The Reach of Rome

A history of the Roman Empire's boundary and how the shift from a offensive to a defensive military strategy impacted the military—includes maps.

The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful forces in history. However, few realize that this vast empire was guarded by one frontier, a series of natural and man-made barriers, including Hadrian's Wall.

The boundary ran for roughly 4,000 miles—from Britain to Morocco via the Rhine, the Danube, the Euphrates, the Syrian Desert, and the Saharan fringes. It absorbed virtually the whole imperial army, enclosed three and a half million square miles, and defended forty provinces and perhaps eighty million Roman subjects. In protecting the empire, the frontier made a substantial contribution to the Pax Romana and ultimately to preserving the inheritance of future Europe.

Yet this static mode of defense ran counter to Rome's tradition of mobile warfare and her taste for glory, born of centuries of conquest. The emperors' choice of a passive strategy promoted lassitude and conservatism, allowing the military initiative slowly to pass into barbarian hands.

The Reach of Rome is the first book to describe the entire length of the amazing imperial frontier, tracing the political forces that created it and those who commanded and manned it. Exploring the the frontier's rise, pre-eminence, crises, and collapse, historian Derek Williams assesses its meaning for history and its legacies to the post-Roman world. Includes thirty beautifully designed maps.

“A treasure trove of information and insight.” —Booklist

“Distinctive and lucidly reasoned.” —Kirkus Reviews