Imperial Space: "Rome, Byzantium and the Early Christians" (A History of Architecture)

Following the reign of Augustus at the end of the 1st century BC, the Roman republic survived for four centuries in the west, and 14 in the east. This book follows the evolution of architecture through this period, which saw the liberation of building from the limitations of traditional masonry construction and of planning from the constraints of the rectangle, producing such monuments as the Pantheon, Hadrian's Villa, and the Palace of Diocletian at Split.