Revolts Against Rome: Rebellions and Mutinies in the First Century AD

The first century CE was marked by repeated challenges to Roman authority, from provincial rebellions and military mutinies to struggles over imperial succession. Revolts Against Rome examines these episodes as part of the wider problem of maintaining control over a vast empire whose stability ultimately depended on armies, local elites and the loyalty of subject populations.

John S. McHugh considers major outbreaks of resistance and unrest across the Roman world, explaining their causes, leadership and military course as well as Rome’s responses. By bringing several conflicts together, the book provides a useful perspective on the pressures beneath the apparent strength of the early imperial system and on the ways rebellion could expose its political and military vulnerabilities.