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This thread is for any discussion relating to the various epochs of the Roman Empire including the following:

The Foundation
Monarchy
Republic
Empire
(Principate and Dominate)
Decline
Western Empire/Eastern Empire

This is not a non spoiler thread. Please feel free to discuss any of the above topics. Please add books, urls, reference material, etc. relevant to these topics.

Edward Gibbon

The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire

by Anthony Everitt

Synopsis:

From Anthony Everitt, the bestselling author of acclaimed biographies of Cicero, Augustus, and Hadrian, comes a riveting, magisterial account of Rome and its remarkable ascent from an obscure agrarian backwater to the greatest empire the world has ever known.

Emerging as a market town from a cluster of hill villages in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., Rome grew to become the ancient world’s preeminent power. Everitt fashions the story of Rome’s rise to glory into an erudite page-turner filled with lasting lessons for our time. He chronicles the clash between patricians and plebeians that defined the politics of the Republic. He shows how Rome’s shrewd strategy of offering citizenship to her defeated subjects was instrumental in expanding the reach of her burgeoning empire. And he outlines the corrosion of constitutional norms that accompanied Rome’s imperial expansion, as old habits of political compromise gave way, leading to violence and civil war. In the end, unimaginable wealth and power corrupted the traditional virtues of the Republic, and Rome was left triumphant everywhere except within its own borders.

Everitt paints indelible portraits of the great Romans—and non-Romans—who left their mark on the world out of which the mighty empire grew: Cincinnatus, Rome’s George Washington, the very model of the patrician warrior/aristocrat; the brilliant general Scipio Africanus, who turned back a challenge from the Carthaginian legend Hannibal; and Alexander the Great, the invincible Macedonian conqueror who became a role model for generations of would-be Roman rulers. Here also are the intellectual and philosophical leaders whose observations on the art of government and “the good life� have inspired every Western power from antiquity to the present: Cato the Elder, the famously incorruptible statesman who spoke out against the decadence of his times, and Cicero, the consummate orator whose championing of republican institutions put him on a collision course with Julius Caesar and whose writings on justice and liberty continue to inform our political discourse today.

Rome’s decline and fall have long fascinated historians, but the story of how the empire was won is every bit as compelling. With The Rise of Rome, one of our most revered chroniclers of the ancient world tells that tale in a way that will galvanize, inform, and enlighten modern readers.

Rome: An Empire's Story

by Greg Woolf (no photo)

Synopsis:

The very idea of empire was created in ancient Rome and even today traces of its monuments, literature, and institutions can be found across Europe, the Near East, and North Africa--and sometimes even further afield.

In Rome, historian Greg Woolf expertly recounts how this mammoth empire was created, how it was sustained in crisis, and how it shaped the world of its rulers and subjects--a story spanning a millennium and a half of history. The personalities and events of Roman history have become part of the West's cultural lexicon, and Woolf provides brilliant retellings of each of these, from the war with Carthage to Octavian's victory over Cleopatra, from the height of territorial expansion under the emperors Trajan and Hadrian to the founding of Constantinople and the barbarian invasions which resulted in Rome's ultimate collapse. Throughout, Woolf carefully considers the conditions that made Rome's success possible and so durable, covering topics as diverse as ecology, slavery, and religion. Woolf also compares Rome to other ancient empires and to its many later imitators, bringing into vivid relief the Empire's most distinctive and enduring features.

As Woolf demonstrates, nobody ever planned to create a state that would last more than a millennium and a half, yet Rome was able, in the end, to survive barbarian migrations, economic collapse and even the conflicts between a series of world religions that had grown up within its borders, in the process generating an image and a myth of empire that is apparently indestructible. Based on new research and compellingly told, this sweeping account promises to eclipse all previously published histories of the empire.

Rome: Day One

by Andrea Carandini (no photo)

Synopsis:

Andrea Carandini's archaeological discoveries and controversial theories about ancient Rome have made international headlines over the past few decades. In this book, he presents his most important findings and ideas, including the argument that there really was a Romulus -- a first king of Rome -- who founded the city in the mid-eighth century BC, making it the world's first city-state, as well as its most influential. "Rome: Day One" makes a powerful and provocative case that Rome was established in a one-day ceremony, and that Rome's first day was also Western civilization's.

