The Roman World 44 BC - AD 180 deals with the transformation of the
Mediterranean regions, northern Europe and the Near East by the military
autocrats who ruled Rome during this period. The book traces the impact
of imperial politics on life in the city of Rome itself and in the rest
of the empire, arguing that, despite long periods of apparent peace,
this was a society controlled as much by fear of state violence as by
consent.
Martin Goodman examines the reliance of Roman emperors on a huge
military establishment and the threat of force. He analyses the extent
to which the empire functioned as a single political, economic and
cultural unit and discusses, region by region, how much the various
indigenous cultures and societies were affected by Roman rule. The book
has a long section devoted to the momentous religious changes in this
period, which witnessed the popularity and spread of a series of
elective cults and the emergence of rabbinic Judaism and Christianity
from the complex world of first-century Judaea. This book provides a
critical assessment of the significance of Roman rule for inhabitants of
the empire, and introduces readers to many of the main issues currently
faced by historians of the early empire.
This new edition, incorporating the finds of recent scholarship,
includes a fuller narrative history, expanded sections on the history of
women and slaves and on cultural life in the city of Rome, many new
illustrations, an updated section of bibliographical notes, and other
improvements designed to make the volume as useful as possible to
students as well as the general reader.
