{"title":"Books by Patricia Southern","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781445694320","title":"Rome's Empire","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Roman Empire was forged in war and defended by military might. It also endured because of the Romans’ ability to assimilate and pacify the different peoples and cultures within their provinces.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Rome’s early years it did not annexe territory but created alliances, first with the Italian tribes and then with the leaders of outlying states. Some territories were won without waging war, through rulers who had grown close to Rome. And Rome realised that it profited from these territories, with their agricultural produce, minerals, manpower for armies, slaves, and routes for trade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGovernment of the provinces was tailored to the character of the lands and people. Unfriendly peoples beyond Rome’s boundaries represented a threat that Rome could now tackle on behalf of those within its sphere. Warlords could be conquered, but they could also be bribed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative gods were equated as far as possible with Roman ones. Many diverse languages, customs and religions continued under Roman rule. Provincials could rise in status and become full Roman citizens, while inhabitants of towns and cities governed themselves, under the army’s military umbrella.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly groups with such widespread influence that they challenged Rome’s authority were then, often ruthlessly, targeted. The Druids and the Christians were among them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe history of Rome’s Empire is therefore shown to be more complex and impressive than that of a military superpower imposing ‘Pax Romana’.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128709939378,"sku":"9781445694320","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781445694320_edeffb89-ffc5-4e0d-a271-f73ac0bfe591.jpg?v=1786020633"},{"product_id":"9781398112971","title":"Enemies at the Gate","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe earliest known wall in Rome encircled the early settlement on the Palatine Hill. Archaeological evidence corroborates the traditional date of the city’s foundation in the eighth century BC. No new wall is known until the early sixth century BC, when King Servius Tullius built the defences named after him. The growth of the Empire and the erection of frontiers by the Emperor Hadrian obviated the need for walls around Rome until the third century AD, when invading tribes crossed the frontiers. Defensive walls were built around several Roman cities, and in AD 274 the Emperor Aurelian constructed a new wall round Rome itself. Most of the Aurelian wall, built of millions of bricks, still stands.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the civil wars of the early fourth century AD, the Emperors Severus II and Galerius besieged Rome but failed to gain entry. The wall was heightened in the early fifth century by the Emperor Honorius, the final version possessing ramparts, artillery platforms, and galleries with arrow slits. Neither frontiers nor walls can ever be impermeable, so Rome was famously taken but not held by Alaric in 410 and later by Totila, King of the Ostrogoths. After some neglect, from the seventh or eighth century AD onwards it was the Popes who kept the wall in repair, as attested by the many commemorative stones set in the brickwork. Repairs are ongoing, of course, to this vast ancient monument.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298325442933,"sku":"9781398112971","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781398112971_82c89711-ef42-45cd-9600-43ad40372987.jpg?v=1786018707"},{"product_id":"9781445611907","title":"Roman Britain","description":"For nearly four centuries, from AD 43 to 410, Britain was a small province on the north-western edge of the vast Roman Empire. Though it was small, it was not insignificant. There were more Roman soldiers in Britain than there were in the provinces of North Africa, and the governors who were appointed by the Emperor were among the most prominent men of their day, at the peak of their careers.  People from all classes of Roman Britain's multi-cultural and varied society can still speak to us, indirectly via the works of ancient historians, annalists and biographers, and directly from building inscriptions, religious dedications, gravestones, graffiti, leaden curse tablets, artefacts and coins. But perhaps the most vivid source is the corpus of letters from the fort at Vindolanda in Northumberland, where named individuals talk about birthday parties and complain about the terrible state of the roads. This book uses a variety of sources to document the military, political, and social history of Roman Britain, from Julius Caesar's brief invasions in the first century BC to the fifth century AD when Imperial government came to an end.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56299556405621,"sku":"9781445611907","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781445611907_58525a6d-ebee-4062-abbd-59bdbbff52bc.jpg?v=1786020749"},{"product_id":"9781445690759","title":"Hadrian's Wall","description":"Hadrian’s Wall is a major World Heritage site, set in stunning countryside in Cumbria and Northumberland, where the Wall and its forts are the most visited Roman remains in Britain. It runs through the narrow gap across the Pennines between the Solway Estuary in the west to the appropriately named Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east. For much of its length it is still visible, especially in the central sector where it runs along the north-facing cliff known as Whin Sill.Building started around AD 122 after the Emperor Hadrian visited the north of Britain and inspected sites in person to mark out the line of his new frontier. Hundreds of Roman legionaries from Chester, Caerleon and York marched north to quarry the stone and build the Wall, which took several years to complete.This book tells the story of how the Wall was built and manned by Roman soldiers, what life was like on the frontier and what happened to it when the Romans left.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312395530613,"sku":"9781445690759","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781445690759_b1bb926e-adf8-4f88-869e-ab601853e6bf.jpg?v=1786020585"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-patricia-southern.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}