[At the heart of the Roman Empire. The history of the Slovenian territory in Antiquity, to the reign of Maximinus Thrax]

This book (written in Slovenian) discusses the history of the Slovenian territory and parts of neighbouring regions from its beginnings, shrouded in mythological tales, with a brief account of prehistory to the arrival of the Romans and the rule they imposed here as well. Divided between Italy and the provinces of Noricum and Pannonia, the Slovenian territory became part of the vast Roman Empire. It shared its fate for several centuries, witnessing periods of relative peace and prosperity, during the first century and a half, the devastating Marcomannic Wars under Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161–180), a renewed economic prosperity under the Severan Dynasty and a growing crisis that followed afterwards. The book that ends with the rule of Maximinus Thrax (AD 235–238) is the first volume of ‘The History of Slovenia in Antiquity’, of which Rajko Bratož wrote the second volume, dedicated to Late Antiquity (Between Italy and Illyricum. Slovene territory and its neighbourhood in Late Antiquity, 2014).