The greatest empire on earth
The empire of Rome may have begun as an insignificant settlement as early as the 10th century BC, but from its emergence from Etruscan ancestry into a new and separate people in 753 BC until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD it survived in one form or another for over two thousand years. However, for many it is ancient Rome, the Rome of emperors, republics and legions, that is the most evocative, and it is this period -a long span of years for any single political entity-that this concise book takes as its principal subject matter. The purpose of this book...

The greatest empire on earth
The empire of Rome may have begun as an insignificant settlement as early as the 10th century BC, but from its emergence from Etruscan ancestry into a new and separate people in 753 BC until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD it survived in one form or another for over two thousand years. However, for many it is ancient Rome, the Rome of emperors, republics and legions, that is the most evocative, and it is this period -a long span of years for any single political entity-that this concise book takes as its principal subject matter. The purpose of this book...