During the Principate (roughly from 27 BC to AD ), when the empire
reached its maximum extent, Roman society and culture were radically
transformed. But how was the vast territory of the empire controlled?
Did the demands of central government stimulate economic growth or
endanger survival? What forces of cohesion operated to balance the
social and economic inequalities and high mortality rates? How did the
official religion react in the face of the diffusion of alien cults and
the emergence of Christianity?
These are some of the many questions posed here, in an expanded edition
of the original, pathbreaking account of the society, economy and
culture of the Roman empire. As an integrated study of the life and
outlook of the life and outlook of the ordinary inhabitants of the Roman
world, it deepens our understanding of the underlying factors in this
important formative period of world history. Additions to the second
edition include an introductory chapter which sets the scene and
explores the consequences for government and the governing classes of
the replacement of the Republic by the rule of emperors. A second extra
chapter assesses how far Rome's subjects resisted her hegemony. Addenda
to the chapters throughout offer up-to-date bibliography and discussion
of the state of the question, and point to new evidence and approaches
which have enlivened Roman history in recent decades.
