`Equipped wih this book, readers will be offered a relibale adn thought-provokin guide to one of the most haated areas of debate in ancient hisoty. Erskine has accoumplished the task elegantly and concisely. The book deserves the widest possible readereship.'Mark Humphries, Professor of Ancient History, Swansea University<BR><BR>The transformation of Rome from a small central italian city-state into the sole Mediterranean superpower has lng proved fascienting and controversial. At its height the Roman Empire extended from Britain in the North to Libya in the South and from sapin in the West to Syria in the Eas. It has impressed not only by its extent but also by its longevity.<BR><BR>Andrew Erskine exomines the course nad nature of Roman Expansion, focusing on explanations, ancient adn modern, the impact of Roma rule on the subjed and the effect of empire on the imperial power. All these topics have crated fremedous amount of discussion among schloars, not least because the study of Roman imperialism has alwasys been informed by contemporary perceptions of international power relations.<BR><BR>The book is divided into two halves, Part I treats some of the main issues in modern debates about Roman imperialsim, while Part II offers a selection of the most important source mateial, allowing readers to enter these debates themsleves.