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Stratagems. Aqueducts of Rome
Frontinus
Harvard University Press, 1993

Ancient expertise on water and warfare.

Frontinus, Sextus Iulius, ca. AD 35–103, was a capable Roman civil officer and military commander. Praetor of the city in 70 and consul in 73 or 74, 98 and 100, he was, about the year 76, sent to Britain as governor. He quelled the Silures of Wales, and began to build a road through their territory; his place was taken by Agricola in 78. In 97 he was given the highly esteemed office of Manager of Aqueducts at Rome. He is known to have been an augur, being succeeded by his friend Pliny the Younger.

The two sides of Frontinus’ public career are reflected in his two surviving works. Stratagems, written after 84, gives examples of military stratagems from Greek and Roman history, for the instruction of Roman officers, in three books; the fourth book is concerned largely with military discipline. The Aqueducts of Rome, written in 97–98, gives some historical details and a description of the aqueducts for the water supply of the city, with laws relating to them. Frontinus aimed at being useful and writes in a rather popular style which is both simple and clear.

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front cover of Water Distribution in Ancient Rome
Water Distribution in Ancient Rome
The Evidence of Frontinus
Harry B. Evans
University of Michigan Press, 1997
Water Distribution in Ancient Rome examines the nature and effects of Rome's system of aqueducts, drawing on the difficult but important work of the Roman engineer Frontinus. Among other questions, the volume considers how water traveled to the many neighborhoods of hilly Rome, which neighborhoods were connected to the water system, and how those connections were made. A consideration of Frontinus' writing reveals comprehensive planning by city officials over long periods of time and the difficulties these engineering feats posed. Water Distribution in Ancient Rome is essential reading for students and scholars of Frontinus, of Roman engineering and imperial policy, and of Roman topography and archaeology.
"Clear style, good maps and photographs, notes, and bibliography make this work accessible and valuable for students at every level. An admirable contribution to knowledge of the Roman Empire." --Choice
Harry B. Evans is Professor of Classics, Fordham University. He is a recipient of the Rome Prize and is past Secretary-Treasurer of the American Philological Association.
This book was published with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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