20 Best Books On Rome (2023 Update)

The book is intended for roman history courses in classics or history departments, but is also ocassionally used in roman civ classes. 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 solidgrounding in the social and cultural history of the period. the art and map program have been updated and slightly expanded, with a new 8-page color insert.

The death of the roman empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. now, in this groundbreaking book, peter heather proposes a stunning new solution: centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an empire that had dominated their lives for so long. 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 overturned 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, before conquering north africa, the breadbasket of the western empire, in 439. 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.

Lonely planet: the world's number one travel guide publisher* lonely planet's best of rome is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. imagine the roar of the crowds in the colosseum, crane your neck at the sistine chapel, and sample every single flavour of pizza and gelato the city offers – all with your trusted travel companion. discover the best of rome and begin your journey now inside lonely planet's best of rome: full-colour maps and images throughout highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots essential info at your fingertips – hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices honest reviews for all budgets – eating, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss cultural insights provide a richer, more rewarding travel experience – covering history, art, architecture, food, wine, sport, politics covers ancient rome, centro storico, tridente, trevi, quirinale, vatican city, borgo, prati, trastevere, gianicolo, monti, esquilino, san lorenzo, san giovanni, testaccio, villa borghese, and more. the perfect choice: lonely planet's best of rome is filled with inspiring and colourful photos, and focuses on rome's most popular attractions for those wanting to experience the best of the best. looking for a comprehensive guide that recommends both popular and offbeat experiences, and extensively covers all the country has? about lonely planet: lonely planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. you'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. 'lonely planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' – new york times 'lonely planet. it's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. it's on mobile phones. it's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' – fairfax media (australia) *source: nielsen bookscan: australia, uk, usa, 5/2016-4/2017

Gibbon's decline and fall of the roman empire, published between 1776 and 1788, is the undisputed masterpiece of english historical writing which can only perish with the language itself. its length alone is a measure of its monumental quality: seventy-one chapters, of which twenty-eight appear in full in this edition. with style, learning and wit, gibbon takes the reader through the history of europe from the second century ad to the fall of constantinople in 1453 – an enthralling account by 'the greatest of the historians of the enlightenment'. this edition includes gibbon's footnotes and quotations, here translated for the first time, together with brief explanatory comments, a precis of the chapters not included, 16 maps, a glossary, and a list of emperors.

Morton's evocative account of his days in 1950s rome—the fabled era of la dolce vita—remains an indispensable guide to what makes the eternal city eternal. in his characteristic anecdotal style, morton leads the reader on a well-informed and delightful journey around the city, from the fontana di trevi and the colosseum to the vatican gardens loud with exquisite birdsong. he also takes time to consider such eternal topics as the idiosyncrasies of italian drivers as well as the ominous possibilities behind an unusual absence of pigeons in the piazza di san pietro. morton.. . .wrote of rome with style, involvement, and passion. his book in search of rome is perhaps the definitive guide book on the eternal city."

Ancient rome is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. focusing on six turning points in roman history, simon baker's absorbing narrative charts the rise and fall of a political machine unmatched in its brutality, genius, and lust for power. putting flesh on the bones of these legendary figures, baker looks beyond the dusty caricatures to explore their real motivations, ambitions, intrigues, and rivalries. the superb narrative, full of energy and imagination, is a brilliant distillation of the latest scholarship and a wonderfully evocative account of ancient rome.

A sweeping, revisionist history of the roman empire from one of our foremost classicists.ancient rome was an imposing city even by modern standards, a sprawling imperial metropolis of more than a million inhabitants, a "mixture of luxury and filth, liberty and exploitation, civic pride and murderous civil war" that served as the seat of power for an empire that spanned from spain to syria. yet how did all this emerge from what was once an insignificant village in central italy? in s.p.q.r., world-renowned classicist mary beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even two thousand years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty. opening the book in 63 bce with the famous clash between the populist aristocrat catiline and cicero, the renowned politician and orator, beard animates this “terrorist conspiracy,” which was aimed at the very heart of the republic, demonstrating how this singular event would presage the struggle between democracy and autocracy that would come to define much of rome’s subsequent history. illustrating how a classical democracy yielded to a self-confident and self-critical empire, s.p.q.r. reintroduces us, though in a wholly different way, to famous and familiar characters—hannibal, julius caesar, cleopatra, augustus, and nero, among others—while expanding the historical aperture to include those overlooked in traditional histories: the women, the slaves and ex-slaves, conspirators, and those on the losing side of rome’s glorious conquests. like the best detectives, beard sifts fact from fiction, myth and propaganda from historical record, refusing either simple admiration or blanket condemnation. far from being frozen in marble, roman history, she shows, is constantly being revised and rewritten as our knowledge expands. indeed, our perceptions of ancient rome have changed dramatically over the last fifty years, and s.p.q.r., with its nuanced attention to class inequality, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, promises to shape our view of roman history for decades to come.

