Tom Holland

Pax

CA$140

Illustrated by Kent Barton

Tom Holland’s vivid history charts the Roman Empire at its dazzling height – from the death of Nero to the rise of Hadrian. With colour artwork, hand-drawn maps and a striking cover by Kent Barton, Pax brings the golden age of Rome to life in all its splendour, ambition and brutality.

Perfect Additions

Rubicon
Tom Holland
Rubicon
CA$140

Pax

CA$140
Book Details
 
Production DetailsBound in printed and blocked cloth, with a design by Kent Barton
Plain slipcase
Dimensions10 inches x 6¾ inches
FontTypeset in Spectrum with Castellar as display
Pages424
AuthorTom Holland
Illustrated byKent Barton
IllustrationFrontispiece and 24 pages of colour plates; 14 hand-drawn maps
Publication Date16/09/2025
PrintingFirst Printing
Editor's Notes
 
There is no one quite like Tom Holland for capturing the magnificent drama of the Roman Empire, and with Pax the story continues as antiquity’s ultimate superpower reaches the pinnacle of its greatness.

Following Rubicon and Dynasty, Pax takes up the history after the death of Nero in AD 68, with Rome commanding an empire stretching from Scotland to Arabia, and perhaps a quarter of humanity under its sway. The empire now enters a golden age of stability, prosperity and peace – but the Pax Romana is anything but peaceful. There is the destruction of Jerusalem, the conquests of Trajan, the further subjugation of the British and the building of Hadrian’s Wall (Rome at its predatory best), and at home, the catastrophe of Pompeii and the horrors of the gladiatorial spectaculars at Rome’s new arena, the Colosseum. Holland brings us the ancient world in all its sights, sounds and smells – its scandals, pomp and magnificence.

Twenty-four pages of colour images offer a glimpse into this dramatic period of Roman history – coins, sculptures, landscapes and frescoes (one of which, a fresco of gladiators in a Pompeii tomb, was rephotographed exclusively for this edition). Also included are 14 hand-drawn maps by cartographer Kevin Freeborn and a fine cover portrait of Emperor Hadrian by Kent Barton.

About the Book

War, Peace and Power

Pax by Tom Holland is a vivid and compelling exploration of the Roman Empire at its height – a time of unprecedented peace, prosperity and power, secured through military might and political cunning. Focusing on the years between the rise of Emperor Hadrian and the death of Marcus Aurelius, Holland charts the Roman world’s complex blend of order and brutality, civilisation and conquest. With his trademark flair for narrative history, he brings to life the characters, cities and conflicts that shaped the empire’s golden age – from emperors and senators to soldiers and enslaved people. Pax is as much about ideology as empire, showing how Rome justified its dominance and how its peace was built upon relentless expansion and suppression. Richly detailed, sharply observed and often wryly humorous, Pax is the third in Holland’s acclaimed trilogy on Roman history and offers a fresh, exhilarating take on a civilisation that still shapes our world.

1 of 4

About the Book

War, Peace and Power

Pax by Tom Holland is a vivid and compelling exploration of the Roman Empire at its height – a time of unprecedented peace, prosperity and power, secured through military might and political cunning. Focusing on the years between the rise of Emperor Hadrian and the death of Marcus Aurelius, Holland charts the Roman world’s complex blend of order and brutality, civilisation and conquest. With his trademark flair for narrative history, he brings to life the characters, cities and conflicts that shaped the empire’s golden age – from emperors and senators to soldiers and enslaved people. Pax is as much about ideology as empire, showing how Rome justified its dominance and how its peace was built upon relentless expansion and suppression. Richly detailed, sharply observed and often wryly humorous, Pax is the third in Holland’s acclaimed trilogy on Roman history and offers a fresh, exhilarating take on a civilisation that still shapes our world.

2 of 4

About the Book

War, Peace and Power

Pax by Tom Holland is a vivid and compelling exploration of the Roman Empire at its height – a time of unprecedented peace, prosperity and power, secured through military might and political cunning. Focusing on the years between the rise of Emperor Hadrian and the death of Marcus Aurelius, Holland charts the Roman world’s complex blend of order and brutality, civilisation and conquest. With his trademark flair for narrative history, he brings to life the characters, cities and conflicts that shaped the empire’s golden age – from emperors and senators to soldiers and enslaved people. Pax is as much about ideology as empire, showing how Rome justified its dominance and how its peace was built upon relentless expansion and suppression. Richly detailed, sharply observed and often wryly humorous, Pax is the third in Holland’s acclaimed trilogy on Roman history and offers a fresh, exhilarating take on a civilisation that still shapes our world.

3 of 4

About the Book

War, Peace and Power

Pax by Tom Holland is a vivid and compelling exploration of the Roman Empire at its height – a time of unprecedented peace, prosperity and power, secured through military might and political cunning. Focusing on the years between the rise of Emperor Hadrian and the death of Marcus Aurelius, Holland charts the Roman world’s complex blend of order and brutality, civilisation and conquest. With his trademark flair for narrative history, he brings to life the characters, cities and conflicts that shaped the empire’s golden age – from emperors and senators to soldiers and enslaved people. Pax is as much about ideology as empire, showing how Rome justified its dominance and how its peace was built upon relentless expansion and suppression. Richly detailed, sharply observed and often wryly humorous, Pax is the third in Holland’s acclaimed trilogy on Roman history and offers a fresh, exhilarating take on a civilisation that still shapes our world.

4 of 4

Author image

About the Author

Tom Holland is one of Britain’s foremost writers on the ancient world. He is the author of Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic (2003; Folio 2016); Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom (2008); Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West (2005; Folio 2018); In the Shadow of the Sword (2012); Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar (2015; Folio 2021), Athelstan: The Making of England (2016), Dominion (2019, Folio 2024) and Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age (2023; Folio 2025). Persian Fire won the Anglo-Hellenic League’s Runciman Award, and Rubicon was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History. Holland has also published a translation of Herodotus’ Histories (2013) and Suetonius's The Lives of the Caesars (2025), and has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio. In 2007, he was the winner of the Classical Association prize, awarded to ‘the individual who has done most to promote the study of the language, literature and civilisation of Ancient Greece and Rome’ and he is co-host of the extraordinarily popular podcast The Rest Is History.