What do you think?
Rate this book
The making of Roman Italy
208 pages, Hardcover
Published December 1, 1982
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 25, 2023
This book digs into the details of how the Roman Republic conquered and integrated Italy into its social and political orbit over time. They broke independent power structures, tying each city and tribe to Rome by bilateral agreements; then integrating them into their military structure and (less intentionally) economic orbit; and then finally awarded them all Roman citizenship very late in the Republic. In some ways, Italy wasn't completely integrated till the time of Augustus, who finally appointed numerous Italians to magistracies and thus the Senate.
This's an interesting story, but unfortunately, Salmon tells it quite dryly and in a way that assumes the reader knows all the history - for example, he mentions Sulla's insurrection and purges almost without explanation. This's written for academics in the field. I thought it was interesting and informative, but not really a pleasure to read.
This's an interesting story, but unfortunately, Salmon tells it quite dryly and in a way that assumes the reader knows all the history - for example, he mentions Sulla's insurrection and purges almost without explanation. This's written for academics in the field. I thought it was interesting and informative, but not really a pleasure to read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review