UNDERSTANDING ROMAN INSCRIPTIONS - Softcover

Keppie, Lawrence.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0713456930 ISBN 13: 9780713456936

Publisher: Batsford, 1991

Synopsis

Over 300,000 inscriptions survive from the Roman world and they provide an invaluable source of information for archaeologists and historians about the great events of that time, and about the lives and occupations of ordinary people. This is the first handbook for non-specialists who want to learn how to read these Latin inscriptions and to understand what they reveal about Roman life and history. This book covers such topics as local government, the armies and the frontiers, religion, the title of emperors, business and commerce as well as the craft of stonecutting, developments in the alphabet and the discovery and publication of material. Clear guidance is given in translating Latin texts and an account of the other aspects needed for a full understanding of inscriptions is provided. Dr Keppie is an Honorary Lecturer in Classics at the University of Glasgow and is the author of "The Making of the Roman Army".

About this title

Review

""A strength of the book is its careful integration of model inscriptions into their respective chapters, so well effected as to appear almost effortless... This book should find its niche as a valuable supplement to courses and institutes on Roman history and civilization and general courses in archaeology. It is a good purchase."-- "New England Classical Newsletter and Journal"

From the Back Cover

Some 300,000 inscriptions are known to survive from the Roman world. More than a thousand new ones are discovered each year. Such inscriptions can confirm or amplify our knowledge of great events portrayed in literary sources. They also provide a direct link to the lives and occupations of a vast number of ordinary people who have no place in the pages of the historians and whose existence is otherwise unrecorded. In Understanding Roman Inscriptions, Lawrence Keppie introduces the nonspecialist reader to the subject of inscriptions. He gives an account of context and history of inscriptions and explains their significance as a resource for anyone interested in the world of the Romans. For each inscription cited, Keppie provides the original Latin, an English translation and commentary on the inscription's significance in the everyday life of the Romans. Illustrated with eighty-five photographs, Understanding Roman Inscriptions provides a fascinating introduction to the most important source for the history and organization of the Roman Empire.

Edition details

• Publisher: Batsford
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0713456930
• ISBN 13: 9780713456936
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160