The History and Conquests of Ancient Rome

by Nigel Rodgers

The story of Rome is still one of the great tales of human history. This superbly illustrated book offers a fascinating insight into the rise of Rome, which was for six centuries the world's greatest superpower. The people, places and events of this military and political empire comes to life 1500 years after its final decline and fall.
The first section of the book shows how Rome grew from a small Iron Age settlement on the hills above the Tiber to the supreme ruler of the known world, a story hat fascinated contemporaries as much as it has later generations. Find out about the lives of great Romans from the generals, the emperors and the powerful women behind the throne, to the enemies of Rome and the great military and social historians who recorded scandals and stories of ancient Rome.
The second section of the book focuses on the Roman army - how its men were trained and organized, and the legionary infrastructure that permitted the power of Rome to develop. Detailed accounts of all the major wars from Augustus and Trajan to Hadrian and Constantine are interspersed with battle plans and maps showing how Rome extended and maintained her power.
Over 470 magnificent photographs, specially commissioned illustrations, family trees, maps, battle plans and timecharts build up a colourful panoramic picture of the political strength of Ancient Rome and its ruthless military conquest of the ancient known world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, Italy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Nigel Rodgers, who has a degree in history and history of art from Cambridge University, has written widely on history, philosophy and art. (Barnes and Noble)

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent overview with some nice pictures. Surprisingly little about Mithridates.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mainly used this as a reference for a story I'm writing- it worked pretty well. It's got a lot of pictures, drawings, and diagrams that help give you a visual sense of a lot of different aspects of Roman life.

[Larry Van Bibber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting summary of the Roman Empire with a lot of nice pictures to add clarity. Not a serious history

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a brief history of the expansion of the Roman Empire and the rule of the emperors and caesars. Military campaigns are also covered. The work is well illustrated.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting historical book about the rise and fall of Rome. I am giving it a 2.5.