Historians tell us that there is no more reason to believe that Rome was actually established by Romulus than there is to believe that he was suckled by a she-wolf. But Carandini, drawing on his own excavations as well as historical and literary sources, argues that the core of Rome's founding myth is not purely mythical. In this illustrated account, he makes the case that a king whose name might have been Romulus founded Rome one April 21st in the mid-eighth century BC, most likely in a ceremony in which a white bull and cow pulled a plow to trace the position of a wall marking the blessed soil of the new city. This ceremony establishing the Palatine Wall, which Carandini discovered, inaugurated the political life of a city that, through its later empire, would influence much of the world.

Uncovering the birth of a city that gave birth to a world, "Rome: Day One" reveals as never before a truly epochal event.

Thank you Vicki - good start and add

Contested Monarchy: Integrating the Roman Empire in the Fourth Century Ad

by Johannes Wienand (no photo)

Synopsis:

Contested Monarchy reappraises the wide-ranging and lasting transformation of the Roman monarchy between the Principate and Late Antiquity. The book takes as its focus the century from Diocletian to Theodosius I (284-395), a period during which the stability of monarchical rule depended heavily on the emperor's mobility, on collegial or dynastic rule, and on the military resolution of internal political crises. At the same time, profound religious changes modified the premises of political interaction and symbolic communication between the emperor and his subjects, and administrative and military readjustments changed the institutional foundations of the Roman monarchy. This volume concentrates on the measures taken by emperors of this period to cope with the changing framework of their rule. The collection examines monarchy along three distinct yet intertwined fields: Administering the Empire, Performing the Monarchy, and Balancing Religious Change. Each field possesses its own historiography and methodology, and accordingly has usually been treated separately. This volume's multifaceted approach builds on recent scholarship and trends to examine imperial rule in a more integrated fashion. With new work from a wide range of international scholars, Contested Monarchy offers a fresh survey of the role of the Roman monarchy in a period of significant and enduring change.

Thank you Jose

Aurelian and the Third Century

by Alaric Watson (no photo)

Synopsis:

Aurelian and the Third Century provides a re-evaluation, in the light of recent scholarship, of the difficulties facing the Roman empire in the AD 260s and 270s, concentrating upon the reign of the Emperor Aurelian and his part in summoning them.

With an introduction examining the situation in the mid third century, the book is divided into two parts:

* Part 1: deals chronologically with the military and political events of the period from 268 to 276

* Part 2: analyzes the other achievements and events of Aurelian's reign and assesses their importance.

Diocletian and the Roman Recovery

by Stephen Williams (no photo)

Synopsis:

Stephen Williams's book is the first biography of Diocletian to appear in English. It combines the historical narrative of his remarkable reign and those of his fellow-emperors, with a chapter-by-chapter study of each of the great problems he faced, the interlocking solutions he evolved to meet them, and the longer term results. It is both a portrait of one of Rome's greatest and most original rulers, and a political study in the emergence of Absolutism. Also includes four maps.

Thank you Vicki

The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395

by David Stone Potter (no photo)

Synopsis:

At the outset of the period covered by this book, Rome was the greatest power in the world. By its end, it had fallen conclusively from this dominant position. David Potter's comprehensive survey of two critical and eventful centuries traces the course of imperial decline, skillfully weaving together cultural, intellectual and political history. Particular attention is paid throughout to the structures of government, the rise of Persia as a rival, and the diverse intellectual movements in the empire. There is also a strong focus on Christianity, transformed in this period from a fringe sect to the leading religion. Against this detailed background, Professor Potter argues that the loss of power can mainly be attributed to the failure in the imperial elite to respond to changes inside and outside the empire, and to internal struggles for control between different elements in the government, resulting in an inefficient centralization of power at court. A striking achievement of historical synthesis combined with a compelling interpretative line, The Roman Empire at Bay enables students of all periods to understand the dynamics of great imperial powers.

The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine

by Patricia Southern (no photo)

Synopsis:

The third century AD in the Roman Empire began and ended with Emperors who are recognised today as being strong and dynamic - Septimius Severus, Diocletian and Constantine. Yet the intervening years have traditionally been seen as a period of crisis. The 260s saw the nadir of Imperial fortunes, with every frontier threatened or overrun, the senior emperor imprisoned by the Persians, and Gaul and Palmyra breaking away from central control. It might have been thought that the empire should have collapsed - yet it did not.

Pat Southern shows how this was possible by providing a chronological history of the Empire from the end of the second century to the beginning of the fourth; the emergence and devastating activities of the Germanic tribes and the Persian Empire are analysed, and a conclusion details the economic, military and social aspects of the third century 'crisis'.

Ghosts of Cannae by Robert L. O'Connell concentrates on the Second Punic War, generally ending with the battle of Zama. Generally, it concentrates on the military history and Hannibal in particular as a commander, but delves into the reasons Rome did not crack after Cannae and rebounded through more than a decade to become master of the Mediterranean world. Sometimes more detail than I'd like and thus too long, still it's a thoughtful study of an overlooked and seminal era.

The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal & the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic

Robert L. O'Connell

Brooke wrote: "Ghosts of Cannae by Robert L. O'Connell concentrates on the Second Punic War, generally ending with the battle of Zama. Generally, it concentrates on the military history and Hannibal in particular..."

Thanks for that entry, Brooke. The preferred format for citing a book is - book cover, author's photo (if available) and author's link, like so -

by Robert L. O'Connell (no photo)

The Roman World 44 BC � AD 180

by Martin Goodman (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Roman World 44 BC � AD 180 deals with the transformation of the Mediterranean regions, northern Europe and the Near East by the military autocrats who ruled Rome during this period. The book traces the impact of imperial politics on life in the city of Rome itself and in the rest of the empire, arguing that, despite long periods of apparent peace, this was a society controlled as much by fear of state violence as by consent.

Martin Goodman examines the reliance of Roman emperors on a huge military establishment and the threat of force. He analyses the extent to which the empire functioned as a single political, economic and cultural unit and discusses, region by region, how much the various indigenous cultures and societies were affected by Roman rule. The book has a long section devoted to the momentous religious changes in this period, which witnessed the popularity and spread of a series of elective cults and the emergence of rabbinic Judaism and Christianity from the complex world of first-century Judaea. This book provides a critical assessment of the significance of Roman rule for inhabitants of the empire, and introduces readers to many of the main issues currently faced by historians of the early empire.

This new edition, incorporating the finds of recent scholarship, includes a fuller narrative history, expanded sections on the history of women and slaves and on cultural life in the city of Rome, many new illustrations, an updated section of bibliographical notes, and other improvements designed to make the volume as useful as possible to students as well as the general reader.

The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity: AD 395-600

by Averil Cameron (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity AD 395-600 deals with the exciting period commonly known as 'late antiquity' - the fifth and sixth centuries. The Roman empire in the west was splitting into separate Germanic kingdoms, while the Near East, still under Roman rule from Constantinople, maintained a dense population and flourishing urban culture until the Persian and Arab invasions of the early seventh century. Averil Cameron places her emphasis on the material and literary evidence for cultural change and offers a new and original challenge to traditional assumptions of 'decline and fall' and 'the end of antiquity'. The book draws on the recent spate of scholarship on this period to discuss in detail such controversial issues as the effectiveness of the late Roman army, the late antique city and the nature of economic exchange and cultural life. With its extensive annotation, it provides a lively and often critical introduction to earlier approaches to the period, from Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire to the present day. No existing book in English provides so detailed or up-to-date an introduction to the history of both halves of the empire in this crucial period, or discusses existing views in such a challenging way. Averil Cameron is a leading specialist on late antiquity, having written about the period and taught it for many years. This book has much to say to historians of all periods. It will be particularly welcomed by teachers and students of both ancient and medieval history.

The Beginnings of Rome: Italy from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars, Ca 1,000-264 BC

by Tim J. Cornell (no photo)

Synopsis:

Using the results of archaeological techniques, and examining methodological debates, Tim Cornell provides a lucid and authoritative account of the rise of Rome. The beginnings of Rome, once thought to be lost in the mists of legend, are now being revealed by an ever-increasing body of archaeological evidence, much of it unearthed during the past twenty-five years. This new material has made it possible to trace the development of Rome from an iron-age village to a major state which eventually outstripped its competitors and became a Mediterranean power. The Beginnings of Rome offers new and often controversial answers to major questions such as Rome's relations with the Etruscans, the conflict between patricians and plebeians, the causes of Roman imperialism and the growth of a slave-based economy.

