The Roman Empire in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives

Through a series of original essays by leading international scholars, The Roman Empire in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives offers a comparative historical analysis of the Roman empire’s role and achievement and, more broadly, establishes Rome’s significance within comparative studies. Fills a gap in comparative historical analysis of the Roman empire’s role and achievement Features contributions from more than a dozen distinguished scholars from around the world Explores the relevance of important comparativist themes of state, empire, and civilization to ancient Rome Content: Chapter 1 Introduction (pages 1–35): Johann P. ArnasonChapter 2 From City?State to Empire: Rome in Comparative Perspective (pages 37–66): Kurt A. RaaflaubChapter 3 The Transition from Republic to Principate: Loss of Legitimacy, Revolution, and Acceptance (pages 67–84): Egon FlaigChapter 4 Strong and Weak Regimes: Comparing the Roman Principate and the Medieval Crown of Aragon (pages 85–109): D. A. Cohen and J. E. LendonChapter 5 The Background to the Third?Century Crisis of the Roman Empire (pages 111–133): Adam ZiolkowskiChapter 6 The End of Sacrifice: Religious Mutations of Late Antiquity (pages 134–147): Guy G. StroumsaChapter 7 Contextualizing Late Antiquity: The First Millennium (pages 148–176): Garth FowdenChapter 8 The Franks: Rome's Heirs in the West (pages 177–198): Matthias BecherChapter 9 The End of Rome? The Transformation of the Eastern Empire in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries CE (pages 199–228): John HaldonChapter 10 The First Islamic Empire (pages 229–248): Chase F. RobinsonChapter 11 From City?State to Empire: The Case of Assyria (pages 249–269): Mario LiveraniChapter 12 China's Early Empires: The Authority and Means of Government (pages 270–289): Michael LoeweChapter 13 The Legs of the Throne: Kings, Elites, and Subjects in Sasanian Iran (pages 290–321): Scott McDonoughChapter 14 The King of Kings: Universal Hegemony, Imperial Power, and a New Comparative History of Rome (pages 322–349): Peter Fibiger BangChapter 15 The Roman Phenomenon: State, Empire, and Civilization (pages 351–386): Johann P. ArnasonChapter 16 Roman–European Continuities: Conceptual and Historical Questions (pages 387–406): Peter Wagner