Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 2
How This Book Is Organised 3
Part I: Romans the Big Boys of the Ancient World 3
Part II: Living the Good Life 3
Part III: The Rise of Rome 4
Part IV: When Romans Ruled the World 4
Part V: Throwing the Empire Away 4
Part VI: The Part of Tens 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 6
Part I: Romans The Big Boys of the Ancient World 7
Chapter 1: The Romans: Shaping Their World and Ours 9
Being Roman 10
The Roman national identity 10
The Roman myth of destiny 11
Roman history, blow by blow 11
Discovering the Romans 15
Great ruins and ruined cities 15
The survival of Roman books 16
Bringing the Romans home: Roman artifacts 18
Roman excavations: The Pompeii sensation 19
What the Romans Did for Us 20
The Roman image of power 21
Language 23
Law n order 24
Philosophy 25
The idea of city 26
A Long Time Ago but Not That Far Away 28
Chapter 2: Its the Cash That Counts: Roman Social Classes 29
First Things First: The Roman Family 29
Being on Top Upper-crust Romans 31
Nobles (Nobiles) 32
Equestrians (Equites) 34
Ordinary Citizens 34
Roman citizens 35
Latin citizens 36
Everyone else: Provincials 37
Are You Being Served? 38
Slaves 38
Freedmen 39
Women and Children Last! 41
Women 41
Children 44
Chapter 3: Stairway to the Stars: The Greasy Path to Power 47
Roman Assemblies 48
The Comitia Curiata (Assembly of the Divisions) 48
The Comitia Centuriata (Assembly of the Centuries) 48
The Concilium Plebis Tributum (Council of the Plebeians arranged by Tribes) 49
The Senate 51
The Emperors 52
The emperors titles 52
Multitasking: The emperors jobs 54
The line of succession 55
Climbing to the Top 56
A career ladder for senators 56
The equestrian career ladder 59
Chapter 4: Rural Bliss Roman Dreamland 61
The Roman Fantasy Self-image: Were Farmers at Heart 62
Life in the City; Dreams in the Country 63
Escaping the city 63
Buying and investing in land 64
Villas: Bedrock of Roman Agriculture 67
Here a villa, there a villa 67
Imperial and giant estates 67
Villas in the later years of the Empire 69
A Quick Rural Reality Check 70
Chapter 5: When We Were Soldiers 71
Mastering the Universe: The Fighting Men 71
Legions and legionaries 72
The auxiliaries 75
The Praetorian Guard: Romes garrison 77
The fleet: Romes navy 77
Having the Right Equipment 78
Uniforms and weapons 78
Artillery 79
Holding the Fort 80
Fort defences 80
Fort buildings 81
Marching camps 82
Keeping the enemy out: Frontier fortifications 83
The Late Army 84
Dividing the army 84
New forts for the late army 84
The end of the Roman army in the West 85
Part II: Living the Good Life 87
Chapter 6: The Urban Jungle 89
The Idea of City 89
Rome: The urban template 90
Improving the model city 92
Copycat Romes 94
Two Brilliant Ideas 95
Concrete 95
Arches and vaults 96
The most famous architect Vitruvius 97
All Roads Lead to Rome 98
Road-building basics 99
Helping travellers: Road maps, itineraries, and more 100
Imperial post (cursus publicus) 101
Chapter 7: Making the Roman Machine Work 103
Trade Around the Empire 103
Ostia: The port of Rome 104
International trade 104
The merchants and guild system 106
Goodies from Around the World 107
Food, glorious food: The grain supply 108
Mining for metals 109
Money, Money, Money 110
Propaganda coins 111
Comparative values 112
Inflation 112
Turning on the Taps 113
Getting water into cities: Aqueducts 114
Wells and reservoirs 115
Baths 116
Getting rid of water: Romes sewers 117
Keeping Well: Medicine 118
Medical science in the Roman era 118
Medicine for the masses 120
Chapter 8: Entertainments: Epic and Domestic 121
Introducing the Games 121
Bonding the population 122
The gaming calendar 122
The Playing Fields: Arenas and Stadiums 123
Building an arena 125
The Colosseum 125
Stadiums 126
Fighting Men: Gladiators 128
The gladiators: Who they were 129
Schools for scoundrels 129
The fear of gladiators 130
Putting on a gladiatorial show 130
Fighting Animals 131
Supplying animals 132
Animals in the arena 132
Epic Shows and Mock Battles 133
A Day at the Races Chariot-racing 133
Roman chariots 134
The charioteers 134
Fans 134
Pantos and Plays: Roman Theatre 135
Theatre floor plans 136
