What do you think?
Rate this book
The people of Roman Britain
PrefaceList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentBritain at the ConquestAdministrationThe ArmyTown LifeThe CountrysideHome LifeThe EconomyReligionRomans or BritonsIndex
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 23, 1980
10 people want to read
About the author
Anthony R. Birley
28 books10 followersAnthony Richard Birley FSA was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 23, 2025
Anthony Birley's parents were both archaeologists, and he reportedly spent childhood years in a house next door to the Roman archaeological site of Vindolanda near Hadrian's Wall. It is therefore no surprise that Birley grew up to become a leading historian of Roman Britain.
Birley's biographies of Roman emperors are much to be recommended. This book, however, is a specialized study that is probably only suitable for a limited audience.
At the end of 1965, R.G. Collingwood published the first volume of The Roman Inscriptions of Britain. It collects hundreds of inscriptions, mostly from tombstones but also from forts along Hadrian's Wall. In their funerary inscriptions, the Romans often recited information about the family background and geographical origin of the deceased person. What Birley has done in this book is to sort those people out (by social rank and occupation) and to draw conclusions about where Roman Britons came from and how they were related to each other. He also explains the meanings of names so that the epigraphical evidence can be better understood.
The author weaves a colorful tapestry of Roman society, with some emphasis on the higher classes and military officers whose families could afford to pay for funerary inscriptions, and the book is illustrated with more than 30 photographs of tombstones and coins from the Roman period.
The book is a major academic achievement by a distinguished author, and it helps explain how early Romans (and their family names) traveled from one part of the empire to another. With such a cascade of names, however, the book is likely to be popular only among those who already have a significant background in Roman Britain. In my view, the book would also have been better if it had included a practical step-by-step guide to reading Roman inscriptions of the sort that appear in so many archaeological museums.
Birley's biographies of Roman emperors are much to be recommended. This book, however, is a specialized study that is probably only suitable for a limited audience.
At the end of 1965, R.G. Collingwood published the first volume of The Roman Inscriptions of Britain. It collects hundreds of inscriptions, mostly from tombstones but also from forts along Hadrian's Wall. In their funerary inscriptions, the Romans often recited information about the family background and geographical origin of the deceased person. What Birley has done in this book is to sort those people out (by social rank and occupation) and to draw conclusions about where Roman Britons came from and how they were related to each other. He also explains the meanings of names so that the epigraphical evidence can be better understood.
The author weaves a colorful tapestry of Roman society, with some emphasis on the higher classes and military officers whose families could afford to pay for funerary inscriptions, and the book is illustrated with more than 30 photographs of tombstones and coins from the Roman period.
The book is a major academic achievement by a distinguished author, and it helps explain how early Romans (and their family names) traveled from one part of the empire to another. With such a cascade of names, however, the book is likely to be popular only among those who already have a significant background in Roman Britain. In my view, the book would also have been better if it had included a practical step-by-step guide to reading Roman inscriptions of the sort that appear in so many archaeological museums.
February 18, 2020
I’m not going to lie - I intended to read this whole book; but it was completely overwhelming and I gave up, just as I did with Syme’s Augustan Aristocracy. Stylistically, both books are as dry as burnt toast. That doesn’t mean they aren’t useful, but they’re hard work.
The question is - who is this book aimed at, and does it fit its purpose? Straight out of the gate, it is certainly not for your everyday light reader.
If it is intended as a reference work, it’s not laid out in a way to make it particularly easy to use. Each chapter is comprised of a subject heading - like ‘high officials and senior officials’ - and then pages and pages of names, inscriptions, posited careers et cetera. Sure, each chapter is full of useful information (I mean ‘full-full’), the author is obviously very well versed with his subject matter - but gosh, where do you start with it all?
I think it’s probably meant for scholars; loads of implied knowledge here, with no attempt made to explain anything - but... I’m a post-grad researcher, I’ve been researching Rome for years, and I still struggle with what I can only describe as this wall - maybe even a tsunami - of facts.
I don’t know how else you’d present this volume of information in a way that would be more approachable - but this book is certainly not successful.
The question is - who is this book aimed at, and does it fit its purpose? Straight out of the gate, it is certainly not for your everyday light reader.
If it is intended as a reference work, it’s not laid out in a way to make it particularly easy to use. Each chapter is comprised of a subject heading - like ‘high officials and senior officials’ - and then pages and pages of names, inscriptions, posited careers et cetera. Sure, each chapter is full of useful information (I mean ‘full-full’), the author is obviously very well versed with his subject matter - but gosh, where do you start with it all?
I think it’s probably meant for scholars; loads of implied knowledge here, with no attempt made to explain anything - but... I’m a post-grad researcher, I’ve been researching Rome for years, and I still struggle with what I can only describe as this wall - maybe even a tsunami - of facts.
I don’t know how else you’d present this volume of information in a way that would be more approachable - but this book is certainly not successful.
November 1, 2020
Reading Mary Stewart's 'Wicked Day', the fourth volume of her Arthurian novels, led me to read several books tangent to her material in quick succession: Welch's 'Britannia', a history; Ashe's 'Quest for Arthur's Britain', a collection of essays; and Birley's 'People of Roman Britain', another history. The result of all of this was a greater critical appreciation for Stewart's historical reconstruction of the Matter of Britain.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews