Livy's account of the Hannibalic War in his Third Decade (Books 21-30) is our fullest source for one of the most crucial wars of all time; it is also a narrative history of unparalleled richness, drama, and depth. D. S. Levene's book, the first large-scale general study of Livy's Third Decade, explores the things that make it distinctive not only within Livy's writing, but also within all ancient historiography. Levene examines such topics as Livy's construction of his narrative, his source-material and use of literary allusion, his battle scenes, his sophisticated but ambivalent attitudes towards non-Romans, and above all his challenging and revolutionary treatment of such things as chronology, causation, and indeed human character. Livy portrays a world in which military calculation and human reason constantly fail, a world in which events occur beyond normal human comprehension, but where everything is governed by a hidden moral structure. Livy's unique and original approach to history has often been misunderstood; Levene demonstrates the powerful and independent vision underlying the work, and compels readers to rethink many of our standard presuppositions about the nature of history-writing in the ancient world.

`The story I now commence is rich in vicissitudes, grim with warfare, torn by civil strife, a tale of horror even during times of peace.' Edward Gibbon called The Histories an `immortal work, every sentence of which is pregnant with the deepest observations and the most lively images'. Its author, Cornelius Tacitus, widely acknowledged as the greatest of all Roman historians, describes with cynical power the murderous `Year of the Four Emperors' - AD 69 - when in just a few months the whole of the Roman Empire was torn apart by civil war. The ultimate triumph of Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian was only the prelude to further conflicts and disasters, with revolts among the Germans and Jews challenging the very foundations of Roman authority. W. H. Fyfe's classic translation has been substantially revised to accord with modern scholarship, and supplied with extensive historical and literary notes. The Introduction provides an essential guide to understanding the subtleties of Tacitus' writing, and sets the historical scene with a succinct account of the political and social background to the Imperial Roman state. Maps of the Roman Empire and a Glossary of Place Names complete this valuable edition. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Livy's 142-volume history of Rome is one of the high points of ancient historical writing; but three-quarters of that history is lost, known only from indirect sources such as epitomes and quotations. D. S. Levene's Livy: The Fragments and Periochae provides a text, translation, and commentary on all of the surviving 'para-Livian' material from antiquity. This includes the various epitomes and 'fragments' (quotations from or references to the lost books), but it also covers citations from the surviving books and all testimonia to Livy's life, work, and readership between his death in A.D. 17 and the end of classical antiquity (approximately A.D. 650). This collection of material provides the fullest account ever developed of the reputation of Livy in antiquity and the way he was used and read by later writers. Through it, Levene explores an important but under-studied aspect of the intellectual life of the Roman world. This pack contains Volumes I and II. The first volume contains the fragments, citations, and testimonia, which together comprise every reference to Livy in ancient sources. It offers a completely reedited text of these, along with a full literary, textual, and historical commentary. The volumes's introduction provides a comprehensive synoptic study of the contexts in which Livy was read and quoted. The second volume contains the first part of the Periochae, the fullest surviving epitome of Livy's history. The text has been newly translated and reedited with a new scholarly apparatus; there is also a full literary, textual and historical commentary. The volume's extensive introduction offers the fullest ever study of the Periochae as a literary text, with new evidence for the nature of the text and the circumstances of its writing.

Livy's 142-volume history of Rome is one of the high points of ancient historical writing; but three-quarters of that history is lost, known only from indirect sources such as epitomes and quotations. D. S. Levene's Livy: The Fragments and Periochae provides a text, translation, and commentary on all of the surviving 'para-Livian' material from antiquity. This includes the various epitomes and 'fragments' (quotations from or references to the lost books), but it also covers citations from the surviving books and all testimonia to Livy's life, work, and readership between his death in A.D. 17 and the end of classical antiquity (approximately A.D. 650). This collection of material provides the fullest account ever developed of the reputation of Livy in antiquity and the way he was used and read by later writers. Through it, Levene explores an important but under-studied aspect of the intellectual life of the Roman world. This second volume contains the first part of the Periochae, the fullest surviving epitome of Livy's history. The text has been newly translated and reedited with a new scholarly apparatus; there is also a full literary, textual and historical commentary. The volume's extensive introduction offers the fullest ever study of the Periochae as a literary text, with new evidence for the nature of the text and the circumstances of its writing.