Roman music 136
Actors and impresarios 137
The show must go on: Performances and oratory competitions 138
A Night In: Entertaining at Home 139
Party invite 140
Tableware 141
The menu 141
Chapter 9: Divine Intervention 143
Cutting a Deal: Roman Religion 144
Divining the future 145
Non-believers and charlatans 147
Roman Temples and Shrines 149
Classical temples 150
Regional temples 151
Shrines 151
The Divine Mission: Roman Gods 152
Public religion: Jupiter, Juno, Mars the famous ones 152
Household and family gods 155
Emperor worship 156
Integrating Gods from Elsewhere 157
Joining Roman gods to foreign gods: Conflation 157
Curiouser and curiouser: Mystery cults 158
The Religion that Refused to Be Assimilated: Christianity 159
Problems with Christianity 160
Persecutions 160
Tolerance and turning tables 161
Burning and Burying: The Roman Way of Death 162
Roman afterlife: The Underworld 162
Cemeteries and graves 162
Worshipping ancestors and burial feasts 164
Part III: The Rise of Rome 165
Chapter 10: Kings? No, Maybe Not Republicans 167
The Founding of Rome 167
The myth 168
The true story 169
Early Rome: Hills with huts, and a very big sewer 169
Romes neighbours 171
The Magnificent Eight: The Kings (753535 BC) 173
Romulus (753716 BC) 173
Numa Pompilius (715673 BC) 174
Tullus Hostilius (673641 BC) 175
Ancus Marcius (641616 BC) 175
Tarquinius Priscus (616579 BC) 175
Servius Tullius (579535 BC) 176
Tarquinius Superbus (535509 BC) 177
The benefits of the Etruscan kings 177
The Birth of the Roman Republic 178
The new constitution 179
Patricians vs plebs 180
Conflict of the Orders: A Roman class war 181
One law to rule them all the Twelve Tables (450 BC) 182
Plebs rights the man with the trump card 183
Chapter 11: This Town Isnt Big Enough for All of Us Seizing Italy 185
Winning Over the Latin League (493 BC) 186
Fights with the Etruscans 186
The creation of the Latin League 187
Rome: At odds with the Latin League 187
Doing a deal with the Latins 187
Crushing the local opposition 188
Having the Gaul to Invade 390 BC 189
Getting sacked 189
Changes at home 189
Knocking out the Samnites 192
The First Samnite War (343341 BC) 192
Meanwhile the Latins strike back 193
The Second Samnite War (326304 BC) 194
Try, try, and try again: The Third Samnite War (298290 BC) 195
Now for the Rest of Italy 195
Pyrrhus arrives to show whos who 196
By Jove, I think weve done it 197
Chapter 12: Carthage and the First Two Punic Wars 199
The Sicilian Story the First Punic War (264241 BC) 199
The Mamertines play with fire 200
Messana isnt enough: Going for Sicily 201
Battles and victory at sea: Becoming a naval power 201
Setting the stage for the Second Punic War 203
Staying busy in the interim: Capturing northern Italy 203
The Second Punic War (218202 BC) 204
The amazing march of elephants 205
The Battle of Lake Trasimene 217 BC 206
Catastrophe at Cannae 216 BC 206
Bloody and bruised, but still swinging 207
Scipio in the nick of time 208
The Battle of Zama 202 BC 209
Trouble in the East: The Macedonian Wars 209
A bit of background: Philip V and Illyrian pirates 210
The First Macedonian War (214205 BC) 211
The Second Macedonian War (200197 BC) 211
The Third Macedonian War (172167 BC) 212
The spoils of Greece (Achaea) 213
The Secret of Success: The Comeback 214
Chapter 13: While Were at It Lets Conquer Everywhere Else, Too 215
How the West Was Won 216
First stop: Northern Italy 216
Relaxing by the Riviera 216
The Reign in Spain, 197179 BC 217
Conquering Spains tribes 217
Return to war 218
The destruction of Numantia 219
Why the Spanish wars were different 219
The Third Punic War (151146 BC) 219
Hannibal patches up Carthage 220
The ambitions of Masinissa: Provoke Carthaginians 220
Romes response: Wipe out Carthage! 221
The final indignity: Salt on the wounds 221
Mopping Up the East 222
The ambitions of Antiochus III 222
Cramping Antiochus IIIs style 223
Winning the lottery: Gaining Pergamon 224
Part IV: When Romans Ruled the World 225
Chapter 14: Reform and Civil War 227
Crisis in Rome 227
Power to the people! Not 228
The rise of the equestrians 229
The trouble with allies 229
A soldiers tale 230
Slaves to circumstance 231
