List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Notes on Contributors

Acknowledgements

Reference Works: Abbreviations

Ancient Authors: Abbreviations and Glossary

The Emperors of Rome from Augustus to Constantine

Introduction: The shape of Roman history: David Potter

Part I: The Sources

Part II: Narrative

Part III: Administration

Part IV: Social and Economic Life

Part V: Intellectual Life

Part VI: Religion

Bibliography

Index

"Another admirable edition to Blackwell's large expanding series of
Companions, it is of comparable length, but with just 30
contributors and 30 chapters ... it gives each other more depth
and breadth." (Ancient East and West, 2008)

"For those with reservations about the 'companion' phenomenon,
[this volume] is an excellent advertisement for the benefits of
such an exercise.... This volume is almost uniformly good as a
guide to central topics in Roman history from the first to the
forth century, with a number of outstanding discussions," (The
Classical Review, 2008)

"A very impressive collection indeed, summarising and building
on the latest scholarship, especially the view that there is more
to history than politics and the powerful." (Journal of Classics
Teaching)

"Scholar, student, and interested layperson will all find much
to ponder here, and the editor, publisher, and contributors are to
be commended for the success of their undertaking. This
Companion, at least, constitutes a welcome addition to the
field, offers a clear statement of the current state of the
discipline, and provides inspiration for future directions" (New
England Classical Journal)

"This Companion to the Roman Empire provides a
fascinating and scholarly insight into our ancient past. It is an
ideal reference tool for students and scholars alike, presenting
new methods and modes of study that should provoke thought among
the readership. It also brings together many disciplines of study
that allow scholars to study an Empire as vast and influential as
that created by the Romans." (Reference Reviews)

"The thirty chapters in this latest title in Blackwell's
excellent "Companions to the Ancient World" series are written by
such experts in their fields as Maud Gleason, Judith Evans Grubbs,
Amy Richlin and Ann Hanson ... No comparable handbook exists ...
Essential. All levels/libraries." (Choice--A
Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2007)

"This elegantly and carefully edited book is a resounding
success." (Scholia Reviews)

"David Potter has assembled an impressive array of scholars
whose essays in this volume provide overviews and summarize the
current state of scholarship on a variety of topics. A Companion
to the Roman Empire succeeds in meeting the needs of its
diverse audience and also offers a few surprises." (Bryn Mawr
Classical Review)

"With a panoramic lens, more diverse and inclusive than any
forerunner, this indispensable Companion probes the Roman empire
for the 21st century. A tour de force certain to challenge and
excite everyone engaged by Roman civilization."

-Richard Talbert, University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill



"An immensely rich and varied menu. This volume will not only be
an invaluable vade mecum for scholars, students and all who have an
interest in Roman imperial civilisation and its impact on the
Mediterranean world and northern Europe, but will also reveal the
wealth of evidence for Roman culture and the new and exciting ways
in which historians can 'read' it."

-Alan Bowman, Oxford University

"David Potter has assembled a powerful team and together they
have produced a rich collection - a major new synthesis of much of
the most recent research in the discipline. No student or teacher
could fail to learn from it."

-Greg Woolf, University of St. Andrews

David Potter is Professor of Greek and Latin at the
University of Michigan. He has published extensively on the history
of the Roman world and appeared on many television programmes
concerned with the history of Rome. His most recent publications
include Life, Death and Entertainment in the Roman Empire
(co-edited with David J. Mattingly, 1999), Literary Texts and
the Roman Historian (1999) and The Roman Empire at Bay, AD
180-39 (2004)

D. Potter, University of Michigan, USA