Customer Reviews

The Romans: From Village to Empire

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'The Romans: From Village to Empire' is a new book by the Oxford University Press meant to be a companion to their earlier volume on the Greek civilisation. This text, written by scholars Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard J.A. Talbert, in intended for several audiences - those with a general interest in history, beginning undergraduate students in historical survey courses, those with interest in archaeology, culture, and military events, and those who want a better understanding of the secular and sacred empire that preceded but gave rise to the current world of Christendom and European nation-states. The book is not one that is heavy on details, but is very well documented and annotated, with pictures, maps and drawings complementing most pages. Maps are generously provided throughout, including maps on the front and back binding pages.

The authors do not limit themselves to a particular historical method - sometimes the events will be see primarily through the biographical sketches of particular people (there are some historical periods for which the only surviving text evidence is later biographical writing about key figures), sometimes the events will be recreated through interpretation of archaeological finds, and sometimes on analogy and speculation based on other contemporary settlements and writers, although not Roman. The authors make clear at many points in the text that our textual evidence is most certainly a biased report - historians in the ancient world did not strive to write objective history as it is considered today, but rather often wrote with a specific intention, often the glorification of Rome or some family or person in Rome. The authors cite the Greek influence on Roman historical production - there were three primary ways to write a history: one, concentrate on a particular significant event or person; two, write a complete history of the city from its foundation to the present; and three, write a comprehensive history of the whole known world. Most Roman historians opted for the first two; the histories of founding-to-present done by different hands at different times highlights the difficulty of working with history, when events are so far removed from the author's time. The conflicting and contradictory tales of Rome's early days only add to the frustration of knowing the history before the Republic and Empire.

Rome did at one point have a king - the authors list the seven kings according to Varro's list, including their dates (Romulus, from 753 BC to Tarquin, who died in 510 BC). These dates and identities are far from uncontroversial, as are the figures who follow. Some consuls, tribunes and other leaders are well-known names because of the significant events and accomplishments with which their names are attached, but the political instability of a growing city-state with (for most of this early history) strict safeguards against tyranny that include one-year, usually non-renewable terms of office make for a confusing narrative. There were more likely more consuls in Rome during any particular century from the end of the kingly era to the time of Julius Caesar than there have been Monarchs of Britain and Presidents of the United States combined. Add to this confusion that they often came from the same inter-related families and thus bore the same names, and one gets a huge task of unraveling the historical record.

Boatwright, Gargola and Talbert are to be given great credit for seeing through the task of making the text not only understandable, but enjoyable. In their thirteen chapters, they trace an historical pattern in chronological order, devoting each chapter to a period roughly 50 - 100 years in length. The first chapter looks at the state of early Italy generally, with its indigenous populations (Etruscans, Latins, Campanians, etc.) as well as the colonisers (Greeks, Phoenicians, etc.). The second chapter deals with the beginnings of urbanisation and the formation of city-states, including the early shift from kingdom to republican form of government for Rome. Rome's expansion beyond its own territory, beyond the Latin province and beyond Italy is described not as an inevitable march, but rather one of fits and starts, with set-backs and improbable happenings. How Rome's influence as an imperial power rather than simply as a conqueror in various parts of the Mediterranean world is also described in good detail. Wherever possible, the authors have brought in information about the various classes and orders of people, both in Rome, in Roman communities outside of Rome, and in provinces and subject states, to show the importance and the concerns for the plebs, the 'ordinary' citizens (and often non-citizens) of the city and empire.

One will learn about the key issues here (the Punic Wars, Augustus' consolidation, Diocletian's Tetrarchy, etc.), key individuals (Sulla, Pompey, Augustus, Hadrian, etc.), and general trends (the rise and decline of the Senate, the uneasy balance of religion and secular concerns from the start, etc.) - one will also learn new things here, often overlooked in histories that concentrate just on the powerful and 'most noteworthy' people.

The book is well indexed, useful and thorough. The appendix material also includes a brief glossary/biography listing of principle ancient authors, a general glossary of terminology, and a twenty-page timeline following four primary strands: West, East, Rome & Italy, and Cultural & Other Landmarks. While the timeline begins with the emergence of agriculture in 4000 BC (the authors use the BC - AD designation rather than the more general BCE - CE form), it really begins in earnest about 1000 - 750 BC, with the foundation of cities, including Rome, Carthage, and other city-states. The authors also use pull-quote boxes to draw original source material quotations to support the general historical narrative being presented, which is very effective in its presentation.

I like this book very much. In reference to the previous review that labeled this book as 'devoid of the humanizing spark that makes history so much fun': I don't require everything I read to take the form of a bedtime story.

I am woefully ignorant of history and so I picked this book up to learn about the establishment of Rome. I found it an excellent source - informative, unambiguous, and well written. It wasn't Lord of the Rings, but that's not what it's meant to be. If you are interested in educating yourself about history, like I am, you are probably mature enough to handle something that isn't written like a spy novel. Also, you probably don't want maps littered with troop counts, as one of the other reviewers suggested. This isn't a military history, it's a broad overview.

