Climax of Rome: The Final Achievements of the Ancient World AD 161-337

Synopsis

"The crisis of the third century was unlike anything Rome had ever experienced before. The army raised dozens of emperors only to turn on them and take them down. For the fifty years following 235 there were no less than 27 recognized emperors and many other unsuccessful usurpers. Only one in that time died of natural causes, in a plague that devastated the empire. Worse still a series of barbarian invasions penetrated deep into Roman territory threatening the very heart of the empire. The Goths in the north penetrated into Italy while the Persians sacked much of the east including the imperial capital at Antioch. At its peak the empire was split into three feuding states fighting each other as they tried to fend off the barbarians. This crisis didn't end until Diocletian took the throne in 284. The empire would never be the same again.
Unlike many books on the period this one focuses more on the written and visual culture of the empire. Much of this book is dedicated to a summary of the literature and philosophy which came out of this time. In this way it is a very traditional literary analysis of the type favored by many classicists, although the choice of the third century alone makes it special. Classics usually ends in the 2nd century since the 3rd century and onwards is considered to be inferior and derivative of classical works. Grant isn't buying that and he works quite hard to prove that this period is valuable as a focus of study." [Amazon]

RefTags

Released

1997

Location

Roman

Setting