Stretching for 73 miles from coast to coast, and reaching a height of about 13 feet, Hadrian's Wall attracts millions of visitors every year and is a designated World Heritage site. This book offers a detailed guide to Hadrian's Wall.
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1000 tulosta hakusanalla Guy Bedoyere
Archaeological excavations produce great public interest, and tours of ancient sites are more popular than ever before. But even the ruins of Imperial Rome lack the clatter of crowds and markets, the laughter in the theatres, the screams and shouts of political rallies, the noise and horror of battle and the bewildered shrieking of doomed animals in the Circus. Instead it is through the histories, letters, literature and inscriptions that we can really find a way into the minds of the Roman People. What emerges is a world very like our own - in which dignity sat side by side with decadence, creativity with corruption, and power with humility. This personal anthology of Roman life contains some passages, like Pliny the Younger's escape from the eruption of Vesuvius, that are familiar but too good to omit; others, from the less familiar pages of Herodian or Sidonias, will be entirely new for most readers. The translations aim to retain the sense of immediacy conveyed by the original Latin or Greek.
This book deals thematically with an extensive range of building types, from country villas and urban basilicas to bridges and lighthouses. It covers construction techniques, including interior decoration and features; military buildings, including frontier works, Hadrian's Wall, and the Antonine Wall; public buildings, including market buildings, inns, and monumental arches; sacred sites, including Romano-Celtic temples, Mithraea, and rural shrines; and much more. The appendices deal with orthographic projections, inscriptions, recommended sites, and Romano-British history.
This book assembles a great deal of evidence for religious practices in Britain, but despite some genuine insights (for example in relating religious sites to natural features and phenomena, and a highly commendable use of ancient sources), in general it is superficial and lacks real empathy with ancient cult. The gruff, colloquial writing style proclaims that this is a plain man's guide' and presumably the avoidance of meaningful engagement with iconography, iconology, art or theology, goes along with this, though for me these are all vital for any understanding of ancient religion. Other books by the author show he can do far better and, indeed, Gods with Thunderbolts betrays signs of a very hasty composition, and reads more like a first draft than a finished product. Guest reviewer - Martin Henig .
Rome's power was under constant challenge. Nowhere was this truer than in Britain, Rome's remotest and most recalcitrant province. From the beginning to the end, a succession of idealists, chancers and reactionaries fomented dissent and rebellion. This book covers eleven rebellions and explains why Britain was a hot-bed of dissent.
Today, Britain's Roman Town survive in numerous different forms: from the earthworks of small roadside settlements in Lincolnshire, to the unending new discoveries from deep beneath London's busy modern streets, and the great ruins at Leicester and Wroxeter. They bear witness to Britain's first period as a single political, social and economic entity, and they helped form the framework modern Britain is still built around. This is a completely updated edition of the author's well-known book on the subject, taking into account a vast amount of new work and discoveries over the last decade. He examines the four centuries of Romano-British history, from the ramshackle streetside developments in the opening years of conquest, right through to the archaeological mysteries of the third and fourth centuries.
One of the Roman Empire's greatest achievements was religious tolerance, at least by modern standards. It was a world in which Fortuna and Fate ruled the minds of men and women. That world left behind a marvellous legacy of literary and archaeological records. This book attempts to unravel the wide-ranging evidence.
Stretching 73 miles from coast to coast and reaching a height of about 13 feet, Hadrian's Wall should have been counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Today, a World Heritage site, it stands as the most imposing monument north of the Alps and attracts millions of visitors a year. Yet, despite all the excavation and research that has been carried out, this is the first detailed guide to be written for many years. Having first dealt with the practical questions of transport, clothing and maps, Guy de la Bedoyere explains why and how the Wall was constructed. With the help of almost 100 sketch maps, drawings and photographs, he then conducts the visitor, stage by stage, along the full length of the Wall, providing map locations, route and parking instructions, details of access and opening times, and a full account of everything that can be seen. He also covers the outpost forts, the forts and settlements to the rear (South Shields, Corbridge and Vindolanda) and the local museums which house so many of the artefacts discovered along the Wall. This indispensable guide-book concludes with a list of dates, a glossary and a summary of all the key sources.
This book looks at the main aspects of living in Britain during the Second World War. It explores the historical background, the government action taken, and how civilians went about defending their own homes. It looks at the world of work, entertainment, food and clothing, as well as the darker side of Britain at war. It will be of interest to anyone keen to find out about this special period in British history.
