Aspects of Roman History 31 BC-AD 117

This new edition of Aspects of Roman History 31 BC- AD 117 provides an easily accessible guide to the history of the early Roman Empire. Taking the reader through the major political events of the crucial first 150 years of Roman imperial history, from the Empire’s foundation under Augustus to the height of its power under Trajan, the book examines the emperors and key events that shaped Rome’s institutions and political form. Blending social and economic history with political history, Richard Alston’s revised edition leads students through important issues, introducing sources, exploring techniques by which those sources might be read, and encouraging students to develop their historical judgement. The book includes: chapters on each of the emperors in this period, exploring the successes and failures of each reign, and how these shaped the empire,sections on social and economic history, including the core issues of slavery, social mobility, economic development and change, gender relations, the rise of new religions, and cultural change in the Empire,an expanded timeframe, providing more information on the foundation of the imperial system under Augustus and the issues relating to Augustan Rome,a glossary and further reading section, broken down by chapter.This expanded and revised edition of Aspects of Roman History, covering an additional 45 years of history from Actium to the death of Augustus, provides an invaluable introduction to Roman Imperial history, surveying the way in which the Roman Empire changed the world and offering critical perspectives on how we might understand that transformation. It is an important resource for any student of this crucial and formative period in Roman history.

'This book is intended to provide an introductory overview of Roman Imperial history to students with little experience in its study.' - Oxon Book Review, "...I would commend this revised edition of Aspects of Roman History 31 BC—AD 117 to anyone interested in engaging young (or enquiring) minds with the transformative history of the early imperial period, provoking an exchange of views in relation to the historical and intellectual significance for our age of a range of ideas and issues first promulgated under the aegis of post-republican Roman rule, or in need of arguments speaking to the relevance of studying Roman history in the digital century.." -Peter Keegan, Macquarie University, Australia"This new edition of Alston's contribution to Routledge's "Aspects of Classical Civilisation" series is an extraordinarily useful book for any student of the ancient Roman Empire… Summing Up: Highly recommended." -J.A.S. Evans, emeritus, University of British Columbia, Canada in CHOICE "...An essential book for any serious student of the Roman Empire, this will also prove interesting to armchair historians." - The NYMAS Review

Richard Alston is Lecturer in Roman History at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has also been a senior examiner in ancient history at A-Level. He is the author of Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt: A Social History (Routledge 1995).