Epigraphy, or the study of inscriptions, is critical for anyone seeking to understand the Roman world, whether they regard themselves as literary scholars, historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, religious scholars or work in a field that touches on the Roman world from c. 500 BCE to 500 CE and beyond. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Epigraphy is the fullest collection of scholarship on the study and history of Latin epigraphy produced to date. Rather that just a collection of inscriptions, however, this volume seeks to show why inscriptions matter and demonstrate to classicists and ancient historians how to work with the sources. To that end, the 35 chapters, written by senior and rising scholars in Roman history, classics, and epigraphy, cover everything from typograph to the importance of inscriptions for understanding many aspects of Roman culture, from Roman public life, to slavery, to the roles and lives of women, to the military, and to life in the provinces.

Students and scholars alike will find the Handbook a crritical tool for expanding their knowledge of the Roman world.

Christer Brunn's profile page

Jonathan Edmondson is a professor in the Department of History and the Programme in Classical Studies in the Division of Humanities at York University.

Jonathan Edmondson's profile page

"For anyone who wants a thorough understanding of the Roman world and Roman culture, this work is the best of recent offerings."

--Religious Studies Review

"The Handbook, looking at the whole Roman world (although weighted towards Latin) has thirty-five thematic chapters, all by different authors, presenting a series of engaging, clear and not overlong discussions of the contribution of epigraphy to aspects of Roman culture."

--The Times Literary Supplement

"The quality of the chapters overall is very high and with remarkable consistency. Each operates essentially as a brief survey of its topic supported by excellent line drawings, photos, maps, and tables and concluded with consistently superb and up to date chapter bibliographies. In fact, I would recommend any scholar of the Roman world writing on one of the covered topics begin with reading the chapter in the Handbook and thoroughly perusing the bibliography...All provide thoughtful, informed analysis of their topics and go beyond just case studies, but model the sort of questions that can be asked and answered with epigraphic evidence...This handbook is more of an exploration of the extent to which epigraphy works in the service of many of the branches of the Classics. Students and scholars of the Roman world who study it should find it enormously helpful."

--Steven L. Tuck, CJ-Online