If you want more intellectual history, I recommend "The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire" by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Rostovtzeff ht

If you want more intellectual history, I recommend "The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire" by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Rostovtzeff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Rostovtzeff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominate == USSR, basically. It's too editorialized to stand as a modern historical text, but it's great fun to read nonetheless!