Roman Perspectives

The fifteen papers in this volume discuss issues of Roman social, cultural and political history from the foundation of the Principate to the age of barbarian settlements of the west. Working imaginatively from within the diverse evidence, they show the institutional continuity of the Roman empire between its early and later periods, and reveal the roots of political behaviour in social practice. Five of the papers, including three of the most substantial, are previously unpublished; others have appeared in collections which are now difficult to find. The author has edited the whole to bring out thematic connections as well as for consistency of presentation.

“The author is to be commended for successfully uniting these essays around a common theme and for presenting his arguments in clear and compelling prose. Indeed, this volume reveals a truly impressive level of learning, and it serves as a masterful reminder that, if we are truly to understand history and those who have recorded it for us, we must always to do so with a critical eye upon the larger cultural forces that inevitably contribute to shaping that history, however daunting that challenge may be.'”

--John F. Donahue, The College of William and Mary"Bryn Mawr Classical Review" (01/01/0001)

John Matthews was Professor of Late Roman History at Oxford University, and is now John M. Schiff Professor of Classics and History at Yale University. He is the author of Western Aristocracies and Imperial Court, AD 364-425 (1975), The Roman Empire of Ammianus (1989), and Laying Down the Law: A Study of the Theodosian Code (2000). His most recent book, The Journey of Theophanes: Travel, business and daily life in the Roman East (2006) was awarded the James Henry Breasted Prize of the American Historical Association. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1990.

The fifteen papers in this volume discuss issues of Roman social, cultural and political history from the foundation of the Principate to the age of barbarian settlements of the west. Working imaginatively from within the diverse evidence, they show the institutional continuity of the Roman empire between its early and later periods, and reveal the roots of political behaviour in social practice. Five of the papers, including three of the most substantial, are previously unpublished; others have appeared in collections which are now difficult to find. The author has edited the whole to bring out thematic connections as well as for consistency of presentation.

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