Enter the Gracchi 231
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus 232
Gaius Gracchus 234
The aftermath of the Gracchi 236
Marius the New Man and More Unrest 236
Fighting the Jugurthine War 237
The Northmen advance 238
Suppressing a slave revolt in Sicily 238
Mariuss downfall 239
Fighting Your Friends: The Social War (9088 BC) 240
Wrong-footing the allies 240
Extending the franchise and ending the war 241
Think the Unthinkable: A Roman Captures Rome Sulla (88 BC) 241
Taking Rome and settling Mithridates 242
Marius and Cinna fight back 242
Ill be back: Sulla comes home 243
Dictator of Rome 243
Retiring alive and dying peacefully 244
Well, They Started Out As Mates: The Age of the Generals 245
Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey) (10648 BC) 246
Marcus Licinius Crassus (c 115 to 53 BC) 248
The most famous Roman of them all: Julius Caesar 248
The Gang of Three: The First Triumvirate (60 BC) 249
Building his power base: Caesar and the Gallic Wars 251
Meanwhile back in Rome 252
Renewing the Triumvirate 253
Death of Crassus and the crumbling Triumvirate 253
Chapter 15: Daggers Drawn The Fall of the Republic 255
Civil War 256
Deadly deals 256
Crossing the Rubicon (50 BC) 256
Cutting off Pompey at the head (48 BC) 257
Caesar: Leader of the Roman World 259
Caesars new order 259
Hey, we didnt want a king! (44 BC) 260
The fatal blow (44 BC) 261
A hideous mistake and the rise of Mark Antony 262
Picking Caesars heir: Mark Antony or Octavian? 264
Octavian and the End of the Republic (4443 BC) 265
The second Gang of Three: The Second Triumvirate (43 BC) 266
Blood, guts, and gods 266
The Battle of Philippi 266
The bust up starts 267
Antony and Cleopatra 267
Throwing down the gauntlet 268
The Battle of Actium (31 BC) 268
Chapter 16: Augustus and the Caesars Plots, Perverts, and Paranoia 271
Augustus (aka Octavian) and His Powers 272
Restoring the Republic 272
The Emperor who wasnt an Emperor 273
Augustus: The radical conservative 275
Finding it brick and leaving it marble 276
Sorting out the borders 277
The disaster of AD 9 279
A son, a son! My kingdom for a son! 279
Augustuss death 280
Augustuss Dynasty: Tiberius, Caligula,
Claudius, and Nero (AD 1468) 280
Tiberius part good, part bad, part pervert (AD 1437) 281
Making your horse a consul is a bad idea: Caligula (AD 3741) 283
The dribbling old halfwit done good: Claudius (AD 4154) 286
Where mother went wrong: Nero (AD 5468) 289
The Year of the Four Emperors (AD 6869) 294
Too old and too tight: Galba (AD 6869) 294
A man of many enemies: Otho (AD 69) 294
The gluttonous emperor: Vitellius (AD 69) 295
The rise of Vespasian 296
Starting Well and Finishing Badly the Flavians (AD 6996) 296
Mr Down-to-earth: Vespasian AD 6979) 297
The much-loved Titus (AD 7981) 298
Paranoid fly-killer: Domitian (AD 8196) 300
Chapter 17: The Five Good Emperors 303
Nerva: A Good Stopgap (AD 9698) 304
Smart moves and good deeds 304
Foiling plots and picking a successor 305
Trajan: Right Man for the Job (AD 98117) 305
Trajan in Rome 306
War with Dacia and Parthia 306
Trajans legacy 308
Hadrian, Artist and Aesthete (AD 117138) 309
A dodgy succession 309
Hadrian in Rome 310
Enoughs enough: Touring the provinces 310
Growing ill in mind and body 312
Choosing a successor 312
Antoninus Pius: Nice and Vice-free (AD 138161) 313
Antoninus in Rome 313
On the borders 314
Smelling the Storm Brewing: Marcus Aurelius (AD 161180) 314
Appointing a partner 315
Marcus the warrior 315
Who comes next? Picking a successor 316
The End of the Good Old Days 316
Part V: Throwing the Empire Away 317
Chapter 18: More Civil War, Auctioning the Empire, and Paranoid Lunatics 319
I Think Im Hercules: Commodus(AD 180192) 319
Commodus and the affairs of state 320
Commodus the gladiator 321
Plots against Commodus and his demise 321
Pertinax: The 87-Day Wonder 322
Reintroducing discipline 322
Ticking off the soldiers 323
Biting the dust 323
Didius Julianus and Civil War 323
Septimius Severus (AD 193211) 324
Securing the throne 325
Dividing and ruling 326
Severuss death 328
Not Living Up to Dads Expectations Caracalla (AD 211217) 328
Getting rid of Geta and a host of others 329
Universal citizenship (AD 212) 329
