"The Roman Empire was the largest and most enduring of the ancient world. From its zenith under Augustus and Trajan in the first century AD to its decline and fall amidst the barbarian invasions of the fifth century, the Empire guarded and maintained a frontier that stretched for 10,000 kilometers, from Carlisle to Cologne, from Augsburg to Antioch, and Aswan to the Atlantic." "Far from being at the periphery of the Roman world, the frontier played a crucial role in making and breaking emperors, creating vibrant and diverse societies along its course which pulsed with energy while the center became enfeebled and sluggish. This book traces the course of those frontiers, visiting all its sites, from Hadrian's Wall in the north of Britain to the desert cities of Palmyra and Leptis Magna. It tells the stories of the men and women who lived and fought along it, from Alaric the Goth, who descended from the Danube to sack Rome in 410, to Zenobia the desert queen, who almost snatched the entire eastern provinces from Rome in the third century."--BOOK JACKET.