The peacetime aspects of the Roman army have never had their historian, Ramsay MacMullen points out. Yet these aspects of military activity became, in the period A.D. 200–400, more and more important and diverse, and drew the army and civilians closer together. The result was militarization of the empire; and, in a lively account of garrison life, army engineering, and similar subjects, MacMullen shows how the process went on. He draws on inscriptions, papyri, and literary sources, and includes relevant illustrations to accompany the discussion of military architecture, equipment, and the social standing of soldiers.