[Gutenberg 49483] • The Provinces of the Roman Empire, from Caesar to Diocletian. v. 2

The Provinces of the Roman Empire from Caesar to Diocletian, published as volume 5 of his History of Rome, is a description of all Roman regions during the early imperial period.

Altho we tend to view the Roman Empire' history as that of Rome itself, Mommsen argues that the true destiny & drama of the Roman ideal was enacted in the provinces, rippling out from the city thru Italy & into the whole Mediterranean world. Roman ideals of civilization were realized thru conquest & expansion, creating a two-way street in which Roman law & custom were tempered & changed by outside contact. Describing the widening sphere of Roman influence, he 1st examines the acquisiton & control of Gaul, Spain, Britain & the lands along the Danube, as well as Greece & Asia Minor. Then he discusses Rome's more difficult domination of the present-day Middle East, N. Africa & the frontiers along the Euphrates. He reminds us that great poets & philosophers, as well as several emperors, came from the provinces, demonstrating that the imperial glory played itself out well beyond the city's borders.