Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History

Description

A short and comprehensive political and military history of ancient Rome, from the origins of the city in the Italian Iron Age, until the deposition of the last emperor in 476 AD. Outlining Rome's absorption of the Italian peninsula, Christopher Mackay explains how this conquest provided the Romans with the man power that allowed them to conquer the Mediterranean in a mere half-century. Mackay details how the military responsibilities of empire undermined the political institutions of the Republic and how the Imperial adoption of Christianity as the state religion, as well as the military and economic pressures of the third and fourth centuries, eventually led to the downfall of the western empire through invasion. Illustrated with the relevant art works from Rome's long history, this volume will serve as a timely and up to date overview of one of the most extraordinary civilizations of human history.

Christopher Mackay is Associate Professor in the department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta. Associate editor of the American Journal of Ancient History, he has published extensively on all periods of Roman history.

'The work is particularly compelling for the discussion of the Republic and Late Empire ... The clear and detailed accounts of all major Roman military campaigns ... should assure this volume an enduring place in undergraduate libraries.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review '... the author has taken great pains to do a careful job ... a highly readable form.' Arctos 'The style is lively, and the intended readership will no doubt benefit from this book.' L'Antiquite Classique