Skip to content

Opening book details…

Can I read Roman Disasters on EtoBox?

Roman Disasters by Jerry Toner is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Roman Disasters about?

Roman Disasters looks at how the Romans coped with, thought about, and used disasters for their own ends. Rome has been famous throughout history for its great triumphs. Yet Rome also suffered colossal disasters. From the battle of Cannae, where fifty thousand men fell in a single day, to the destruction of Pompeii, to the first appearance of the bubonic plague, the Romans experienced large scale calamities.Earthquakes, fires, floods and famines also regularly afflicted them. This insightful book is the first to treat such disasters as a conceptual unity. It shows that vulnerability to disasters was affected by politics, social status, ideology and economics. Above all, it illustrates how the resilience of their political and cultural system allowed the Romans to survive the impact of these life-threatening events. The book also explores the important role disaster narratives played in Christian thought and rhetoric. Engaging and accessible, Roman Disasters will be enjoyed by students and general readers alike.

Author
Jerry Toner
Publisher
Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA: Polity Press
Published
2013
Language
EN
ISBN
9780745665498
Subjects
History, Humanities
Rating
3.38 / 5 (13 ratings)
Updated
2026-03-14

More by Jerry Toner

Browse all works by Jerry Toner