Abstract

Over a millennium after the end of its unrivalled dominance, the spectre of Rome figures highly in western culture. This book explores what the empire meant to its subjects.

The idea of Rome has long outlived the physical empire that gave it form, and now holds sway over vastly more people and a far greater geographical area than the Romans ever ruled. It continues to shape our understanding of the nature of imperialism and influence the workings of the world. It is through the lens of Rome that we answer questions such as: How do empires grow? How are empires ruled? Do empires exploit their subjects or civilise them? Rejecting the simplistic narrative of military triumph followed by decline and fall, the books analyses the origins of Roman imperialism, its wide-ranging impact on the regions it conquered, and its continuing influence in debates about modern imperialism.
'A thoughtful and clever re-assessment of Roman imperial achievement. Morley provocatively challenges conventional views on the dynamics of empire. This book should be read by those interested in ancient history and by those who watch for the rise and fall of superstates in the twenty-first century'
Christopher Kelly, Cambridge University
'Not just an acute analysis of the development of one of the most influential of all the world's historical empires, but also a mature reflection on the power and pitfalls of self-justification through appeal to an imagined past'
Professor Paul A. Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, Faculty of Classics, Clare College, Cambridge
'A well-written, eminently readable discussion of Roman expansion in the Mediterranean'
CHOICE
'How do empires grow, how are they ruled, do they exploit their subjects or civilize them? Morley's book weaves together modern theories of imperialism with the story of Europe's first, and greatest, empire'
Gregory Woolf, Professor of Ancient History, St. Andrews University