An epic endeavor by a man genuinely enamored of his native rome, livy's "the history of rome" was originally written in 142 books spanning the entire history of the roman people up to livy's day in the time of augustus in the first century bc. while this roman historian's monumental undertaking took most of his life, only 35 books still survive today. livy begins with aeneas' landing on italy and the myth of romulus and remus' founding of rome. he also thoroughly covers numerous wars, such as the samnite wars, the punic wars, and the social war, as well as all of the rulers of rome, including julius caesar, nero, and augustus. though the work is a bit biased, its countless references to other sources are a testament of livy's attempt to create an accurate, understandable history of the roman kingdom, and, later, the republic. simultaneously a glorification of rome and a passionate warning to future romans, "ab urbe condita" reflects the magnificence and ignominy, the opinions and interests, and the myths and political realities of one of history's most remarkable civilizations. in this volume you will find books i-viii of livy's "histories".

As this book intriguingly explores, for those who would make rome great again and their victims, ideas of roman decline and renewal have had a long and violent history. the decline of rome has been a constant source of discussion for more than 2200 years. everyone from american journalists in the twenty-first century ad to roman politicians at the turn of the third century bc have used it as a tool to illustrate the negative consequences of changes in their world. because roman history is so long, it provides a buffet of ready-made stories of decline that can help develop the context around any snapshot. an empire that once controlled all or part of more than 40 modern european, asian, and african countries no longer exists. roman prophets of decline were, ultimately, proven correct-a fact that makes their modern invocations all the more powerful. if it happened then, it could happen now. the eternal decline and fall of rome tells the stories of the people who built their political and literary careers around promises of roman renewal as well as those of the victims they blamed for causing rome's decline. each chapter offers the historical context necessary to understand a moment or a series of moments in which romans, aspiring romans, and non–romans used ideas of roman decline and restoration to seize power and remake the world around them. the story begins during the roman republic just after 200 bc. it proceeds through the empire of augustus and his successors, traces the roman loss of much of western europe in the fifth century ad, and then follows roman history as it runs through the eastern roman empire (byzantium) until its fall in 1453. the final two chapters look at ideas of roman decline and renewal from the fifteenth century until today. if rome illustrates the profound danger of the rhetoric of decline, it also demonstrates the rehabilitative potential of arhetoric that focuses on collaborative restoration, a lesson of great relevance to our world today.

Dramatic artist, natural scientist and philosopher, plutarch is widely regarded as the most significant historian of his era, writing sharp and succinct accounts of the greatest politicians and statesman of the classical period. taken from the lives, a series of biographies spanning the graeco-roman age, this collection illuminates the twilight of the old roman republic from 157-43 bc. whether describing the would-be dictators marius and sulla, the battle between crassus and spartacus, the death of political idealist crato, julius caesar's harrowing triumph in gaul or the eloquent oratory of cicero, all offer a fascinating insight into an empire wracked by political divisions. deeply influential on shakespeare and many other later writers, they continue to fascinate today with their exploration of corruption, decadence and the struggle for ultimate power.

Lonely planet's rome is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. gaze at some of rome's most spectacular works of art at the museo e galleria borghese, experience the awe-inspiring amphitheatre that is the colosseum, and walk one of the world's oldest roads: the appian way – all with your trusted travel companion. get to the heart of rome and begin your journey now!

This bumper photographic portrait of rome brings together hundreds of photographs from the 1840s through to today to explore the extraordinary history, beauty, and art of this incomarable cultural capital. through some 500 sepia, black-and-white, and color images. this bumper photographic portrait of rome brings together hundreds of photographs from the 1840s through to today to explore the extraordinary history, beauty, and art of this incomarable cultural capital. through some 500 sepia, black-and-white, and color images. giovanni fanelli, professor of architecture history at the university of florence, is the author of several works of architectural history, urban history, graphic arts and photography, translated into several languages; he has been the scientific director of the fondazione ragghianti (lucca) and is director of several series of laterza publishers (rome).