The Fall of Rome And the End of Civilization

by Bryan Ward-Perkins

Synopsis:

Was the fall of Rome a great catastrophe that cast the West into darkness for centuries to come? Or, as scholars argue today, was there no crisis at all, but simply a peaceful blending of barbarians into Roman culture, an essentially positive transformation?
In The Fall of Rome, eminent historian Bryan Ward-Perkins argues that the "peaceful" theory of Rome's "transformation" is badly in error. Indeed, he sees the fall of Rome as a time of horror and dislocation that destroyed a great civilization, throwing the inhabitants of the West back to a standard of living typical of prehistoric times. Attacking contemporary theories with relish and making use of modern archaeological evidence, he looks at both the wider explanations for the disintegration of the Roman world and also the consequences for the lives of everyday Romans, who were caught in a world of marauding barbarians, and economic collapse. The book recaptures the drama and violence of the last days of the Roman world, and reminds us of the very real terrors of barbarian occupation. Equally important, Ward-Perkins contends that a key problem with the new way of looking at the end of the ancient world is that all difficulty and awkwardness is smoothed out into a steady and positive transformation of society. Nothing ever goes badly wrong in this vision of the past. The evidence shows otherwise.
Up-to-date and brilliantly written, combining a lively narrative with the latest research and thirty illustrations, this superb volume reclaims the drama, the violence, and the tragedy of the fall of Rome.

The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians

by Peter Heather

Synopsis:

A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart. He shows first how the Huns overtuned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome's European frontiers to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees. The Goths first destroyed a Roman army at the battle of Hadrianople in 378 and went on to sack Rome in 410. The Vandals spread devastation in Gaul and Spain befor conquering North Africa, the breadbasket of the western empire, in 439. We then meet Attila the Hun, whose reign of terror swept from Constantinople to Paris, but whose death in 453 ironically precipitated a final desperate phase of Roman collapse, culminating in the Vandals' defeat of the massive Byzantine Armada, the west's last change for survival. Peter Heather convincingly argues that the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians.

Ancient Rome: A New History

by David Stone Potter (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Second Edition adds further nuance to its highly readable narrative with extended coverage of the following: the evolution of Roman historiography and early Roman rites; the Roman state and Latin literature in the second century BC; the use of the fleet in the First Punic War; the Late Republic; the development of courtlike structures in the decades before the death of Caesar; the Roman army, including evidence from Vindolanda; Constantine's conversion to Christianity. Incorporating contributions from economics, archaeology, anthropology, literary criticism, and primary sources, David Potter's thought-provoking and accessible text shows students how Roman historians evaluate evidence from sources as diverse as art, coins, and architecture. The book is beautifully illustrated with over 200 illustrations: maps, battle plans, portraits, paintings, sculpture, and more.

A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284-641: The Transformation of the Ancient World

by Stephen Mitchell (no photo)

Synopsis:

This book presents a historical study of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity from the accession of the emperor Diocletian 284 to the death of the emperor Heraclius in 641. The only modern study to cover the western and eastern empire and the entire period from 284 to 641 in a single volume. A bibliographical survey supports further study and research. Includes chronological tables, maps, and charts of important information to help orient the reader. Discusses the upheaval and change caused by the spread of Christianity and the barbarian invasions of the Huns, Goths and Franks. Contains thematic coverage of the politics, religion, economy and society of the late Roman state. Gives a full narrative of political and military events. Discusses the sources for the period.

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire

by Simon Baker (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Simon Baker charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower, focusing on six momentous turning points that shaped Roman history. Welcome to Rome as you've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid.

At the heart of this gripping popular history are the dynamic, complex but flawed characters of Rome's most powerful rulers: men such as Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero and Constantine.

The superb narrative, full of energy and imagination, is a brilliant distillation of the latest scholarship and a wonderfully evocative account of Ancient Rome.

Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization

by Richard Miles (no photo)

Synopsis:

The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased.

