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if anyone wants to talk about that vs the stuff we talk about here everyday.

Soldiers and Ghosts

this book was great. i really enjoyed it. it is a cultural history of the Greek hoplites/Greek way of war and the Roman way of war from the Middle Republic to the Late Empire.

Populus

Social history of the City of Rome vs the whole empire. Talks about a bunch of different things by chapter, like the status of slaves, status of freedmen, how they supplied the city with food, how they did entertainment, how they did burials, religious practices, etc. lot in here about Pompeii and archaeological history. timeline is really the Middle Republic through the 5 good emperors. cuts off more or less there. i liked it.

SPQR

This one was pretty popular several years ago. Survey history of Rome from the Early Republic to the end of the Principate. I liked it.

Final Pagan Generation

Tells the history of Rome's transition from a Pagan empire to a Christian empire. Really focuses on 4 men from the elite in the Empire and the beginnings of Christianity, particularly in the Roman East. Left me wanting more of the straight history of the era vs the social history of the elite. Still good, i enjoyed it.

Diocletian

Biography of Diocletian but talks mostly about the historic era of the Tetrarchy and how it came to be and how it collapsed. I enjoyed it as a history of the Tetrarchy, didn't talk about Diocletian as much as I wanted (there aren't a ton of sources about the guy.)