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The Oxford History of the Classical World: The Roman World
The Oxford history of the classical world aims to present the general reader with a view of the Graeco-Roman world, its history and achievements.
466 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 8, 2021
Very heterogeneous collection of articles on Roman History, and less complete than the edition about ancient Greece.
March 23, 2010
Did you know that Rome conquered the known world in only 53 years? And that it took barely over five decades to expand its borders across the Mediterranean? And that in half a century, Rome became the largest empire in the world? And that in less than 60 summers, Rome expand great power military conquer wharrgarbl...
Oh yeah, another neat fact...it only took 53 pages to realize that this book is just a half-assed, disjointed rehashing of Polybius.
Seriously, though, for an Oxford history of Rome, I am a bit displeased with how rudimentary this book is. Moreover, the authors of the various essays pepper their discussions with dense catalogs of names, but far too little in the way of exposition. To wit, the Illyrian and Macedonian Wars occur within a single paragraph.
I'll withhold final judgment until I've finished.
Oh yeah, another neat fact...it only took 53 pages to realize that this book is just a half-assed, disjointed rehashing of Polybius.
Seriously, though, for an Oxford history of Rome, I am a bit displeased with how rudimentary this book is. Moreover, the authors of the various essays pepper their discussions with dense catalogs of names, but far too little in the way of exposition. To wit, the Illyrian and Macedonian Wars occur within a single paragraph.
I'll withhold final judgment until I've finished.
November 5, 2015
This book is a great introduction to Ancient Rome in a series of essays written by experts on antiquity. This book was very impressive in subject matter and I found the timeline at the end very helpful. Though I wish there were more content on the last years of the Empire, it was still a strong book overall. I would recommend that book be read by people who DO NOT know much about Ancient Rome, or else this might be slightly boring or redundant.
September 20, 2022
Not necessarily a book you'd want to sit down to read to get an overview of Roman history - this will not provide you with that sort of narrative history. This is a book to read once you know at least the skeleton outlines of Rome's history - it provides you with perspective, with contextual questions, with the dimensions to make your understanding of the history more substantial.
Written in essay form by a selection of respected historians, its various chapters look at the political history and the cultural history. Rome emerged to dominate first the Italian peninsula then the Mediterranean. Roman historians wrote the fantasies of a Rome created by Remus and Romulus, or by the Trojan refugee Aeneas, and they wrote as if there were gods - men like Caesar would trace their lineage back to some god or other.
The records we have of Roman history are fantastic - and they're also partial. Only half of Tacitus's histories survive, only a quarter of Livy's. We have partial evidence from an educated class, we have partisan evidence from a political class - there is scarcely any recorded female voice, the working classes are rarely heard, slaves are largely silent. That's the important message which comes through from the book - any history of Rome is interpreting limited evidence, we have to be careful how we approach it, we have to be critical.
So the number of chapters looking at poetry and literature, art and architecture, etc., emphasise the fact that reading Roman history is about interpretation. That's why it's a useful book to read once you've started to absorb Roman history.
Written in essay form by a selection of respected historians, its various chapters look at the political history and the cultural history. Rome emerged to dominate first the Italian peninsula then the Mediterranean. Roman historians wrote the fantasies of a Rome created by Remus and Romulus, or by the Trojan refugee Aeneas, and they wrote as if there were gods - men like Caesar would trace their lineage back to some god or other.
The records we have of Roman history are fantastic - and they're also partial. Only half of Tacitus's histories survive, only a quarter of Livy's. We have partial evidence from an educated class, we have partisan evidence from a political class - there is scarcely any recorded female voice, the working classes are rarely heard, slaves are largely silent. That's the important message which comes through from the book - any history of Rome is interpreting limited evidence, we have to be careful how we approach it, we have to be critical.
So the number of chapters looking at poetry and literature, art and architecture, etc., emphasise the fact that reading Roman history is about interpretation. That's why it's a useful book to read once you've started to absorb Roman history.
