The Origin of Empire (Hardback)
Rome from the Republic to Hadrian (264 BC - AD 138)
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Capturing the pivotal moment when Rome transformed from a republic to a world empire, spanning over three hundred action-packed years
In 264 BC, a Roman army was poised to cross from southern Italy into Sicily. They couldn't know that this crossing would be Rome's first step on its journey from local republic to vast and powerful empire.
At the beginning of the three dramatic centuries that make up this book's narrative, Rome had no emperor and limited global influence; by the book's end, Hadrian was set to pass into history as one of the greatest emperors, whose territories stretched from England to Turkey.
In David Potter's masterful history of this period, we trace the process of cultural, political and civic transformation which led to the creation of a monarchy and the acquisition of territory, via wars with Hannibal, the destruction of Carthage, Augustan Empire-building and Hadrian's famous wall, all of which contributed to the most successful multi-cultural state in the history of Europe. This is a lively, scholarly approach to an essential era.
The Origin of Empire (Ebook)
Rome from the Republic to Hadrian (264 BC - AD 138)
Buy from
Capturing the pivotal moment when Rome transformed from a republic to a world empire, spanning over three hundred action-packed years
In 264 BC, a Roman army was poised to cross from southern Italy into Sicily. They couldn't know that this crossing would be Rome's first step on its journey from local republic to vast and powerful empire.
At the beginning of the three dramatic centuries that make up this book's narrative, Rome had no emperor and limited global influence; by the book's end, Hadrian was set to pass into history as one of the greatest emperors, whose territories stretched from England to Turkey.
In David Potter's masterful history of this period, we trace the process of cultural, political and civic transformation which led to the creation of a monarchy and the acquisition of territory, via wars with Hannibal, the destruction of Carthage, Augustan Empire-building and Hadrian's famous wall, all of which contributed to the most successful multi-cultural state in the history of Europe. This is a lively, scholarly approach to an essential era.
The Origin of Empire (Paperback)
Rome from the Republic to Hadrian (264 BC - AD 138)
Buy from
Capturing the pivotal moment when Rome transformed from a republic to a world empire, spanning over three hundred action-packed years
In 264 BC, a Roman army was poised to cross from southern Italy into Sicily. They couldn't know that this crossing would be Rome's first step on its journey from local republic to vast and powerful empire.
At the beginning of the three dramatic centuries that make up this book's narrative, Rome had no emperor and limited global influence; by the book's end, Hadrian was set to pass into history as one of the greatest emperors, whose territories stretched from England to Turkey.
In David Potter's masterful history of this period, we trace the process of cultural, political and civic transformation which led to the creation of a monarchy and the acquisition of territory, via wars with Hannibal, the destruction of Carthage, Augustan Empire-building and Hadrian's famous wall, all of which contributed to the most successful multi-cultural state in the history of Europe. This is a lively, scholarly approach to an essential era.
Reviews for The Origin of Empire
BBC History Magazine
Carlos Noreña, author Imperial Ideals in the Roman West
Catherine Steel, Professor of Classics, University of Glasgow
Open Letters Review
Richard Talbert, Kenan Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
David Potter
David Potter is Francis W Kelsey Collegiate Professor of Greek and Roman History, and Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan. He is author of many scholarly articles, and the books Constantine the Emperorand The Victor's Crown: A History of Ancient Sport from Homer to Byzantium.