Through a series of original essays by leading international scholars, The Roman Empire in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives offers a comparative historical analysis of the Roman empire's role and achievement and, more broadly, establishes Rome's significance within comparative studies. * Fills a gap in comparative historical analysis of the Roman empire's role and achievement * Features contributions from more than a dozen distinguished scholars from around the world * Explores the relevance of important comparativist themes of state, empire, and civilization to ancient Rome