The Roman army was the greatest fighting machine in the ancient world. More than that, it was the single largest organization in Western antiquity, taking in members from all classes, from senators to freed slaves. The Roman Empire depended on its army not just to win its wars, defend its frontiers, and control the seas, but to act as the very engine of the state. In Gladius, Guy de la Bedoyere takes us straight to the heart of what it meant to be a part of the Roman army. Rather than a history of the army itself, or a guide to military organization and fighting methods, this book is a ground-level recreation of what it was like to be a soldier in the army that made the empire. Surveying numerous aspects of life in the Roman army between 264 BCE and 337 CE, Gladius--the Latin word for sword--draws not only on the words of famed Roman historians, but also those of the soldiers themselves, as recorded in their religious dedications, tombstones, and even private letters and graffiti. Gladius reveals the everyday life of these soldiers and their families, whether stationed in a bleak frontier garrison in Britain or North Africa, tasked with guarding the emperor in Rome, fighting on foreign battlefields, mutinying over pay, marching in triumph, throwing their weight around on city streets, or enjoying esteem in honorable retirement. By illuminating the history of one organization that reflected all corners of the Roman world, Gladius gives us a portrait of an ancient society that is unprecedented in both its broad sweep and gritty intimacy.
Gladius delivers a stunning ground-level recreation of what it was like to be a soldier in the fighting force that made the Roman Empire. Empire. The Roman army was the greatest fighting machine in the ancient world. More than that, it was the single largest organization in Western antiquity, taking in members from all classes, from senators to freed slaves. The Roman Empire depended on its army not just to win its wars, defend its frontiers, and control the seas, but to act as the very engine of the state. In Gladius, Guy de la B doy re takes us straight to the heart of what it meant to be a part of the Roman army. Rather than a history of the army itself, or a guide to military organization and fighting methods, this book is a ground-level recreation of what it was like to be a soldier in the army that made the empire. Surveying numerous aspects of life in the Roman army between 264 BCE and 337 CE, Gladius--the Latin word for sword--draws not only on the words of famed Roman historians, but also those of the soldiers themselves, as recorded in their religious dedications, tombstones, and even private letters and graffiti. Gladius reveals the everyday life of these soldiers and their families, whether stationed in a bleak frontier garrison in Britain or North Africa, tasked with guarding the emperor in Rome, fighting on foreign battlefields, mutinying over pay, marching in triumph, throwing their weight around on city streets, or enjoying esteem in honorable retirement. By illuminating the history of one organization that reflected all corners of the Roman world, Gladius gives us a portrait of an ancient society that is unprecedented in both its broad sweep and gritty intimacy.
Populus: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome
Guy de la Bédoyère
University of Chicago Press
2024
sidottu
This revealing look at life in ancient Rome offers a compelling journey through the vivid landscape of politics, domestic life, entertainment, and inequality experienced daily by Romans of all social strata. Frenzied crowds, talking ravens, the stench of the Tiber River: life in ancient Rome was stimulating, dynamic, and often downright dangerous. The Romans relaxed and gossiped in baths, stole precious water from aqueducts, and partied and dined to excess. Everyone from senators to the enslaved crowded into theaters and circuses to watch their favorite singers, pantomime, and comedies and scream their approval at charioteers. The lucky celebrated their accomplishments with elaborate tombs. Amid pervasive inequality and brutality, beauty also flourished through architecture, poetry, and art. From the smells of fragrant cookshops and religious sacrifices to the cries of public executions and murderous electoral mobs, Guy de la B doy re's Populus draws on a host of historical and literary sources to transport us into the intensity of daily life at the height of ancient Rome.
Populus: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome
Guy de la Bédoyère
University of Chicago Press
2025
nidottu
This revealing look at life in ancient Rome offers a compelling journey through the vivid landscape of politics, domestic life, entertainment, and inequality experienced daily by Romans of all social strata. Frenzied crowds, talking ravens, the stench of the Tiber River: life in ancient Rome was stimulating, dynamic, and often downright dangerous. The Romans relaxed and gossiped in baths, stole precious water from aqueducts, and partied and dined to excess. Everyone from senators to the enslaved crowded into theaters and circuses to watch their favorite singers, pantomime, and comedies and scream their approval at charioteers. The lucky celebrated their accomplishments with elaborate tombs. Amid pervasive inequality and brutality, beauty also flourished through architecture, poetry, and art. From the smells of fragrant cookshops and religious sacrifices to the cries of public executions and murderous electoral mobs, Guy de la B doy re's Populus draws on a host of historical and literary sources to transport us into the intensity of daily life at the height of ancient Rome.
An innovative, informative, and entertaining history of Roman Britain told through the lives of individuals in all walks of life The Britain of the Roman Occupation is, in a way, an age that is dark to us. While the main events from 55 BC to AD 410 are little disputed, and the archaeological remains of villas, forts, walls, and cities explain a great deal, we lack a clear sense of individual lives. This book is the first to infuse the story of Britannia with a beating heart, the first to describe in detail who its inhabitants were and their place in our history. A lifelong specialist in Romano-British history, Guy de la Bédoyère is the first to recover the period exclusively as a human experience. He focuses not on military campaigns and imperial politics but on individual, personal stories. Roman Britain is revealed as a place where the ambitious scramble for power and prestige, the devout seek solace and security through religion, men and women eke out existences in a provincial frontier land. De la Bédoyère introduces Fortunata the slave girl, Emeritus the frustrated centurion, the grieving father Quintus Corellius Fortis, and the brilliant metal worker Boduogenus, among numerous others. Through a wide array of records and artifacts, the author introduces the colorful cast of immigrants who arrived during the Roman era while offering an unusual glimpse of indigenous Britons, until now nearly invisible in histories of Roman Britain.
