This book shows how a military colony became a large, impressive and prosperous city. Legendary for its walls and port, it was able to play a basic role in the great strategy of ancient Rome between the Po and the Danube, spanning the centuries from its foundation (181 BC) to the fateful days of blood and violence of its fall (AD 452). Based on a study of ancient sources, contemporary literature and the latest archaeological research, and written in a fast-paced and accessible style, the book provides a portrait of Aquileia in a diachronic key, under various aspects; it sets the city in the complex societal and political system of the time, gives a thorough account of the great events of which it was a protagonist or victim and offers detailed portraits of key figures, whether famous or less well-known, and analyses of epic battles. Combining academic scholarship with storytelling, biographies of important personalities and stories of political intrigue, assassinations and full-scale warfare which narrate the evocative epic of the rise, decline and disappearance of ancient cities, the volume highlights a significant topic in Roman political, social, economic, religious and military history, but one which has been inexplicably neglected in the Anglo-Saxon world until now.

Not much has happened in the Roman Empire since 1994 that required the first edition to be updated, but Bunson, a prolific reference and history author, has revised it, incorporated new findings and thinking, and changed the dating style to C.E. (Common Era) and B.C.E. (Before Common Era). For the 500 years from Julius Caesar and the Gallic Wars in 59-51 B.C.E. to the fall of the empire in the west in 476 C.E, he discusses personalities, terms, sites, and events. There is very little cross-referencing.

This study presents new evidence for the development of commerce and inter-regional trade through survey and analysis of urban layout and architecture. The study of Roman urbanism – especially its early (Republican) phases – is extensively rooted in the evidence provided by a series of key sites, several of them located in Italy. Some of these Italian towns (e.g. Fregellae, Alba Fucens, Cosa) have received a great deal of scholarly attention in the past and they are routinely referenced as textbook examples, framing much of our understanding of the broad phenomenon of Roman urbanism. However, discussions of these sites tend to fall back on well-established interpretations, with relatively little or no awareness of more recent developments. This is remarkable, since our understanding of these sites has since evolved thanks to new archaeological fieldwork, often characterised by the pursuit of new questions and the application of new approaches. Similarly, new evidence from other sites has since prompted a reconsideration of time-honoured views about the nature, role and long-term trajectory of Roman towns in Italy. Tracing its origins in the Laurence Seminar on Roman Urbanism in Italy: recent discoveries and new directions, which took place at the Faculty of Classics of the University of Cambridge (27–28 May 2022), this volume brings together scholars whose recent work at key sites is contributing to expand, change or challenge our current knowledge and understanding of Roman urbanism in Italy. The individual chapters showcase some of the most recent methods and approaches applied to the study of Roman towns, discussing the broader implications of fresh archaeological discoveries from both well known and less widely known sites, from the Po Plain to Southern Italy, from the Republican to the Late Antique period (and beyond).

Chromatius of Aquileia and the Making of a Christian City examines how the increasing authority of institutionalized churches changed late antique urban environments. Aquileia, the third largest city in Italy during late antiquity, presents a case study in the transformation of elite Roman practices in relation to the urban environment. Through the archaeological remains, the sermons of the city’s bishop, Chromatius, and the artwork and epigraphic evidence in the sacred buildings, the city and its inhabitants leave insights into a reshaping of the urban environment and its institutions which occurred at the beginning of the 5th century. The words of the bishop attacking heretics and Jews presaged a shift in patronage by rich donors from the city as a whole to only the Christian church. The city, both as an ideal and a physical reality, changed with the growing dominance of the Church, creating a Christian city.

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.

An in-depth study of how the Roman Empire influenced life, culture, and politics in northern Italy. Carolynn E. Roncaglia's Northern Italy in the Roman World analyzes the effect of the Roman Empire on northern Italy, tracing the evolution of the region from the Bronze Age to the Gothic wars. A wealthy and strategically important region, northern Italy presents an interesting case study for examining the influence of the Roman state on the fluctuating geographic areas of Cisalpine Gaul that were under its control. Using an array of epigraphic, archaeological, numismatic, and literary evidence, Roncaglia shows how Rome affected matters large and small, from loom weights to ritual horse burials, social networks to the careers of writers. Among the range of fascinating topics she discusses are Celtic migrations, the Roman conquest, Hannibal, long-distance trade networks, freedmen families, St. Ambrose, Catullus, and Pliny the Younger. Northern Italy in the Roman World argues that the relationship between long-term trends and short-term events is key to understanding how Rome affected the territory within its empire. The book is the first major discussion of Roman northern Italy in English to appear since World War II and will be of special interest to scholars and students of the ancient world, European prehistory, the medieval world, and Italian studies.