Drawing on a wealth of new archaeological research, Richard Miles vividly brings to life this lost empire-from its origins among the Phoenician settlements of Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest seapower in the Mediterranean. And at the heart of the history of Carthage lies the extraordinary figure of Hannibal-the scourge of Rome and one of the greatest military leaders, but a man who also unwittingly led his people to catastrophe.

The first full-scale history of Carthage in decades, Carthage Must Be Destroyed reintroduces modern readers to the larger-than-life historical players and the ancient glory of this almost forgotten civilization.

Julius Caesar

by Philip Freeman

Synopsis:

More than two thousand years after his death, Julius Caesar remains one of the great figures of history. He shaped Rome for generations, and his name became a synonym for "emperor" -- not only in Rome but as far away as Germany and Russia. He is best known as the general who defeated the Gauls and doubled the size of Rome's territories. But, as Philip Freeman describes in this fascinating new biography, Caesar was also a brilliant orator, an accomplished writer, a skilled politician, and much more.Julius Caesar was a complex man, both hero and villain. He possessed great courage, ambition, honor, and vanity. Born into a noble family that had long been in decline, he advanced his career cunningly, beginning as a priest and eventually becoming Rome's leading general. He made alliances with his rivals and then discarded them when it suited him. He was a spokesman for the ordinary people of Rome, who rallied around him time and again, but he profited enormously from his conquests and lived opulently. Eventually he was murdered in one of the most famous assassinations in history.

Caesar's contemporaries included some of Rome's most famous figures, from the generals Marius, Sulla, and Pompey to the orator and legislator Cicero as well as the young politicians Mark Antony and Octavius (later Caesar Augustus). Caesar's legendary romance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra still fascinates us today.

In this splendid biography, Freeman presents Caesar in all his dimensions and contradictions. With remarkable clarity and brevity, Freeman shows how Caesar dominated a newly powerful Rome and shaped its destiny. This book will captivate readers discovering Caesar and ancient Rome for the first time as well as those who have a deep interest in the classical world.

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

by Tom Holland

Synopsis:

In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland’s enthralling account tells the story of Caesar’s generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought thrillingly to life. Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.

by Raymond Van Dam


Synopsis:

Imperial Rome and Christian Constantinople were both astonishingly large cities with over-sized appetites that served as potent symbols of the Roman Empire and its rulers. Esteemed historian Raymond Van Dam draws upon a wide array of evidence to reveal a deep interdependence on imperial ideology and economy as he elucidates the parallel workaday realities and lofty images in their stories.

Tracing the arc of empire from the Rome of Augustus to Justinian's Constantinople, he masterfully shows how the changing political structures, ideologies, and historical narratives of Old and New Rome always remained rooted in the bedrock of the ancient Mediterranean's economic and demographic realities. The transformations in the Late Roman Empire, brought about by the rise of the military and the church, required a rewriting of the master narrative of history and signaled changes in economic systems. Just as Old Rome had provided a stage set for the performance of Republican emperorship, New Rome was configured for the celebration of Christian rule. As it came to pass, a city with too much history was outshone by a city with no history. Provided with the urban amenities and an imagined history appropriate to its elevated status, Constantinople could thus resonate as the new imperial capital, while Rome, on the other hand, was reinvented as the papal city.

Thank you Julie

Vicki wrote: "The Fall of Rome And the End of Civilization

by [author:Bryan Ward-Perkins|3860

This book sounds very interesting. Whenever I hear people applauding the Medieval Ages as an advancement of our species, I shutter. It was the turning of the human mind away from this world and towards the supposed afterlife. The ordinary people were kept in a state of ignorance and told to allow the thinking to the clergy. Possession of a bible was a crime.
The Council of Tarragona of 1234, in its second canon, ruled that:

“No one may possess the books of the Old
and New Testaments, and if anyone possesses
them he must turn them over to the local bishop
within eight days, so that they may be burned…�
� The Church Council of Tarragona 1234 AD;
2nd Cannon � Source : D. Lortsch,
Historie de la Bible en France, 1910, p.14

Ancient Rome: From the Earliest Times Down to 476 A.D

by Robert Franklin Pennell (no photo)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public.

