http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
the irresistible rise of the Roman Empire
xiv, 256 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of color plates : illustrations ; 23 cm.
Rome, Urbs Roma, city of patricians and plebeians, emperors and gladiators, slaves and concubines, was the epicenter of a far-flung imperium whose cultural legacy is incalculable. How a tiny settlement, founded by desperate adventurers beside the banks of the River Tiber, came to rule vast tracts of territory across the face of the known world is one of the more improbable stories of antiquity. The epic scale of the Colosseum, majestically columned temples, formidable legionaries marching in burnished steel breastplates and capricious Caesars clad in purple robes who thought themselves gods. All these images speak of a grandeur that continues to be associated with this most celebrated of ancient capitals. The glory of Rome is further underlined by enduring monuments like Hadrian's Wall, holding the line as it did against ferocious Pictish barbarians thought to be from Hyperborea, the mythic Land Beyond the North Wind. This book vividly recounts the rags-to-riches story of Rome's unlikely triumph.
Rome before empire: hegemony over Italy -- Mediterranean hegemony and the first provinces -- The provinces of the Republic -- The political impoverishment of the imperial republic -- Augustus: the greatest imperialist -- Imperial takings and leavings, AD -- The new Romans -- Governing and misgoverning -- Judging the empire: Romans and others -- Resistance -- How Roman was the Roman Empire?.
Includes bibliographical references and index.