It suited my needs precisely. Now I can move on to a book that takes up where this one leaves off and continues to into the Dark Ages. After that, I can come back and read the military histories and political dramas.

The Romans is a competently written overview of Roman history with an abundance of good illustrations. It is written and organized like a school textbook for a survey course on Roman history and in that capacity does its job very successfully. As other reviewers have mentioned, the writing is not terribly engaging, although in my opinion it is satisfactorily written and most will find it to be very straightforward to read. This book is recommended for anyone who wants a straightforward overview of Roman history, although those who are already well versed in the subject are not likely to find anything new or interesting in this volume to make it a worthwhile read.

How do you fit almost 1100 years of roman history into a book? You dont so your not going to get the full story from this book. But it is easy to read with many good pictures and hits on alot of the main events and gives a nice basic overview of the emperors. There are so many books out there on rome that it is not neccasary to put down this book for what it lacks. If you want a specific time period then there are hundreds of books dedicated to almost every aspect of Rome and Roman life. Or you can allways read Gibbons The rise and decline of the Roman empire. Although some of his history has been proven not acurate this is still the largest volume on Romen history and worth the read. As far as The Romans this is a great way to get a basic overview of the Roman people and events that shaped there lives. I think this is a good book to read if you have never read anything about Rome. From this book you can pick and chose subject matters that might interest you from the entire span of Roman history. This is something many books do not do since they are very subject orientated for the most part.

I am not well-read in Roman history, and I purchased this book as an introduction to the subject. I believe that the book presented a satisfactory account of the social, political, and military trajectories of Rome from about 500 B.C. to 300 A.D., and I was happy that the authors consistently acknowledged their sources -- oftentimes, the surviving records are miniscule, contradictory, or lacking altogether, and it seems a good idea to be up-front about the limitations imposed upon the historian by ancient texts and modern archeology. At the same time, the book was rather drily written, and was a dull read throughout. Perhaps this is the inevitable result of a collaboration among three authors.

What I found especially lamentable was the quality of the maps. I bought the book because the jacket copy promised over 30 new maps specially prepared for this edition. There are basically three variations of maps in this book: a series of maps presenting the evolution of the city of Rome; several maps of Italy; and several of the Mediterranian environs. While this might seem perfectly adequate for a book about ancient Rome and its empire, the maps lack information such as dates of settlements, battle sites, troop movements, and migrations. The maps never even show rough borders to illustrate the extent of the Roman frontier at a given time. For example, when discussing the career of the future-emperor Tiberius from about 20 - 6 B.C., the authors state, "His brilliant exploits during this period (see Map 9.2) have been obscured by the hatred he later aroused among senators, the authors of most Roman histories." We turn to Map 9.2, labeled "Expansion of the Empire in the Age of Augustus", and see a map roughly covering territory from Britian in the northwest to the Arabian peninsula in the southeast, with no mention of Tiberius, his conquests, troop levels, etc. In fact, aside from city and region names, no other information is given. While it is true that some of the information about Tiberius' conquests is given in the text, I cannot fathom why the authors refer you specifically to a map which for all intents and purposes is as just as germane (and just as generic too) as most of the other maps in the book.

Again, given my lack of familiarity with the Roman history, I cannot comment on whether or not the authors truly did justice to the subject. But I can say that the prose is dull and the maps are deplorable.

ANYONE WHO WANTS TO UNDERSTAND ROMAN HISTORY should order this book. It is simply fantastic! My shelves are FILLED with books on this subject, but this is definitely one of the very best!

I'm a history buff. Few things excite me more than learning about the past, recent and distant.

The Romans, of course, are central to our culture. Almost three millennia after its founding, Roman beliefs, institutions, practices, even their language are embedded in our everyday life.

Unfortunately, the three academics who authored this history appear to have little grasp of how to make the study of history interesting - and no idea of how to write in something other than a stilted academic style.

In short, "The Romans" manages to make a fascinating subject dull. The facts are most certainly there, but they are rendered as nothing more than facts, one piled upon another, devoid of the humanizing spark that makes history so much fun.

The relatively few maps are surprisigly amateurish with little relief to indicate what is being illustrated. These maps too are the products of academics.

Apparently intended as a college text, "The Romans" is simply a failure. It may gain its authors a bit more prestige in their academic circles, but it does a disservice to students who might otherwise gain an understanding of where our culture comes from and who might also be explore history more fully and become better informed citizens as a result.

Jerry

This was one of our main texts for a class on the Ancient Rome I just took this semester. The information in here is solid, but in many (most) parts of the book I was bored to tears...something I've rarely said about any history book. A very dry read. Truely devoted students of Ancient Rome or Classics may find this book useful, casual readers or general history buffs I suggest look elsewhere.

The product stated by this vendor was exactly as stated. Excellent condition and quality shipping and handling.

I got the book fast when my local bookstore did not have it. I spent less money getting this product shipped priority than I would have getting a new book locally. The book is in excellent condition.