With commanding skill, Thomas R. Martin tells the remarkable and dramatic story of how a tiny, poor, and threatened settlement grew to become, during its height, the dominant power in the Mediterranean world for five hundred years. Encompassing the period from Rome’s founding in the eighth century BC through Justinian’s rule in the sixth century AD, he offers a distinctive perspective on the Romans and their civilization by employing fundamental Roman values as a lens through which to view both their rise and spectacular fall.
Interweaving social, political, religious, and cultural history, Martin interprets the successes and failures of the Romans in war, political organization, quest for personal status, and in the integration of religious beliefs and practices with government. He focuses on the central role of social and moral values in determining individual conduct as well as decisions of state, from monarchy to republic to empire. Striving to reconstruct ancient history from the ground up, he includes frequent references to ancient texts and authors, encouraging readers to return to the primary sources.
Comprehensive, concise, and accessible, this masterful account provides a unique window into Rome and its changing fortune.
Details
More Information
Language
English
Release Day
Aug 13, 2018
Release Date
August 14, 2018
Release Date Machine
1534204800
Imprint
Blackstone Publishing
Provider
Blackstone Publishing
Categories
History, Ancient History, Nonfiction - Adult, Nonfiction - All
Thomas R. Martin is an American historian and professor at the College of the Holy Cross where he holds the chair “Jeremiah O’Connor” in the Department of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where he teaches courses on Athenian democracy, Hellenism, and the Roman Empire. His publications include Herodotus and Sima Qian, The Making of the West, and Sovereignty and Coinage in Classical Greece. He has contributed to documentaries produced by the History Channel about Roman history, especially to the series Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire. He earned a BA degree in classics summa cum laude from Princeton University, an MA and PhD in Classical philology from Harvard University, with graduate work at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
John Lescault, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.
Overview
With commanding skill, Thomas R. Martin tells the remarkable and dramatic story of how a tiny, poor, and threatened settlement grew to become, during its height, the dominant power in the Mediterranean world for five hundred years. Encompassing the period from Rome’s founding in the eighth century BC through Justinian’s rule in the sixth century AD, he offers a distinctive perspective on the Romans and their civilization by employing fundamental Roman values as a lens through which to view both their rise and spectacular fall.
Interweaving social, political, religious, and cultural history, Martin interprets the successes and failures of the Romans in war, political organization, quest for personal status, and in the integration of religious beliefs and practices with government. He focuses on the central role of social and moral values in determining individual conduct as well as decisions of state, from monarchy to republic to empire. Striving to reconstruct ancient history from the ground up, he includes frequent references to ancient texts and authors, encouraging readers to return to the primary sources.
Comprehensive, concise, and accessible, this masterful account provides a unique window into Rome and its changing fortune.
