Focuses instead on the concept of identity to reveal a Roman society made up of far-flung populations whose experience of empire varied enormously. This title examines the nature of power in Rome and the means by which the Roman state exploited the natural, mercantile, and human resources within its frontiers.
"Mattingly critically examines accepted ideas about the Roman Empire and evaluates them on the basis of recent archaeological analyses. He provides excellent, up-to-date discussions of such issues as Roman imperialism, colonialism, and the expression of identity through material culture. This book will be important in providing a set of new ideas about many current themes regarding the Roman world."--Peter S. Wells, author of The Barbarians Speak: How the Conquered Peoples Shaped Roman Europe
"This is an important book by a major scholar. David Mattingly is among the most prolific and skilled archaeologists of his generation, and very rare in the ability to produce wide-ranging works of synthesis that do not steer clear of controversy. The arguments that this book will spark are arguments that are worth having."--David S. Potter, author of The Roman Empire at Bay
"Mattingly is one of the leading archaeologists of the Roman provinces, both in the quality of his fieldwork and his interpretive thinking. This book demonstrates why that position is fully deserved."
---Louise Revell, Journal of Roman Studies
