Volume IX of the second edition of The Cambridge Ancient History has for its main theme the process commonly known as the "Fall of the Roman Republic." Chapters 1-12 supply a narrative of the period from 133 B.C. to the death of Cicero in 43 B.C., with a prelude analyzing the situation and problems of the Republic from the turning-point year 146 B.C. Chapters 13-19 offer analysis of aspects of Roman society, institutions and ideas during the period.

This is a book about the law and life of Rome--in which contributors respond to John Crook's injunction to 'think like lawyers' by ranging as far as ancient Greece, ancient Persia and modern Denmark to expound their themes and draw comparisons. An opening section focuses on Civil Law, more or less as conventionally conceived, with chapters on the peculium, on municipal law at Irni in Roman Spain, on advisers of Roman provincial governors, and on violent crime. Roman perceptions of the physical and human worlds are the focus of a second section, and comparisons between Greek, Roman and modern...