The Aurelian Wall and the Refashioning of Imperial Rome, AD 271–855

by Hendrik W. Dey

This book explores the relationship between the city of Rome and the Aurelian Wall during the six centuries following its construction in the 270s AD, a period when the city changed and contracted almost beyond recognition, as it evolved from imperial capital into the spiritual center of Western Christendom. The Wall became the single most prominent feature in the urban landscape, a dominating presence which came bodily to incarnate the political, legal, administrative and religious boundaries of urbs Roma, even as it reshaped both the physical contours of the city as a whole and the mental geographies of ‘Rome' that prevailed at home and throughout the known world. With the passage of time, the circuit took on a life of its own as the embodiment of Rome's past greatness, a cultural and architectural legacy that dwarfed the quotidian realities of the post-imperial city as much as it shaped them.

378 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2011

Reviews

[robert braunschweiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walls do speak

My previous reading about Rome in the years 200 to 800 has probably been no more than two paragraphs, however in the early 1970s I did live within the shadow of its wall for over a year. I knew then that it’s history was not just skin deep. Hendrik Dey has shown me just how deep that history is and for that I thank him. I learned a lot and his scholarship is impressive. Read it and learn for yourself.