Ancient Rome

by Thomas R. Martin

Synopsis:

With commanding skill, Thomas R. Martin tells the remarkable and dramatic story of how a tiny, poor, and threatened settlement grew to become, during its height, the dominant power in the Mediterranean world for five hundred years. Encompassing the period from Rome's founding in the eighth century B.C. through Justinian's rule in the sixth century A.D., he offers a distinctive perspective on the Romans and their civilization by employing fundamental Roman values as a lens through which to view both their rise and spectacular fall.

Interweaving social, political, religious, and cultural history, Martin interprets the successes and failures of the Romans in war, political organization, quest for personal status, and in the integration of religious beliefs and practices with government. He focuses on the central role of social and moral values in determining individual conduct as well as decisions of state, from monarchy to republic to empire. Striving to reconstruct ancient history from the ground up, he includes frequent references to ancient texts and authors, encouraging readers to return to the primary sources. Comprehensive, concise, and accessible, this masterful account provides a unique window into Rome and its changing fortune.

Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome

by Lesley Adkins

Provides full access to 1,200 years of Roman civilization from the 8th century BCE to the fifth CE. Organized thematically, nine chapters provide in-depth analysis of all aspects of Roman life.

"There are nine thematic chapters, ranging from a general outline of Rome’s history, its geography, and its military affairs, to travel and economics, literature and religion, and the minutiae of life as a Roman. Under those headings, you’ll find (for instance) the organization of the standard Roman legion and how it changed over time (including ranks, weapons and armor, and fortress plans), the types of municipalities established and sponsored by the central government (the Romans were very big on planning as opposed to allowing settlements to grow organically), the fostering of the brick and tile industries, literacy and education at the various levels of society, the change in official attitudes toward Christianity and other intrusive and competing religious movements (religion was a matter of state control in Rome, not personal beliefs), and the function of slavery (which was not at all race-based). There also are a number of quick-reference lists, covering emperors and literary figures and other prominent persons, deities, provinces, abbreviations found in monumental inscriptions, weights and measures, and other complex subjects."

Thank you for the add Michelle

A Short History of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

by John Lord (no photo)

Synopsis:

A beautifully written short introductory history of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, from the time of the assassination of Caesar and the triumph of Octavian to the eventual fall of the Roman Empire in the west to the migrating tribes. Illustrated throughout to enhance the reading experience.

Roman Empire

by Nigel Rodgers (no photo)

Synopsis:

A complete history of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, chronicling the story of the most important and influential civilization the world has ever known
- An authoritative account of Roman imperial, military and political power, and of classical Rome’s far-reaching influence on Western culture, architecture and art
- 1000 detailed photographs, fine art paintings, illustrations, reconstructions, family trees, maps, battleplans, architectural drawings and cross-sections reveal the glory and the might of ancient Rome
- Discover the scandals that shocked ancient Rome � the notorious lives of emperors Caligula and Nero, and the famous affairs of Mark Antony and Cleopatra

Swords Against The Senate: The Rise Of The Roman Army And The Fall Of The Republic

by Erik Hildinger (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the first century B.C., Rome was the ruler of a vast empire. Yet at the heart of the Republic was a fatal flaw: a dangerous hostility between the aristocracy and the plebians, each regarding itself as the foundation of Rome's military power. Turning from their foreign enemies, Romans would soon be fighting Romans.

Swords Against the Senate describes the first three decades of Rome's century-long civil war that transformed it from a republic to an imperial autocracy, from the Rome of citizen leaders to the Rome of decadent emperor thugs. As the republic came apart amid turmoil, Gaius Marius, the "people's general," rose to despotic power only to be replaced by the brutal dictator Sulla. The Roman army, once invincible against foreign antagonists, became a tool for the powerful, and the Roman Senate its foe.

Thank you Vicki for the add

Sertorius and the Struggle for Spain

by Philip Matyszak (no photo)

Synopsis:

When, after a brutal civil war, the dictator Sulla took power in Rome (82 BC), among the many who refused to accept his rule was a young army officer called Quintus Sertorius. Sertorius fled, first to Africa and then to Spain, where he made common cause with the native people who had been savagely oppressed by a succession of corrupt Roman governors. Discovering a genius for guerilla warfare (he claimed he received divine guidance from Artemis via a white fawn he kept), Sertorius came close to driving the Romans out of Spain altogether. Rome responded by sending reinforcements under the control of the up-and-coming young general Gnaeus Pompey (later Pompey the Great). The epic struggle that followed between these two great commanders is a master class of ancient strategy and tactical maneuver. Massively outnumbered, Sertorious remained undefeated on the battlefield, but was eventually assassinated by jealous subordinates, none of whom proved a match for Pompey. This proved the decisive end of the struggle for Spain, though recalcitrant tribes held out until the time of Augustus. The tale of Sertorius is the story of people struggling to liberate themselves from oppressive rule. It is also the story of Sertorius himself, who started as an idealist, and ended almost as savage and despotic as his enemies. But above all, it is the story of a duel between two great generals, fought between two different styles of army in the valleys of the Spanish interior.

