). He has served as a Member of Council of the National Trust (appointed by the Society of Antiquaries), and was one of the editors of The Remains of Distant Times: Archaeology and the National Trust (Boydell, 1996). He has also published a substantial number of articles and reviews in learned journals and publications for the general reader, mostly on Roman Britain and Classical Antiquity in general, a few on medieval and later British archaeology and architectural history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192854046
• ISBN-13: 978-0192854049
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short and Consise, September 25, 2003

By 

Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roman Britain: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback)

I like books that get to where they are going to fast. Especially books that deal with historical subjects that have had so much written about them you don't know which way to turn. It has to be said that British-Romano History is one such subject that comes under this sometimes dubious honoor.

Roman Brtain - A Very Short Introduction has four compact chapters covering the subjects like the beginnings of British history, the Roman Conquest of Britain, Britain under Roman rule and finally then end of Roman rule in Britain. There is also a Chronology which takes you through from the beginning of Roman occupation up until its end in 409AD.

I like this book as you can find which part of British-Roman history you want to delve into and go from there. It even has a short section on the ill fated revolt of the Iceni Queen Boudicca, along with other important subjects such as the rise of Christianity and the building of Hadrian's Wall.

There are several photos and illustrations plus some maps, one showing an overview of 2nd Century Roman Britain.

This a compact, easy to read book that will give you a taster of Romano-British History from beginning to end. However if you want something more substantial then this book probably won't give you what you want.

Quick reading at an affordable price.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Britain's Classical roots, December 31, 2006

By 

Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roman Britain: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback)

For their entries on British history in this excellent series, OUP have extracted 8 sections from their Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. Roman Britain is the first. I recommend that you actually make it a 9-part history and start with The Celts: A Very Short Introduction, because that gives a useful background to this present volume.

Because of its provenance, this book is more conventional and less quirky than other Very Short Introductions. It is a solid, readable and engrossing introductory survey of four centuries of Roman rule. Salway provides enough information about events in other parts of the empire, including Rome itself, to provide the necessary context. It has plenty of surprising facts (to me at least) such as the population of Roman Britain being much larger than it was in the next few centuries, and that Claudius entered Colchester complete with elephants (can that really be true?). The illustrations are well chosen and there is a very useful chronology at the end.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief and Informative, January 22, 2011

By 

Dr. Bojan Tunguz (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roman Britain: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback)

At its peak, Roman rule extended over the entire Mediterranean region, and encompassed much of what is now known as Western Europe. Britain was at the far northwestern part of this vast, powerful empire and for four centuries it was an important Roman province. This very short introduction aims to introduce the reader to this period in British history. The book is aimed at the general public, and is very accessible and well written.

Unfortunately, we don't have much of a written record that can enlighten us with all the intricacies of the Roman rule in the British Isles. Most of the evidence comes from the archeological findings of material culture. Nonetheless, archeology can still teach us a lot about the events and developments that transpired almost two thousand years ago. Also, as a part of Roman Empire, British history of this period can be understood within the context of wider Roman history. Here the written record is much more detailed, and it helps with shedding more light on the subject of British history.

This is perhaps the shortest book in the whole "very short introduction" series, but is nonetheless reasonably thorough for its size. In addition to the well-written prose, the book contains several photographs of archeological finds and maps that help with the visualization of the ancient history. Anyone who is interested in getting a better grasp of British history would benefit from reading this short informative book.