PREFACE xiiiAs well as bringing the original text up to date, this second edition
contains two new chapters. It was put to us that an introductory chapter
addressing the political and constitutional consequences of the replacement
of the Republic by the Empire and, in general, setting the scene, would be
welcomed by those particularly interested in such matters and, on the other
hand, those who are relatively unfamiliar with Roman history. Thus there is
a new Chapter 1 , which is entitled ‘Introducing the Principate’. The new
Chapter 4 , ‘Enemies of Rome’, which Martin Goodman generously agreed
to write, was commissioned by Professor Pierre Vidal-Naquet on behalf of
Les Belles Lettres for the French translation of our book that was published
in 1994. No English version has as yet appeared. This version contains some
minor changes in the text and includes an Addendum.
In the Introduction to the fi rst edition we acknowledged that the book
was shaped by our own interests and areas of competence. The second
edition is no different in this respect. We are acutely aware that Roman
history has moved on in the past thirty years; the addenda refl ect the way
our own research interests have shifted, and in general bear witness to the
increased exposure of ancient historians to archaeology, the natural sciences,
the history of climate and the environment, statistical methods, and
comparative history. To give such matters the attention that they deserve
would require an additional chapter dealing with ‘The future of Roman
history’. We look forward to reading such a chapter from another pen.
Many friends and colleagues have given us encouragement and material
assistance, for which we are immensely grateful. In addition to those already
mentioned, namely, Jas Elsner, Martin Goodman, Richard Gordon,
Marguerite Hirt, and Greg Woolf, we would single out Luuk de Ligt, Richard
Duncan-Jones, Henrik Mouritsen, Dominic Rathbone and Walter Scheidel
for special thanks.