ANCIENT ROME Roman Empire Military History 1674 RARE ED

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

GENUINELY SCARCE, ORIGINAL 1674 EDITION OF: "L. ANNAEI FLORI RERUM ROMANARUM EPITOME." This important 17th century treatise was written by Lucius Anneus Florus [i.e., Florus] and printed by Fredericum Leonard, Paris. Influential work contains a compendium of Roman history, largely military, in four concise books [bound in one volume]. Text spans from the foundation of the city to the closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus (25 BC), tracing the rise and fall of Rome's military might. Based on the tradition of Titus Livius [i.e., Livy], text was popular throughout the Middle Ages and was widely used as an instructional guide until the 19th century. Florus was a noted Roman historian who lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian. He compiled the present treatise, chiefly from Livy, which has been given various titles over the years. It is written in a bombastic and rhetorical style--a panegyric of the greatness of Rome, the life of which is divided into the periods of infancy, youth, and manhood. It is sometime incorrect in geographical and chronological details, however in spite of its faults, the book was much used as a handy epitome of Roman history, particularly throughout the Middle Ages, and survived as a standard text into the 19th century. In the manuscripts the writer is variously named as Julius Florus, Lucius Anneus Florus, or simply Annaeus Florus. From certain similarities of style, he has been identified as Publius Annius Florus, poet, rhetorician and friend of Hadrian, author of a dialogue on the question of whether Virgil was an orator or poet, of which the introduction has been preserved. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world. In its centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to an increasingly autocratic empire. It came to dominate Western Europe and the Mediterranean region through conquest and assimilation. The Western Roman Empire went into decline and disappeared in the 5th century AD. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire, including Hispania, Gaul, Britannia and Italy, broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. The eastern part of the empire, governed from Constantinople, comprising Greece, Anatolia, Syria and Egypt, survived this crisis, and despite the loss of Syria and Egypt to the Arab Islamic Empire, revived and would live on for another millennium, until its last remains were finally annexed by the emerging Turkish Ottoman Empire. This eastern, Christian, medieval stage of the Empire is usually referred to as the Byzantine Empire by historians. Roman civilization is often grouped into "classical antiquity" with ancient Greece, a civilization that inspired much of the culture of ancient Rome. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology and language in the Western world, and its history continues to have a major influence on the world today. Condition: Rare book remains in good condition [see images]. Volume bound in contemporary paneled with raised panel gilt spine; moderate cover wear with some charring to edges, nicely rebacked, endpapers refreshed and hinges reinforced, minor edge charring to a few pages, scattered light spotting, generally clean internally. All in all, this desirable early treatise remains very presentable. Text in Latin. Volume numbers 205 pages with separate preliminaries, fine engraved frontispiece and extensive rear indexes; and measures approx 10" tall x 7.5" wide x 1" thick. Quite a find and a very worthy acquisition indeed. Shipping and Payment: Please see our feedback and bid with confidence. Buyer pays for insurance if desired. For international shipping quote, please contact us. Insurance not offered on internatio... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.