Pax Romana - War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World

Adrian Goldsworthy

W&N

2016

513 páginas

17h 6m

ISBN-10: 0297864289

The Pax Romana is famous for having provided a remarkable period of peace and stability, rarely seen before or since. Yet the Romans were first and foremost conquerors, imperialists who took by force a vast empire stretching from the Euphrates in the east to the Atlantic coast in the west. Their peace meant Roman victory and was brought about by strength and dominance rather than co-existence with neighbours. The Romans were aggressive and ruthless, and during the creation of their empire millions died or were enslaved.

But the Pax Romana was real, not merely the boast of emperors, and some of the regions in the Empire have never again lived for so many generations free from major wars. So what exactly was the Pax Romana and what did it mean for the people who found themselves brought under Roman rule?

Acclaimed historian Adrian Goldsworthy tells the story of the creation of the Empire, revealing how and why the Romans came to control so much of the world and asking whether the favourable image of the Roman peace is a true one. He chronicles the many rebellions by the conquered, and describes why these broke out and why most failed. At the same time, he explains that hostility was only one reaction to the arrival of Rome, and from the start there was alliance, collaboration and even enthusiasm for joining the invaders, all of which increased as resistance movements faded away.

A ground-breaking and comprehensive history of the Roman Peace, Pax Romana takes the reader on a journey from the bloody conquests of an aggressive Republic through the age of Caesar and Augustus to the golden age of peace and prosperity under diligent emperors like Marcus Aurelius, offering a balanced and nuanced reappraisal of life in the Roman Empire.

Resenhas (1)

4 (Muito bom)

O livro abrange todo o período da República e do Império Romano, priorizando temas como a expansão territorial, a relação entre romanos e “bárbaros” (seja através de batalhas, diplomacia ou comércio), o governo das províncias e rebeliões. Dessa forma, o autor analisa o modo de vida romano e as mudanças que aconteciam nos territórios conquistados.

Ao abordar esse vasto período, Adrian Golsdworthy acaba fazendo um resumo dos seus vários livros publicados, acrescentando algumas informações novas para dar ligação ao texto ou detalhando um assunto de acordo com a nova abordagem, mas o esqueleto do livro foi construído com base em suas outras publicações (principalmente How Rome Fell, Augustus, In the Name of Rome, Hadrian's Wall, Caesar: Life of a Colossus e The Complete Roman Army).

Quem já leu vários livros do autor não encontrará muita informação nova, mas a leitura ainda é válida, uma vez que o texto é muito bem escrito e as análises pertinentes, conectando os diversos temas em uma análise do todo. Para quem procura uma visão geral do impacto romano na Europa, Ásia e África ao longo de vários séculos, “Pax Romana” é uma excelente escolha.