Showing titles in Rome

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (an English historian) is a six-volume collection that examines the fate of one of the most renowned civilizations in history, the Roman Empire. In this masterpiece, Gibbon covers the time periods from the second century A.D. to the 15th century, and takes a look at the history of early Christianity along with the Roman State church, the history of Europe and the Middle East along with the rise of Islam, and the events that lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire among many other historical events.

The Spartacus War is the extraordinary story of the most famous slave rebellion in the ancient world, the fascinating true story behind a legend that has been the inspiration for novelists, filmmakers, and revolutionaries for 2,000 years. Starting with only 74 men, a gladiator named Spartacus incited a rebellion that threatened Rome itself.

In the middle of the second century AD, Rome was at its prosperous and powerful apex. The emperor Marcus Aurelius reigned over a vast territory that stretched from Britain to Egypt. The Roman-made peace, or Pax Romana, seemed to be permanent. Then, apparently out of nowhere, a sudden sickness struck the legions and laid waste to cities, including Rome itself. This fast-spreading disease, known now as the Antonine plague, may have been history’s first pandemic. Soon after its arrival, the Empire began its downward trajectory toward decline and fall.

Is the Greek alphabet all Greek to you? Is geometry your Achilles heel and does your knowledge of Homer have more to do with The Simpsons than the Sirens? From engineering and architecture to drama and democracy, the world around us is founded on the principles and discoveries of the Ancient World, yet our understanding of it is episodic at best.

From the Sunday Times bestseller comes a gripping retelling of Hannibal's greatest trial - the battle of Cannae. Narrated by Phil Stevens, this audio-first novel features music, on-location sound effects and detailed sound design. Cannae, 216 BC - Under a blisteringly hot sun, Hannibal Barca...

**THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POMPEII** 'The best book on Pompeii I've ever read' STEPHEN FRY 'An essential read for anyone interested in this extraordinary place' TELEGRAPH 'Brilliant' TOM HOLLAND A vast area of Pompeii is being excavated for the first time...

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. From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the Roman Empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discover the most critical episodes in Roman history.

Meet the rulers who built, ruled, and nearly destroyed the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire didn’t rise by accident. It was shaped by emperors who ruled through brilliance, brutality, vision, fear—and sometimes madness.

Author, broadcaster and 'rock star classicist' Natalie Haynes is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greece and Rome. In these four series, she explores some of the most prominent historical and mythological figures from the classical world, telling their stories through a mix of stand-up comedy and conversation.

Brought to you by Penguin. In 402 AD, after invading tribes broke through the Alpine frontiers of Italy and threatened the imperial government in Milan, the young Emperor Honorius made the momentous decision to move his capital to a small, easy defendable city in the Po estuary - Ravenna. From...

'A brilliant concept, executed with enviable elegance' Lucy Worsley 'A gem of a book. Thanks to Daisy Dunn's elegant and lively retelling of history, the women of the ancient world are restored to the centre of the story of classical antiquity. It was a joy to read.' Peter Frankopan Spanning 3...

Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180.

History Wasn't Boring. Your History Books Were. If you've ever fallen asleep reading about ancient civilizations, it wasn't your fault. Most history books bury the best parts under dry dates, dusty names, and academic jargon. But the real stories of Egypt, Greece, and Rome? They're bloody, messy, and deeply human. This 3-in-1 book brings ancient history to life the way it deserves—with the drama, the chaos, and the larger-than-life characters that made these civilizations legendary.

An intimate and human portrait of Perpetua, a third-century woman author who was idealized as a Christian martyr On March 7, 203, in the monumental amphitheater at Carthage, Vibia Perpetua was one of five Christians who met their deaths after refusing to venerate the Roman emperor Septimius...

The Gallic Paradox: Achievement and AtrocityThe sentence that launched a thousand classrooms also launched a genocide. For two millennia, students have parsed Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres as a masterpiece of prose. They were rarely told it was a declaration of ownership—the opening move of a campaign that killed one million people and erased sixty tribal nations. The Gallic Paradox by Robert Walker reconstructs the world Caesar destroyed alongside the machine he built to do it.

A beautifully produced account of the history and importance of Hadrian's Wall, by a bestselling author and expert on Ancient Rome. Located at the far-flung and wild edge of the Roman Empire, Hadrian's Wall was constructed by Emperor Hadrian in the 120s AD. Vast in size and stretching from the...

Towards the middle of the third century BC, the Hellenistic kingdoms were near their peak. In terms of population, economy, and military power, each was vastly superior to Rome, not to mention in fields such as medicine, architecture, science, philosophy, and literature. But over the next two and a half centuries, Rome would eventually conquer these kingdoms while adopting so much of Hellenistic culture that the resultant hybrid is known as "Graeco-Roman." In Greece Against Rome, Philip Matyszak relates this epic tale from the Hellenistic perspective.

To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....

A gripping new biography of one of the most influential and fascinating figures in classical history: Cicero When the Roman statesman Cicero was murdered in 43 BCE, his head was cut off and his tongue pierced with pins – a final, brutal act of revenge against a man whose words had shaped a...

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.