Ebook: An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire, 54 BC - AD 409

The centuries during which Britain was under Roman occupation have always had a contradictory reputation. David Mattingly's book draws on a wealth of new research to recreate this colonial Britain: a rebellious, disadvantaged place needing heavy garrisoning and highly vulnerable to political change in Rome.;PART ONE: Introduction. The spectre of empire -- Sources of information and rules of evidence -- 'Nothing for us to fear or rejoice at.' Britain, Britons and the Roman Empire -- -- PART TWO: The military community. The iron fist: conquest (43-83) and aftermath -- Britannia perdomita: the garrisoning of the provinces -- The community of soldiers -- The fashioning of the military identity -- De excidio Britanniae: decline and fall? -- -- PART THREE: The civil communities. Forma urbis: the development of towns -- Townspeople: demography, culture and identity -- The urban failure? -- PART FOUR: The rural communities. The villa and the roundhouse -- Provincial landscapes -- Free Britannia: beyond the frontiers -- Rural culture and identity -- -- PART FIVE: Comparative perspectives and concluding thoughts. Different economies, discrepant identities -- 'No longer subject to Roman laws'.