Failure of empire: Valens and the Roman state in the fourth century A.D.
Failure of Empire is the first comprehensive biography of the Roman emperor Valens and his troubled reign (a.d. 364-78). Valens will always be remembered for his spectacular defeat and death at the hands of the Goths in the Battle of Adrianople. This singular misfortune won him a front-row seat among history's great losers. By the time he was killed, his empire had been coming unglued for several years: the Goths had overrun the Balkans; Persians, Isaurians, and Saracens were threatening the east; the economy was in disarray; and pagans and Christians alike had been exiled, tortured, and executed in his religious persecutions
This detailed biographical narrative reveals how the greatest emperor of Late Antiquity transformed Christianity from a persecuted minority cult into an established majority religion, and changed the pagan state of classical Rome into the Christian empire of the Byzantine era. Assessed within the context of the third century crisis and fourth century revival of the Roman Empire, Constantine emerges as one the most astute political leaders, great field commanders, sincere religious reformers and extensive imperial builders among the long line of Roman Emperors.
Crime and punishment have concerned humanity since the beginning of social life. Their manifestations in ancient Rome remains a fascinating topic, as the law of most European countries today is derived from ancient Roman law. Richard A. Bauman tells the history of punishment from the Roman Republic to the late Empire, shedding light on some decisive aspects of Roman history. He assesses punishment according to its innate humanity and cruelty, traces the changes in Roman attitudes, laws and practices during this era.
In the Late Iron Age two kings held dominion over much of Lowland Britain: Cunobelin and Verica. Just before AD 43 the rule of both of them ended - one died and the other fled - and Rome, under the Emperor Claudius, took the opportunity to invade. Within a few generations the ceremonial centers of these Iron Age kings had been transformed into the magnificence of Roman towns with their monumental public buildings. This book looks at the interface of these two worlds, Iron Age and Roman, to see how much each owed the other.
Aspects of Roman History, AD 14–117 charts the history of the Roman Imperial period, from the establishment of the Augustan principate to the reign of Trajan, providing a basic chronological framework of the main events and introductory outlines of the major issues of the period. The first half of the book outlines the linear development of the Roman Empire, emperor by emperor, accenting the military and political events. The second half of the book concentrates on important themes which apply to the period as a whole, such as the religious, economic and social functioning of the Roman Empire.
