Authoritative history of the Roman Empire during a critical period in Mediterranean history.

Volume 11 of the second edition of The Cambridge Ancient History covers the history of the Roman empire from AD 70 to 192--Vespasian to the Antonines. The volume begins with the political and military history of the period. Developments in the structure of the empire are then examined, including the organization and personnel of the central government and province-based institutions and practices. A series of provincial studies follows, and the society, economy and culture of the empire as a whole are reviewed in a group of thematic chapters.

This volume covers the history of the Roman Empire from the accession of Septimius Severus in AD 193 to the death of Constantine in AD 337. This period was one of the most critical in the history of the Mediterranean world. It begins with the establishment of the Severan dynasty as a result of civil war. From AD 235 this period of relative stability was followed by half a century of short reigns of short-lived emperors and a number of military attacks on the eastern and northern frontiers of the empire. This was followed by the First Tetrarchy (AD 284-305), a period of collegial rule in which Diocletian, with his colleague Maximian and two junior Caesars (Constantius and Galerius), restabilised the empire. The period ends with the reign of the first Christian emperor, Constantine, who defeated Licinius and established a dynasty which lasted for thirty-five years.

With Volume 13, the new edition of The Cambridge Ancient History moves into fresh territory. The first edition was completed by Volume 12, which closed in AD 324. The editors of the new edition have enlarged the scope of Volume 12 to include the foundation of Constantinople and the death of Constantine, and extended the series with two wholly new volumes taking the History up to AD 600. Volume 13, the first of these new volumes, covers the years 337SH425, from the death of Constantine to the reign of Theodosius II.