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The Roman Empire at Bay is the only one volume history of the critical years 180-395 AD, which saw the transformation of the Roman Empire from a unitary state centred on Rome, into a new polity with two capitals and a new religion-Christianity. Updated for a new generation of students, this book remains a crucial tool in the study of this period.
List of contents
Part I: The shape of Rome 1. Culture, economy and power 2. Economy
Part II: Reshaping the old order 3. Crises in government 4. The army in politics; lawyers in government 5. Intellectual trends in the early third century
Part III: The Roman Empire and its neighbours, 225-99 6. The failure of the Severan empire 7. The emergence of a new order
Part IV: The Constantinian Empire 8. Alternative narratives: Manichaeans, Christians, and Neoplatonists 9. Rewritings of the Tetrarchy: 300-13 10. Restructuring the state: 313-37 11. Constructing Christianity in an Imperial context
Part V: Losing power 12. Church and State:337-55 13. The struggle for control: 355-66 14. The end of hegemony: 367-95
About the author
David Potter is Francis W Kelsey Collegiate Professor of Greek and Roman History and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan.
Summary
The Roman Empire at Bay is the only one volume history of the critical years 180-395 AD, which saw the transformation of the Roman Empire from a unitary state centred on Rome, into a new polity with two capitals and a new religion—Christianity. Updated for a new generation of students, this book remains a crucial tool in the study of this period.