Great Vicki

The Collapse of Rome: Marius, Sulla and the First Civil War

by Gareth C. Sampson (no photo)

Synopsis:

By the early first century BC, the Roman Republic had already carved itself a massive empire and was easily the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. Roman armies had marched victoriously over enemies far and wide, but the Roman heartland was soon to feel the tramp of armies on campaign as the Republic was convulsed by civil war and rival warlords vied for supremacy, sounding the first death knell of the Republican system. At the center of the conflict was the rivalry between Marius, victor of the Jugurthine and Northern wars, and his former subordinate, Sulla. But, as Gareth Sampson points out in this new analysis, the situation was much more complex than the traditional view portrays it and the scope of the First Civil War both wider and longer. This narrative and analysis of a critical and bloody period in Roman history will make an ideal sequel to the author's Crisis of Rome (and a prequel to his first book, The Defeat of Rome).

From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 BC to AD 68

by H.H. Scullard (no photo)

Synopsis:

From the Gracchi to Nero is an outstanding history of the Roman world from 133 BC to 68 AD. Fifty years since publication it is widely hailed as the classic survey of the period, going through many revised and updated editions until H.H. Scullard's death. It explores the decline and fall of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Pax Romana under the early Principate. In superbly clear style, Scullard brings vividly to life the Gracchi's attempts at reform, the rise and fall of Marius and Sulla, Pompey and Caesar, society and culture in the late Roman Republic, the Augustan Principate, Tiberius and Gaius, Claudius and Nero, and economic and social life in the early Empire.

Thank you Vicki

The Fall of the Roman Republic

by David Shotter (no photo)

Synopsis:

Revised and updated to include the latest research in the field, this second edition of a popular history text examines how the Roman republic was destabilised by the unplanned growth of the Roman empire.

Central discussion points include:
* the government of the Republic
* how certain individuals took advantage of the expansion of the empire
* Julius Caesar's accession to power
* the rise of the Augustan principate following Julius Caesar's murder.

Drawing on a wealth of recent scholarship and including an expanded and updated guide to further reading, a chronology, and a guide to the provinces of the Roman empire, students of history and classical studies will find this a helpful and accessible introduction to this complex period in history.

Thank you for the adds Vicki

The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic

by Mike Duncan

Synopsis:

The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. After its founding in 509 BCE, Rome grew from an unremarkable Italian city-state to the dominant superpower of the Mediterranean world. Through it all, the Romans never allowed a single man to seize control of the state. Every year for four hundred years the annually elected consuls voluntarily handed power to their successors. Not once did a consul give in to the temptation to grab absolute power and refuse to let it go. It was a run of political self-denial unmatched in the history of the world. The disciplined Roman republicans then proceeded to explode out of Italy and conquer a world filled with petty tyrants, barbarian chieftains, and despotic kings.

But the very success of the Republic proved to be its undoing. The republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome ruled. Bankrolled by mountains of imperial wealth and without a foreign enemy to keep them united, ambitious Roman leaders began to stray from the republican austerity of their ancestors. Almost as soon as they had conquered the Mediterranean, Rome would become engulfed in violent political conflicts and civil wars that would destroy the Republic less than a century later.

The Storm Before the Storm tells the story of the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic--the story of the first generation that had to cope with the dangerous new political environment made possible by Rome's unrivaled domination over the known world. The tumultuous years from 133-80 BCE set the stage for the fall of the Republic.

The Republic faced issues like rising economic inequality, increasing political polarization, the privatization of the military, endemic social and ethnic prejudice, rampant corruption, ongoing military quagmires, and the ruthless ambition and unwillingness of elites to do anything to reform the system in time to save it--a situation that draws many parallels to present-day America. These issues are among the reasons why the Roman Republic would fall. And as we all know, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

That looks like a good one, Michele. So many books, so little time!

