At its peak, the Roman empire “stretched from the Atlantic to Arabia, and from the icy northern seas to the Sahara”. How could Rome keep control of such a vast realm? In our cover feature this month, Tom Holland seeks to answer that question, focusing on the golden age of Pax Romana – two centuries of relative peace and prosperity across the Roman domain. As Tom explains, even in an age of limited warfare, the threat of violence was always lurking below the surface. You can read his evocative piece on page 22.
The traditional starting point of Pax Romana is the beginning of the reign of Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, who emerged triumphant from the decades of civil wars surrounding the rise and fall of Julius Caesar. Those tumultuous years are the subject of our newpodcast series, where I’ve been joined by several historians to tell the
story of the most famous assassination in history. All six episodes of Caesar: Death of a Dictator are available to listen to now, free for magazine subscribers, at historyextra.com/caesarpodcast.
Also this month, we’re marking the 75th anniversary of the formation of the NHS. Despite its critics, many would argue that the health service is one of Britain’s best-loved institutions, but it hasn’t always been that way. In his fascinating article, on page 30, Andrew Seaton revisits the highs and lows of the NHS’s history to reveal how it became so cherished.
I hope you enjoy the issue.

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