February 21, 2024
前陣子北京師範突然發表一系列的牛津史系列，著實頗讓人又驚又喜，雖然不像對手劍橋系列那樣大部頭，不過牛津也請來了眾多知名學者撰寫這些主題史，是可以期待。目前已出古羅馬、古希臘、拜占庭跟法國大革命，之後還有中世紀及二十世紀。
既然是多人撰寫，出版社找多人翻譯也不算過分吧(笑)。這次也是邀請了各個主題的專門教授帶著估計是手下的研究生來幫忙，一人幾篇這樣做吧。這是無可厚非啦，只要成果出來能見人就好。目前這本《牛津古羅馬史》是尚可。
本書的內容分成了幾個主題，除了基礎的概述通史外，有文學、史學、藝術等，其中個人認為寫的最好的是“統治藝術”這個部分，算是簡單扼要的說明了羅馬帝國是怎麼發揮功效的。
基本上，帝國真正發展成熟是到了五賢帝時代，那時義大利跟外省的融合，整個羅馬世界真正的成形。常說“政治是希臘的，行政是羅馬的”，不過微妙的地方在於這個帝國卻沒有像中國那樣的官僚體系。政府的功能只有兩種：司法跟稅收而已，現代的公共工程等就外包出去，大概像BOT那樣，所以社會上很重視公會等的作用。換言之，帝國統治主要是依賴“中間人”：城市菁英、軍團跟家奴。
城市菁英也是羅馬當初能成功的要訣，帝國把他們吸納進入統治階層，自然而然的讓他們協助統治，成為利益共同體，負擔起公共事務。而軍團除了武力之外，更是提供讓下層階級有機會向上流動，早期公民權有限的時候，服役才可能取得，而這也是凝聚那些民眾成為“羅馬人”的一個重要手段。晚期帝國都用異族充當士兵時，就是亡國前兆！家奴指的是裙帶關係，就是皇帝周圍的被釋奴等近侍，他們往往因為其地位而參與統治。除此之外，帝國初期，追求文化的那種風氣類似中國要求菁英要飽讀詩書那樣，否則就算富裕發達也只是暴發戶，這也是有助於統治的一種現象。本文作者在最後也提示了，當上述的這些手段在晚期被破壞光之後，帝國也就難以久存，或者必須轉型了。
其他一篇講羅馬帝國主義、一篇透過西塞羅講述共和末期史跟最後的結論探討古典文明的衰亡都有其獨特觀點。
這本《牛津古羅馬史》嚴格上來說，還是比較偏中階，你說它深入，篇幅卻又讓它說不了太多，要說簡單，其實有些要點都有提到。所以，拿來當進階研究的一個踏板，本書基本上還是能夠完成任務。
比較可惜的是這本並沒有像《拜占庭史》那樣有把每篇作者的經歷、作品列出來。
既然是多人撰寫，出版社找多人翻譯也不算過分吧(笑)。這次也是邀請了各個主題的專門教授帶著估計是手下的研究生來幫忙，一人幾篇這樣做吧。這是無可厚非啦，只要成果出來能見人就好。目前這本《牛津古羅馬史》是尚可。
本書的內容分成了幾個主題，除了基礎的概述通史外，有文學、史學、藝術等，其中個人認為寫的最好的是“統治藝術”這個部分，算是簡單扼要的說明了羅馬帝國是怎麼發揮功效的。
基本上，帝國真正發展成熟是到了五賢帝時代，那時義大利跟外省的融合，整個羅馬世界真正的成形。常說“政治是希臘的，行政是羅馬的”，不過微妙的地方在於這個帝國卻沒有像中國那樣的官僚體系。政府的功能只有兩種：司法跟稅收而已，現代的公共工程等就外包出去，大概像BOT那樣，所以社會上很重視公會等的作用。換言之，帝國統治主要是依賴“中間人”：城市菁英、軍團跟家奴。
城市菁英也是羅馬當初能成功的要訣，帝國把他們吸納進入統治階層，自然而然的讓他們協助統治，成為利益共同體，負擔起公共事務。而軍團除了武力之外，更是提供讓下層階級有機會向上流動，早期公民權有限的時候，服役才可能取得，而這也是凝聚那些民眾成為“羅馬人”的一個重要手段。晚期帝國都用異族充當士兵時，就是亡國前兆！家奴指的是裙帶關係，就是皇帝周圍的被釋奴等近侍，他們往往因為其地位而參與統治。除此之外，帝國初期，追求文化的那種風氣類似中國要求菁英要飽讀詩書那樣，否則就算富裕發達也只是暴發戶，這也是有助於統治的一種現象。本文作者在最後也提示了，當上述的這些手段在晚期被破壞光之後，帝國也就難以久存，或者必須轉型了。
其他一篇講羅馬帝國主義、一篇透過西塞羅講述共和末期史跟最後的結論探討古典文明的衰亡都有其獨特觀點。
這本《牛津古羅馬史》嚴格上來說，還是比較偏中階，你說它深入，篇幅卻又讓它說不了太多，要說簡單，其實有些要點都有提到。所以，拿來當進階研究的一個踏板，本書基本上還是能夠完成任務。
比較可惜的是這本並沒有像《拜占庭史》那樣有把每篇作者的經歷、作品列出來。
May 11, 2021
Himmel og hav! Da jeg kjøpte denne i 2014 trodde jeg ikke at jeg kom til å lese hele boka, men jaggu var den verdt det! Noen kapittel, særlig i første halvdel, var litt tunge, og kunne dratt nytte av en streng redaktør, men alt i alt var det utrolig mye interessant materiale i boka, og jeg føler jeg har en god og pålitelig ressurs å dra fra hvis jeg trenger å slå opp noe generelt om perioden.