The Breakdown of the Roman Republic

by Christopher S. Mackay (no photo)

Synopsis:

In this book, Christopher Mackay recounts the last century of the Roman Republic in a readable, narrative treatment. Within this narrative he analyzes the breakdown of the traditional Republican form of government as a result of the administrative and political crises brought about by the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean basin in the Middle Republic. He also shows how the many reforms instituted by Augustus, which effectively created the new imperial form of government, were a reaction to the failings of the Republic. Illustrated with an extensive collection of coin images that document the changes in contemporary political ideology, this volume also focuses on the political significance of the key personalities, including Marius, Sulla, and Caesar, who played a large role in the events that lead to the demise of the Roman Republic.

Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe

by Peter Heather

Synopsis:

Here is a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds - the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire - into remarkably similar societies and states.

The book's vivid narrative begins at the time of Christ, when the Mediterranean circle, newly united under the Romans, hosted a politically sophisticated, economically advanced, and culturally developed civilization - one with philosophy, banking, professional armies, literature, stunning architecture, even garbage collection. The rest of Europe, meanwhile, was home to subsistence farmers living in small groups, dominated largely by Germanic speakers. Although having some iron tools and weapons, these mostly illiterate peoples worked mainly in wood and never built in stone. The farther east one went, the simpler it became: fewer iron tools and ever less productive economies. And yet ten centuries later, from the Atlantic to the Urals, the European world had turned. Slavic speakers had largely superseded Germanic speakers in central and Eastern Europe, literacy was growing, Christianity had spread, and most fundamentally, Mediterranean supremacy was broken. The emergence of larger and stronger states in the north and east had, by the year 1000, brought patterns of human organization into much greater homogeneity across the continent. Barbarian Europe was barbarian no longer.

Bringing the whole of first millennium European history together for the first time, and challenging current arguments that migration played but a tiny role in this unfolding narrative, Empires and Barbarians views the destruction of the ancient world order in the light of modern migration and globalization patterns. The result is a compelling, nuanced, and integrated view of how the foundations of modern Europe were laid.

The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire

by Kyle Harper (no photo)

Synopsis:

Here is the monumental retelling of one of the most consequential chapters of human history: the fall of the Roman Empire. The Fate of Rome is the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome's power--a story of nature's triumph over human ambition.

Interweaving a grand historical narrative with cutting-edge climate science and genetic discoveries, Kyle Harper traces how the fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians but also by volcanic eruptions, solar cycles, climate instability, and devastating viruses and bacteria. He takes readers from Rome's pinnacle in the second century, when the empire seemed an invincible superpower, to its unraveling by the seventh century, when Rome was politically fragmented and materially depleted. Harper describes how the Romans were resilient in the face of enormous environmental stress, until the besieged empire could no longer withstand the combined challenges of a "little ice age" and recurrent outbreaks of bubonic plague.

A poignant reflection on humanity's intimate relationship with the environment, The Fate of Rome provides a sweeping account of how one of history's greatest civilizations encountered, endured, yet ultimately succumbed to the cumulative burden of nature's violence. The example of Rome is a timely reminder that climate change and germ evolution have shaped the world we inhabit--in ways that are surprising and profound.

The Last Generation of the Roman Republic

by Erich S. Gruen (no photo)

Synopsis:

Available for the first time in paperback, with a new introduction that reviews related scholarship of the past twenty years, Erich Gruen's classic study of the late Republic examines institutions as well as personalities, social tensions as well as politics, the plebs and the army as well as the aristocracy.

The Roman Revolution

by Ronald Syme

Synopsis:

The Roman Revolution is a profound and unconventional treatment of a great theme - the fall of the Republic and the decline of freedom in Rome between 60 BC and AD 14, and the rise to power of the greatest of the Roman Emperors, Augustus. The transformation of state and society, the violent transference of power and property, and the establishment of Augustus' rule are presented in an unconventional narrative, which quotes from ancient evidence, refers seldomly to modern authorities, and states controversial opinions quite openly. The result is a book which is both fresh and compelling.