"The Romans: New Perspectives" is the ideal starting point for investigating this extraordinary civilization--its remarkable rise and decline, the scope of its power and wealth, the details of everyday life for its people, and its signature contributions to human culture (food, architecture, government, public works, art, and more).

"The Romans" takes readers from the establishment of the monarchy (circa 753 BCE) through the rise of the republic (circa 509 BCE), the imperial period, and ultimately to the fall of the empire and the coronation of the barbarian king Odoacer. It is an...