August 17, 2018
This is a good introduction to many different aspects of Roman History, but since it is a collection of essays by different authors, there is occasional overlapping between chapters. It has a good assortment of illustrations and a useful timeline.
October 16, 2019
Ma sjajna
December 28, 2022
This is like Sqpr by mary Beard but bad.
November 1, 2018
Although I read it cover to cover, it wasn't intended to be read this way. Good supplemental material for a course on Roman history.
December 23, 2024
A complete book. It covers not only historical timelines, but the arts, literature, philosophy, life and society, governmental structure and practice, architecture and more. The illustrations and the names (of people and places) provide teasers of what the reader/researcher might find on further investigation, especially in this era of quick access to countless illustrations online.
As with many Oxford texts, each of its 17 chapters is written by a different specialist, giving the reader the very best thinking on the subject.
The relationship between Rome and Greece is emphasized throughout, as this dynamic continued for centuries. Influences were in both directions. The Romans made great use of Greek talent pretty much throughout its own history. The Timeline in the book's appendix, contains that of both Rome and Greece, side by side. Just-sufficient maps help the reader track locations and regions in the entire extent of the Roman empire, many of whose names are changed, or lost to us today.
What impresses is the complexity of "the Roman world" as it opened, changed, spread, triumphed, declined, and "scattered" (my term). The authors provide a final transition to the next historical era, that of Medieval Europe (the subject of my next Oxford history read). Aspects of the empire era included stability and power. Rome gained, but gradually lost both. And yet Europe, and the world, benefit from there having been a Roman World.
The creative arts are perhaps the most fascinating parts of the book. The Authors show how they define "Rome" as much as military strength and governmental institutions. The availability of original sources also define what the classical scholar can know. Many of course remain visible to the present; on the other hand, researchers must apply indirect analysis where sources have gaps or are missing.
I was lucky to have taken a college semester of History of Rome; and two years of H.S. Latin. But those are mere preludes to what is found in this text.
As with many Oxford texts, each of its 17 chapters is written by a different specialist, giving the reader the very best thinking on the subject.
The relationship between Rome and Greece is emphasized throughout, as this dynamic continued for centuries. Influences were in both directions. The Romans made great use of Greek talent pretty much throughout its own history. The Timeline in the book's appendix, contains that of both Rome and Greece, side by side. Just-sufficient maps help the reader track locations and regions in the entire extent of the Roman empire, many of whose names are changed, or lost to us today.
What impresses is the complexity of "the Roman world" as it opened, changed, spread, triumphed, declined, and "scattered" (my term). The authors provide a final transition to the next historical era, that of Medieval Europe (the subject of my next Oxford history read). Aspects of the empire era included stability and power. Rome gained, but gradually lost both. And yet Europe, and the world, benefit from there having been a Roman World.
The creative arts are perhaps the most fascinating parts of the book. The Authors show how they define "Rome" as much as military strength and governmental institutions. The availability of original sources also define what the classical scholar can know. Many of course remain visible to the present; on the other hand, researchers must apply indirect analysis where sources have gaps or are missing.
I was lucky to have taken a college semester of History of Rome; and two years of H.S. Latin. But those are mere preludes to what is found in this text.
September 6, 2015
I did it-- read this book in one week, while taking 15 pages of notes on my own! It was assigned for a class I'm taking this fall that has a very heavy workload, so I thought I'd pre-read this. Honestly, I can't recommend it. It reads like an encyclopedia, which is dizzying even if you only read a few pages at a time. The moment I finished it and moved toward Gian Biagio Conte's "Latin Literature" book (which is even MORE of an encyclopedia in form, though not in style), I realized that Conte was a far more dynamic and straightforward writer. I learned some interesting things from Boardman's history, and it was good to feel like I actually read an overview of Roman history (since I usually read biographies or primary sources) but if I were just getting my feet wet in Roman history, I would have been very uninspired. Nevertheless, it is an impressive overview and I did find a few chapters (especially the one which highlighted the evolution of Latin in late antiquity) to be quite interesting.
October 28, 2013
Somebody once described this book as a primer and that is what it does well: offering a first stop summary on the Roman World, not just Roman history, but Roman art and literature as well. Being a compilation of different authors, not all parts are of the same depth or quality, but as a whole it works and it is very popular with my adult education students. However, being nearly 30 years old, the bibliographies need updating and some sections are beginning to show their age.
December 13, 2010
Not the most recent publication but the quality of the research has stood the test of time. Still on many university reading lists.
June 25, 2012
An excellent series of essays on the Roman world written in engaging and often amusing styles. Very helpful.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews