Overview

Having defeated a Germanic invasion of northern Italy, the Emperor Aurelian surrounded Rome with a powerful circuit of walls. This great fortification is one of the best preserved of all city walls in the Roman Empire and remains a dramatic feature of Rome today, representing the most emblematic and the most enduring monument of Aurelian's age. Nothing else so eloquently demonstrates that, by Aurelian's day, the empire was on the defensive. Although embellished, strengthened and restored many times down the ages, Aurelian's original structure remained the basis of the city's defences through to the mid-19th century, when the Republican forces under Giuseppe Garibaldi managed for some time to withstand the French, and is still discernible today along much of the walls' circuit. This title describes Aurelian's Wall in detail with cut-away cross sections, and investigates its historical purpose and military effectiveness within the general context of late Roman fortifications. A final section follows the history of the Wall's continued use beyond the Romano-Byzantine period, and provides an invaluable tourist aid.

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9781846031984

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Reviews

In all, this is an outstanding addition to the Fortress series and one that we can use both as a historical reference and as a guide to find and see these remnants for ourselves. - Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (May 2008) <p> This is a good concise history of the fortification of the city of Rome from ancient times through the time of unification...a good reference for anyone interested in the defenses of Rome at the time of the decline of the empire. -J.E. Kaufmann, SiteO Newsletter (May 2008)

In all, this is an outstanding addition to the Fortress series and one that we can use both as a historical reference and as a guide to find and see these remnants for ourselves. - Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (May 2008)<br><br><br> This is a good concise history of the fortification of the city of Rome from ancient times through the time of unification...a good reference for anyone interested in the defenses of Rome at the time of the decline of the empire. -J.E. Kaufmann, SiteO Newsletter (May 2008)<br><br> Includes a great variety of photos and wonderfully detailed illustrations as it describes ow, why and where the walls were constructed. There is particular focus on the Aurelian Wall in Rome. - DIG Magazine (May/June 2013)

Author Information

Dr Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines for seven years. Having left the Navy he went back to university and completed a BA and PhD in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He was Assistant Director at the British School of Archaeology, Athens, and is now a lecturer in Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. The author lives in France, UK.

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