A riveting account of ancient Rome’s imperial bodyguard, the select band of soldiers who wielded the power to make—or destroy—the emperors they served Founded by Augustus around 27 B.C., the elite Praetorian Guard was tasked with the protection of the emperor and his family. As the centuries unfolded, however, Praetorian soldiers served not only as protectors and enforcers but also as powerful political players. Fiercely loyal to some emperors, they vied with others and ruthlessly toppled those who displeased them, including Caligula, Nero, Pertinax, and many more. Guy de la Bédoyère provides a compelling first full narrative history of the Praetorians, whose dangerous ambitions ceased only when Constantine permanently disbanded them. de la Bédoyère introduces Praetorians of all echelons, from prefects and messengers to artillery experts and executioners. He explores the delicate position of emperors for whom prestige and guile were the only defenses against bodyguards hungry for power. Folding fascinating details into a broad assessment of the Praetorian era, the author sheds new light on the wielding of power in the greatest of the ancient world’s empires.
A captivating popular history that shines a light on the notorious Julio-Claudian women who forged an empire? Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—these are the names history associates with the early Roman Empire. Yet, not a single one of these emperors was the blood son of his predecessor. In this captivating history, a prominent scholar of the era documents the Julio-Claudian women whose bloodline, ambition, and ruthlessness made it possible for the emperors’ line to continue. Eminent scholar Guy de la Bédoyère, author of Praetorian, asserts that the women behind the scenes—including Livia, Octavia, and the elder and younger Agrippina—were the true backbone of the dynasty. De la Bédoyère draws on the accounts of ancient Roman historians to revisit a familiar time from a completely fresh vantage point. Anyone who enjoys I, Claudius will be fascinated by this study of dynastic power and gender interplay in ancient Rome.
A compelling history of the Ptolemies, the decline of Egypt, and the rising power of the Roman Empire The Ptolemaic era, Egypt’s last and one of its longest dynasties, was in many ways a gilded age. Its early rulers restored and even expanded Egyptian power. Over a span of 300 years the period was witness to intellectual enlightenment, imaginative state-building, and some of the most memorable characters in ancient history, including Alexander the Great and Cleopatra VII. But these Macedonian Greek pharaohs embarked on ruinous warfare, faced rebellion, and descended into murderous family feuds. Increasingly reliant on the dizzying rise of Roman power, Ptolemaic Egypt was finally annexed by Augustus in 30 BCE. How did such an ancient civilization come to this? Exploring the lives of the Ptolemaic pharaohs, de la Bédoyère reveals the jealousy, greed, and murderous ambition in their Egypt and the legendary city of Alexandria, their capital. This is a lively, accessible account of Ancient Egypt’s last days—and of the new power rising in its place.
A compelling history of the Ptolemies, the decline of Egypt, and the rising power of the Roman Empire The Ptolemaic era, Egypt’s last and one of its longest dynasties, was in many ways a gilded age. Its early rulers restored and even expanded Egyptian power. Over a span of 300 years the period was witness to intellectual enlightenment, imaginative state-building, and some of the most memorable characters in ancient history, including Alexander the Great and Cleopatra VII. But these Macedonian Greek pharaohs embarked on ruinous warfare, faced rebellion, and descended into murderous family feuds. Increasingly reliant on the dizzying rise of Roman power, Ptolemaic Egypt was finally annexed by Augustus in 30 BCE. How did such an ancient civilization come to this? Exploring the lives of the Ptolemaic pharaohs, de la Bédoyère reveals the jealousy, greed, and murderous ambition in their Egypt and the legendary city of Alexandria, their capital. This is a lively, accessible account of Ancient Egypt’s last days—and of the new power rising in its place.
The Roman army was the greatest fighting machine the ancient world produced. The Roman Empire depended on soldiers not just to win its wars, defend its frontiers and control the seas but also to act as the engine of the state. Roman legionaries and auxiliaries came from across the Roman world and beyond. They served as tax collectors, policemen, surveyors, civil engineers and, if they survived, in retirement as civic worthies, craftsmen and politicians. Some even rose to become emperors. Gladius takes the reader right into the heart of what it meant to be a part of the Roman army through the words of Roman historians, and those of the men themselves through their religious dedications, tombstones, and even private letters and graffiti. Guy de la Bédoyère throws open a window on how the men, their wives and their children lived, from bleak frontier garrisons to guarding the emperor in Rome, enjoying a ringside seat to history fighting the emperors' wars, mutinying over pay, marching in triumphs, throwing their weight around in city streets, and enjoying esteem in honorable retirement.
Guy de la Bédoyère's new book is a history of a key period in ancient Egypt's astonishing history that tears away the gold and glamour to show how some of the first great historical personalities ruled Egypt ruthlessly for 250 years between 1550 BC and 1295 BC.