Product Description

This handy reference provides full access to the 1,200 years of Roman rule from the 8th century BC to the 5th century AD, including information that is hard to find and even harder to decipher. Clear, authoritative, and highly organized, Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome provides a unique look at a civilization whose art, literature, law, and engineering influenced the whole of Western Europe throughout the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and beyond. The myriad topics covered include rulers; the legal and governmental system; architectural feats such as the famous Roman roads and aqueducts; the many Roman religions and festivals; the Roman system of personal names; contemporary poets and historians; even typical Roman leisure pursuits. Each chapter includes an extensive bibliography, as well as more than 125 site-specific photographs and line drawings. Maps chart the expansion and contraction of the territory from the foundation city of Rome itself to the Byzantine Empire and the ultimate decline of the West. Combining both archaeological and historical evidence, the Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome is perfect for anyone interested in Roman history, the classics, or an overview of the amazing period in which the Romans ruled.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #159847 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

The Good Book Guide January 1995
This beautifully produced book is a marvellous encyclopedia of Roman life. It is arranged in thematic chapters, so it can be read straight through, but is also ideal as a reference book for students looking up specific facts, or for just browsing. Clearly written and illustrated with sketches, photos and maps: everything you could want to know about people, places and gods, military and social life, literature and travel, covering subjects from the alphabet to Zeest amphorae. An unusual and intriguing reference book

American Reference Book Annual, 1996
Although a significant number of handbooks, guides, and encyclopedias already exist on ancient Rome, the Handbook succeeds in making an original contribution to this much-studied civilization. Designed as a ready-reference tool for both beginning and more advanced students, the handbook has incorporated much of the recent scholarship in the field of ancient Roman studies as well as preserving older but still valuable material....It is a welcome addition to any library's reference collection and will complement other current reference sources on Roman history

School Library Journal, May 1995
An ideal and readable resource for students of Roman history and the classics

Customer Reviews

Without peer.
No student of Roman history should be without this exceptional volume on his shelf. "Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome" is a worthy -- in fact, necessary -- investment for every serious classics enthusiast and all-around ancient civilisation buff.

Combining nearly four hundred pages of concise, jargon-free text with a vast selection of illustrations -- including maps, plans, line drawings and black-and-white photographs -- the Handbook provides a comprehensive introduction for almost every aspect of Roman life, covering such fields as politics and religion in broad strokes without sacrificing detail.

Despite its relatively small size, the Handbook could prove a lot more practical for everyday reference purposes than such heavyweights. It has just about everything a history enthusiast will ever require (or never even thought he'd need): information on the origin and deployment of several dozen legions, cross-section diagrams of Roman glassware, etc. Although serious classical scholars should not limit themselves to this book when doing research, the extensive bibliographies accompanying each major subdivision will help direct them to more detailed sources. And if the situation does not call for exhaustive articles on the lives of Roman luminaries like Caesar or Suetonius, the brief biographical essays included in the Handbook may go a long way towards helping Colleen McCullough and Steven Saylor fans navigate their way through the chaotic mess of names that one so often finds in historical fiction.

All things considered, the Handbook is worth every penny on its price tag.

Great reference on Roman life
This is an excellent one volume general reference on Ancient Rome. The book contains a wealth of information about topics such as politics, religion, town-planning, construction, warfare, everyday life, and so on.

Lavishly illustrated with photographs, maps, diagrams, plans, and a large amount of useful lists, including place-name gazetteers, dates of festivals, provinces, legions, famous Romans, Gods, and much more.

Please note that (for this book) the Roman world ends in the 5th century AD. There is no continuation into the later periods of the eastern empire.

This is a great book - but for all it's quality it's massively overpriced for the excellent hardback edition.

Essential Reading For Roman Enthusiasts
If you have an interest in Ancient Rome or if you're a classics student then this book is an absolute essential purchase. It is bursting with facts about all aspects of Roman culture, society and history. I doubt that there is any other single book on Rome that has such a wide range of useful information within it. It is also worth noting that this is also filled with the type of information you could only previously purchase with obscure and very expensive scholarly tomes.

The book is accessible, readable and intelligently edited. It is divided into topical sections, and these are then made up of chapters. Examples of these topic sections include: Republic and Empire; Military Affairs; Geography of the Roman World; Towns and Countryside; Travel and Trade; Written Evidence; Religion; Economy and Industry; and Everyday Life. Within these sections are chapters on various subjects, for instance on religion we have chapters on festivals, atheism, religious buildings and magic, while in the evedyday life section we have chapters on family, slaves, art and population. These are just a few examples of what those sections hold - the actual book has a far larger number of chapters. The authors have also included a useful bibliography at the end of each section, so that you can search for relevant books if you are interested in pursuing the subject further.

The book is also notable for its large number of maps, diagrams, photographs, line drawings, and charts. These sections help give you a better understanding of the period.

The sheer amount of information contained within this book is breathtaking. It's got plenty of information on subjects such as the Roman army, the emperors, gladiators, and other famous topics. Yet it also discusses obscure bits of trivia such as what type of sails and anchors were used by Merchant ships, amphorae and pottery classifications, roof tile production, and women's cosmetics.

It also acts as useful gazetteer giving you a full list of Emperors (with short biographies) the legions (with their respective histories and placements), authors and writers (with biographies) place names, latin abbreviations (with their translations and meanings), festivals (with dates and information), and a chronological timeline among other things.

If you have an interets in this period, then this book should be right up there on your reading list. Absolutely Brilliant and Highly Recommended!