V knjigi devetnajst avtorjev iz štirih držav (Italije, Slovenije, Hrvaške in Avstrije) predstavlja zgodovinske, epigrafske in arheološke dokaze o prisotnosti rimske vojske in o sledovih spopadov na območju Caput Adriae ter na vzhodni obali Jadrana. Večina prispevkov je posvečena severnemu Jadranu in njegovemu zaledju v 2. in 1. stoletju pr. Kr. Topografija prvega leta histrske vojne (178–177 pr. Kr.) je analizirana s pomočjo zgodovinskih virov. Arheološki dokazi o zgodnji rimski vojaški prisotnosti so obravnavani v več poglavjih: o vojaških taborih Koromačnik in Mala Gročanica, o začetkih Tergesta na hribu Sv. Justa, o spopadih z avtohtonim prebivalstvom in o epigrafskih sledeh rimske vojske. Ostanki zgodnjerimskih taborov ponujajo nov vpogled tudi v pokrajino srednje Dalmacije. Rimska ofenzivna politika na južnem Jadranu, ob Jonskem morju in v notranjosti Balkana je analizirana na podlagi pisnih virov.

Knjiga predstavlja nove elemente urbanističnih vidikov rimskih mest in manjših naselij na območju Caput Adriae, Norika in Panonije. V 26 prispevkih 54 avtorjev iz osmih držav (Italije, Slovenije, Avstrije, Madžarske, Hrvaške, Srbije, Črne gore in Severne Makedonije) poskuša razširiti védenje o razvoju mest in nekaterih drugih pomembnih naselij. Prva dva članka predstavljata širše, a različne poglede na urbanizacijo. V naslednjem delu je obravnavanih 22 naselij. Skrajni severovzhod X. regije predstavljajo štiri naselja (Aquileja, Tergeste, Emona in Nauport). V knjigo je vključena večina avtonomnih mest v Noriku ter nekatera druga naselbinska območja (Celeja, Flavia Solva, Virunum, Štalenska gora, Teurnija, Aguntum, Iuvavum, Ovilava, Lauriacum, Stein). Iz provinc Panonija Superior (Vindobona, Carnuntum, Strebersdorf, Savarija, Poetovio, Aquae Iasae) in Panonija Inferior (Mursa, Bassiane) so predstavljena izbrana mesta in manjša naselja. Območje se nahaja na stičišču med vzhodno in zahodno polovico cesarstva in zajema dele treh geografskih enot (tj. sredozemskega, alpskega in celinskega sveta), zaradi česar bi lahko bila knjiga zanimiva za širše razumevanje delovanja rimskega imperija.

The extraordinarily rich cultural legacy of the Roman world has had a profound affect world civilization. Roman achievements in architecture, law, politics, literature, war, and philosophy serve as the foundation of modern Western society. Now, for the first time in an A-Z format, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire assembles the people, places, events, and ideas of this remarkable period in one easy-to-use source. With over 1,900 entries covering more than five hundred years of Roman history, from Julius Caesar and the Gallic Wars (59-51 B.C.) to the fall of Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor (476 A.D.), this accessible guide provides quick reference to one of the most studied periods of all antiquity. Every aspect of Roman life is included. Here are profiles of the great emperors, such as Marcus Aurelius, one of the most profoundly intellectual monarchs in western civilization, and the aberrant Gaius Caligula, who, after draining the Roman treasury with his eccentric behavior, made it a capital crime for citizens not to bequeath him their estates. Informative entries describe the complex workings of Roman government, such as census taking, the creation of civil service, coinage, and the venerable institution of the Senate, and offer insight into the various trends and cultural tastes that developed throughout Roman history. For example, a discussion on baths, the most common type of building in the Roman Empire, demonstrates the unique intermingling of luxury, community, recreation, and, in the provinces, an association with Rome, that served as the focus of any city aspiring to greatness. Other entries describe the practice of paganism, marriage and divorce, ludi (public games held to entertain the Roman populace), festivals of the Roman year, and gluttony (epitomized by famous gourmands such as the emperor Vitellius, who according to the historian Suetonius, lived for food, banqueting three or four times a day, routinely vomiting up his meal and starting over). Also featured are longer essays on such topics as art and architecture, gods and goddesses, and the military, as well as a chronology, a short glossary of Roman terms, and appendices listing the emperors of the Empire and diagram the often intertwined family trees of ruling dynasties. Comprehensive, authoritative, and illustrated with over sixty illustrations and maps, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire provides easy access to the remarkable civilization upon which Western society was built.

Throughout the middle and late Republican periods (fourth to first centuries BC) the Romans lived in fear and loathing of the Gauls of northern Italy, caused primarily by their collective historical memory of the destruction of the city of Rome by Gauls in 387 BC. By examining the literary evidence relating to the historical, ethnographic, and geographic writings of Greeks and Romans of the period - focusing on invasion and conflict - this book attempts to answer the questions how and why the Gauls became the deadly enemy of the Romans. Dr Williams also examines the problematic notion of the Gauls as 'Celts' which has been so influential in historical and archaeological accounts of northern Italy in the late pre-Roman Iron Age by modern scholars. The book concludes that ancient literary evidence and modern ethnic presumptions about 'Celts' are not a sound basis for reconstructing either the history of the Romans' interaction with the peoples of northern Italy or for interpreting the material evidence.