As the People's champion against a corrupt and murderous oligarchy, he began transformation of the Roman republic into a quasi-monarchy and a military and fiscal system that for four centuries provided western Europe, north Africa and the Middle East with security, prosperity and relative peace.
The Annals is a gripping account of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero and the brutality that marked their reigns. Tacitus deplores their depravity, proof of the corrupting force of absolute power. J.C. Yardley's vivid and accurate translation is complemented by a thorough introduction and notes.
Studies not only Pompeii, but also the buried surrounding cities of Campania. Based on the findings of an archaeological work, it also contains a map of Pompeii.
These three works exemplify the Roman historian Sallust's condemnation of the excesses of the late Republic. In the conspiracy of Catiline and the war against Jugurtha he sees moral and political corruption and the tragedy of civil strife. This new translation captures Sallust's distinctive style and considers his work as history and literature.
This selection of Cicero's letters not merely documents in detail Cicero's career but simultaneously provides a month-by-month record of the collapse of the republic and its replacement by a tyranny. It provides a vivid picture of daily life and politics in Rome, the assassination of Caesar, and Cicero's vain resistance to the rise of Mark Antony.
This volume presents five of Cicero's most famous defence speeches: of Roscius, accused of murder; of Murena, accused of bribery; of Archias, on a citizenship charge; of Caelius, accused of violence; and of Milo, accused of murdering Cicero's hated enemy Clodius. These new translations achieve new standards of accuracy and introductions and notes guide the reader through the speeches.
Cicero's philosophical works are now exciting renewed interest, in part because he provides vital evidence of the views of the (largely lost) Greek philosophers of the Hellenistic age, and partly because of the light he casts on the intellectual life of first century Rome. This edition uses the 1997 Clarendon text by the acclaimed translator P.G. Walsh.
Cicero (106-43 BC) was the greatest orator of the ancient world and a leading politician of the closing era of the Roman republic. This book presents nine speeches which reflect the development, variety, and drama of his political career. These new translations achieve new standards of accuracy.
Cicero (106-43 BC) was the greatest orator of the ancient world and a leading politician of the closing era of the Roman republic. These three dialogues here are among the most accessible of Cicero's philosophical works.
This book provides an authoritative new narrative of the Roman conquest of Britain, from the two campaigns of Julius Caesar up until the construction of Hadrian's Wall. It highlights the motivations of Roman commanders and British resistance fighters during a key period of Britain's history.
This original study draws on the results of latest archaeological discoveries to describe London's Roman origins. It offers a wealth of new information from one of the world's richest and most intensively studied archaeological sites.
Strategy of Empire dispels the myth that Romans were incapable of longterm strategic thinking or maintaining any enunciated strategy for more than a brief period, acting as a welcome counternarrative to Edward Luttwak's The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century A.D. to the Third.
A narrative history of Roman Britain. From the rebellious chiefs and druids who led native British resistance, to the experiences of the Roman military leaders in this remote, dangerous outpost of Europe, it explores the reality of life in occupied Britain within the context of the shifting fortunes of the Roman Empire.
This reference provides access to the 1200 years of Roman rule from the 8th century BC to the 5th century AD. The myriad topics covered include rulers; the legal and governmental system; architectural feats; and Roman religions. Each chapter includes a bibliography and site-specific photographs.
* Major survey of the history and culture of Roman Britain. * Brings together specialists to provide an overview of recent debates about this period. * Exceptionally broad coverage, embracing political, economic, cultural and religious life.
The Colosseum was Imperial Rome's monument to warfare. The author tells the story of Rome's greatest arena: how it was built; the gladiatorial and other games that were held there; the training of the gladiators; the audiences who revelled in the games, and the emperors who staged them and the critics.
The world known as the 'Dark Ages', often seen as a time of barbarism, was in fact the crucible in which modern Europe would be created. This book shows how this period, encompassing peoples such as Goths, Franks, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, was central to the development of our history and culture.
Chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus, to the decline into depravity and civil war under Nero and the recovery that came with his successors.
Polybius' account of Rome's rise to world power and her method of rule is a major source for the history of the years 220-146 BC. This new translation includes Books 1-5 in their entirety and all of the fragmentary Books 6 and 12 on the Roman constitution and historiography. It is accompanied by an illuminating introduction and notes.
This book distils the mass of new knowledge from recent archaeological and documentary discoveries to provide a lively picture of current knowledge and opinion about the Roman era in the British Isles at this particularly exciting point in the evolution of the subject.
An international team of expert contributors provides both an introduction to and an interpretation of the key themes and developments in the history of Europe, from the earliest days of Rome through to AD 400.
Describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. Frequently giving rise to colorful digressions, this book blends fact and legend to offer a compelling Greek view of the world of the fifth century BC.
Pliny's letters provide a fascinating insight into Roman life in the period 97 to 112 AD. They document politics, social life, religion, the educational system, the treatment of slaves and include a vivid description of the eruption of Vesuvius. This is a lively and sympathetic new translation.
Incorporates literary, numismatic and epigraphic evidence for the history of Britain under Roman rule, as well as translations of major literary sources. This title includes the texts of Caesar's commentaries on his expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC, and relevant sections of Tacitus' biography of his father-in-law, former governor of Britain.
Taylor takes Cicero as the focal point for examination of the last years of the Roman Republic, tracing the often dramatic and violent events from the harsh dictatorship of Sulla to Cicero's death in the massacres of Mark Antony and the 2nd Triumvirate. Evidence is taken largely from the speeches and surviving letters to his friend Atticus.
The Third Macedonian War ended the kingdom created by Philip II and Alexander the Great and was a crucial step in Rome's dominance of the Mediterranean. Livy's narrative is also a moral study of the individuals involved. This edition includes the Periochae, later summaries of Livy's original 142-book history.
Placing Eusebius in the context of his age the author provides a full account his life, including the period when Eusebius controversially sought to assist the heretic Arius.
Marcus Valerius Martialis is celebrated for his droll, frequently salacious, portrayal of Roman high and low society during first century rule of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. This title provides an overview - for students of classics and ancient history, as well as comparative literature - of the chief themes of his sardonic writings.
The ruins of the Forum in Rome, the centre of its ancient Empire, are one of the best known wonders of antiquity and a highpoint of the tourist route round the Eternal City, but the Forum remains for many visitors a baffling and unwelcoming place. This book helps us to rediscover its rich history.
From Village to Empire introduces ancient Rome to readers eager for a concise and engaging understanding of its political, social, and cultural history. It traces Rome's remarkable evolution from monarchy, to republic, to one-man rule by an emperor whose power stretched from Scotland to Iraq and far up the Nile valley.
'Jones spans all 1,200 years of Roman history with seemingly unstoppable enthusiasm... Informative, casually erudite but engagingly unstuffy, he makes the classical world feel both beguiling and fresh' Sunday Times
By the time of the emperors, the Romans had created the world's first global empire. This book explores how they pursued sensual delights - from steamy bathhouses to stately country villas; the excesses of the festivals to the rich culture of music, dance and song and sex, as both unrestrained and puritanical.
In Books 6 to 10 of his monumental history of Rome, Livy deals with the period in which Rome recovered from its Gallic disaster to impose mastery over almost the entire Italian peninsula in a series of ever greater wars. Vivid portrayals of personalities, politics, warfare, and religion bring 4th-century Italy vividly alive in this new translation.
The Romans gives a thorough account of the political and military history of ancient Rome down to the fall of the empire in 476, while also providing a solid grounding in the social and cultural history of the period.
Contains chapters that include Street Life, Earning a Living: Baker, Banker and Garum Maker (who ran the city), and The Pleasure of the Body: Food, Wine, Sex and Baths. This book offers an insight into the workings of a Roman town.