The history of rome is a monumental history of ancient rome. the first ten books cover the legendary founding of rome, including the landing of aeneas in italy and the founding of the city by romulus. this is followed by the period of the kings, the early republic and its conquest by the gauls in 390 bc, as well as the wars with the aequi, volsci, etruscans, and samnites, down to 292 bc.the history of rome originally comprised 142 "books," thirty-five of which still exist in reasonably complete form today. because livy was writing under the reign of augustus, livy's history emphasizes the great triumphs of rome. he wrote his history with embellished accounts of roman heroism in order to promote the new type of government implemented by augustus when he became emperor.this case laminate collector's edition includes a victorian inspired dust-jacket.

A comprehensive and radical new survey of religious life in rome over the course of a millennium. this book offers a radical new survey of more than a thousand years of religious life in rome, from the foundation of the city to its rise to world empire and its conversion to christianity. it sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the eighth century bc and the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the first centuries of the christian era.

Nero fiddled while rome burned. as catchy as that aphorism is, it's sadly untrue, even if it has a nice ring to it. the one thing nero is well-known for is the one thing he actually didn't do. but fear not, the truth of his life, his rule and what he did with unrestrained power, is plenty weird, salacious and horrifying. and he is not alone. roman history, from the very foundation of the city, is replete with people and stories that shock our modern sensibilities. evil roman emperors puts the worst of rome's rulers in one place and offers a review of their lives and a historical context for what made them into what they became. it concludes by ranking them, counting down to the worst ruler in rome's long history. lucius tarquinius suburbus called peace conferences with warring states, only to slaughter foreign leaders; commodus sold offices of the empire to the highest bidder; caligula demanded to be worshipped as a god, and marched troops all the way to the ocean simply to collect seashells as "proof" of their conquest; even the roman senate itself was made up of oppressors, exploiters, and murderers of all stripes. author phillip barlag profiles a host of evil roman rulers across the history of their empire, along with the faceless governing bodies that condoned and even carried out heinous acts. roman history, deviant or otherwise, is a subject of endless fascination. what's never been done before is to look at the worst of the worst at the same time, comparing them side by side, and ranking them against one another. until now.

From robert hughes, one of the greatest art and cultural critics of our time, comes a sprawling, comprehensive, and deeply personal history of rome—as a city, as an empire, and as an origin of western art and civilization. starting on a personal note, hughes takes us to the rome he first encountered as a hungry twenty-one-year-old fresh from australia in 1959. from there, he goes back more than two thousand years to the city’s foundation, one mired in mythologies and superstitions that would inform rome’s development for centuries. he explores in rich detail the formation of empire, the rise of early christianity, the crusades, the renaissance, and takes us up to the present, through the rise and fall of mussolini’s fascism. equal parts idolizing, blasphemous, outraged, and awestruck, rome is a portrait of the eternal city as only robert hughes could paint it.

From robert hughes, one of the greatest art and cultural critics of our time, comes a sprawling, comprehensive, and deeply personal history of rome—as a city, as an empire, and as an origin of western art and civilization. starting on a personal note, hughes takes us to the rome he first encountered as a hungry twenty-one-year-old fresh from australia in 1959. from there, he goes back more than two thousand years to the city’s foundation, one mired in mythologies and superstitions that would inform rome’s development for centuries. he explores in rich detail the formation of empire, the rise of early christianity, the crusades, the renaissance, and takes us up to the present, through the rise and fall of mussolini’s fascism. equal parts idolizing, blasphemous, outraged, and awestruck, rome is a portrait of the eternal city as only robert hughes could paint it.

“this book will be of the greatest service . . . a scholarly and convenient presentation of a vast array of facts.” –times literary supplement in this well-written and well-researched social history, f. cowell succeeds in making life in ancient rome alive and dynamic. the combination of acute historical detail and supplementary illustrations makes this book perfectly suited for the student preparing to explore classics, as well as the tourist preparing to explore twentieth-century rome. lucid and engaging, life in ancient rome is for anyone seeking familiarity with the greatness that was rome.

"experience the magic of rome with 15 carefully curated itineraries, written by an expert travel writer, that showcase the city's best sights. fun features include in-depth looks at major icons, 'best of' lists of quintessential things to see and do, and insider information full of local knowledge. a 'travel essentials' section has planning tips and hand-picked hotels."–

“this book will be of the greatest service . . . a scholarly and convenient presentation of a vast array of facts.” –times literary supplement in this well-written and well-researched social history, f. cowell succeeds in making life in ancient rome alive and dynamic. the combination of acute historical detail and supplementary illustrations makes this book perfectly suited for the student preparing to explore classics, as well as the tourist preparing to explore twentieth-century rome. lucid and engaging, life in ancient rome is for anyone seeking familiarity with the greatness that was rome.