History: Ancient Rome

In this lively and very readable history of the Roman Empire from its establishment in 27 BC to the barbarian incursions and the fall of Rome in AD 476, Kershaw draws on a range of evidence, from Juvenal's "Satires" to recent archaeological finds. He examines extraordinary personalities such as Caligula and Nero and seismic events such as the conquest of Britain and the establishment of a 'New Rome' at Constantinople and the split into eastern and western empires. Along the way we encounter gladiators and charioteers, senators and slaves, fascinating women, bizarre sexual practices and grotesque acts of brutality, often seen through eyes of some of the world's greatest writers. He concludes with a brief look at how Rome lives on in the contemporary world, in politics, architecture, art and literature.

Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire through the lives of ten men who ruled Rome, from Augustus, the founder, to Constantine, who refounded the empire as Christian and established a new capital at Constantinople, three and a half centuries later. Strauss examines this enduring heritage through the lives of the men who made it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. In time they learned to maintain the family business, the government of an empire, by adapting when necessary and always persevering.

The Pax Romana provided a remarkable period of peace and stability, rarely seen before or since. Yet the Romans were first and foremost conquerors, imperialists who took by force a vast empire stretching from the Euphrates in the east to the Atlantic coast in the west. They were aggressive and ruthless, and during the creation of their empire millions died or were enslaved. But the Pax Romana was real, not merely the boast of emperors, and some of the regions in the Empire have never again lived for so many generations free from major wars. So what was the Pax Romana and what did it mean for the people who found themselves brought under Roman rule? Adrian Goldsworthy tells the story of the creation of the Empire, revealing how and why the Romans came to control so much of the world and asking whether the favourable image of the Roman peace is a true one.

An Emperor's crimes provoke the wrath of the gods . . . Nero has seized control of Rome and the crown. He is willing to destroy anyone that gets in his way. No one is safe - not even his scheming mother. As its new Emperor sinks to insane levels of brutality, Rome becomes a hell of corruption, depravity and vice. But dark omens hang over the city. Has the power-crazed Nero gone too far?

This book in our collection also has an associated website.