Christopher Kelly is University Reader in Ancient History, and Fellow and Director of Studies at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

The Roman empire created the most remarkable administrative machines of all time. Its men and its workings are the theme of Christopher Kelly's book, compelling and enlightening for all who live under a bureaucracy and wonder how it works, and why it is as it is...Kelly [provides] a general examination of power, influence and money in the administration of the empire. The resonances with our own times are self-evident...Kelly restores the voices of the Roman dead. Here, in the 21st century, we would be wise to listen.

• Acknowledgments Prologue: First Thoughts Part I. The Bureaucrat's Tale Introduction: John Lydus: A Man and His Book 1. All the Prefect's Men 2. The Competition for Spoils Part II. Rulers and Ruled Introduction: Passages from the Principate to Late Antiquity 3. Standing in Line 4. Purchasing Power 5. Autocracy and Bureaucracy Epilogue: Last Judgments Notes Bibliography Index

Christopher Kelly is University Reader in Ancient History, and Fellow and Director of Studies at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

The Roman empire created the most remarkable administrative machines of all time. Its men and its workings are the theme of Christopher Kelly's book, compelling and enlightening for all who live under a bureaucracy and wonder how it works, and why it is as it is...Kelly [provides] a general examination of power, influence and money in the administration of the empire. The resonances with our own times are self-evident...Kelly restores the voices of the Roman dead. Here, in the 21st century, we would be wise to listen.

• Acknowledgments Prologue: First Thoughts Part I. The Bureaucrat's Tale Introduction: John Lydus: A Man and His Book 1. All the Prefect's Men 2. The Competition for Spoils Part II. Rulers and Ruled Introduction: Passages from the Principate to Late Antiquity 3. Standing in Line 4. Purchasing Power 5. Autocracy and Bureaucracy Epilogue: Last Judgments Notes Bibliography Index

Christopher Kelly is University Reader in Ancient History, and Fellow and Director of Studies at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

The Roman empire created the most remarkable administrative machines of all time. Its men and its workings are the theme of Christopher Kelly's book, compelling and enlightening for all who live under a bureaucracy and wonder how it works, and why it is as it is...Kelly [provides] a general examination of power, influence and money in the administration of the empire. The resonances with our own times are self-evident...Kelly restores the voices of the Roman dead. Here, in the 21st century, we would be wise to listen.

• Acknowledgments Prologue: First Thoughts Part I. The Bureaucrat's Tale Introduction: John Lydus: A Man and His Book 1. All the Prefect's Men 2. The Competition for Spoils Part II. Rulers and Ruled Introduction: Passages from the Principate to Late Antiquity 3. Standing in Line 4. Purchasing Power 5. Autocracy and Bureaucracy Epilogue: Last Judgments Notes Bibliography Index