Caracallas indulgences 330
The end of Caracalla 330
Chapter 19: The Age of the Thug The Third Centurys Soldier Emperors 331
The First Thug on the Throne: Marcus Opelius Macrinus 332
How to take the throne 332
How to lose popularity 332
How to lose the throne 333
Elagabalus (AD 218222) 333
Elagabaluss god 335
Elagabaluss government 335
Elagabaluss women 335
The end of Elagabalus 336
Severus Alexander (AD 222235) 336
A little stability in a sea of chaos 337
But not all is well 337
The end of Alexander and Julia 338
Blink and youll miss them: A slew of emperors who followed Alexander 338
Valerian I (AD 253260) and Gallienus (253268) 339
Valerian dies and a rebellion starts 340
Events in the Palymrenes 340
The Gallic Empire breaks away 340
Gallienuss death and the next emperor, Claudius II 341
Aurelian (AD 270275) 341
Annihilating Palmyra 342
The end of the Gallic Empire 342
Aurelian at home 342
The death of Aurelian 343
Probus (AD 276282) 344
The End of the Principate 344
Chapter 20: East Is East and West Is West: Diocletian and Constantine 347
On the Case: Diocletian (AD 284305) 348
Four emperors are better than one: The Tetrarchy 348
Repairing the broken Empire 349
The Dominate: A new order 351
The rebellion in Britain: Carausius 352
Like all the best ideas: The Tetrarchy falls apart 353
Constantine I, the Great (AD 307337) 355
Taking control of the West 356
Issuing the Edict of Milan, 313 356
East vs West: Fighting Licinius 357
The Empire goes Christian 358
Moving house: The capital goes to a new location 361
Managing money 362
Paranoia and the succession 362
Constantines loving family not! 363
Constantius II (AD 337361) 364
The Magnentian Revolt 364
Constantius II in power 366
Resolving the Arian versus Catholic crisis 366
Bringing Back Pagans: Julian II the Apostate (AD 360363) 366
Turning back the clock 367
Julian in charge 368
Chapter 21: The Barbarians Are Coming! The End of Rome 369
A Rundown of Barbarians 370
Going Downhill Barbarians at the Door 371
Breaking the Empire into East and West 372
Valentinian I in the West (AD 364375) 372
Valens in the East (AD 364378) 372
At Last! Someone Who Knows What Hes Doing: Theodosius I the Great (AD 379395) 373
Hiring the Visigoths 374
Breaking it up again: Revolts 374
Death of Theodosius 375
Sacking Rome 375
Stilicho: Buying off the Visigoths 375
Alaric and the fall of Rome in 410 376
Staggering On 377
Attila the Hun (ruled AD 434453) 378
The murders of Aetius (AD 454) and Valentinian III (AD 455) 379
The next few emperors and the rise of Ricimer 380
The last emperor in the West:
Romulus Augustus (AD 475476) 381
What Became of Romes Western Provinces 382
In the East: The Byzantine Empire 383
Religious tensions 383
Justinian I (AD 527565) 384
The Great Schism of 1054 386
The toll of the Crusades 387
The fall of Byzantium 387
The end of the ancient world 388
Part VI: The Part of Tens 389
Chapter 22: Ten Turning Points in Roman History 391
Kicking out the Kings (509 BC) 391
Creating the Twelve Tables (450 BC) 391
Winning the Second Punic War (218202 BC) 392
The year 146 BC 392
Augustuss settlements with the Senate in 27 and 19 BC 392
Breaking the link between the emperor and Rome (AD 6869) 393
Ending the tradition of conquest (AD 117138) 393
Dividing the Roman world (AD 284305) 393
The Edict of Milan (AD 313) 394
The fall of Rome (AD 410) 394
Chapter 23: Ten Interesting and Occasionally Good Romans 395
Cincinnatus (519438 BC) 395
Scipio Africanus the Elder (236185 BC) 395
Marcus Sergius (late third century BC) 396
Marcus Porcius Cato (234149 BC) 396
Gaius Gracchus (d 121 BC) 397
Julius Caesar (10244 BC) 397
Augustus (63 BCAD 14) 397
Pliny the Elder (AD 2379) 398
Carausius (reigned AD 286293) 398
Sextus Valerius Genialis (late first century AD) 399
Chapter 24: Ten (Mostly) Bad Romans 401
Tarquinius Superbus (535509 BC) 401
Coriolanus (527490 BC) 401
Sulla (13878 BC) 402
Sergius Catilinus (d 63 BC) 402
Gaius Verres (c 109c 43 BC) 403
Caligula (reigned AD 3741) 403
Nero (reigned AD 5468) 403
Commodus (reigned AD 180192) 404
Didius Julianus (reigned AD 193) 404
Caracalla (reigned AD 211217) 404
Elagabalus (reigned AD 218222) 405
Chapter 25: Ten of Romes Greatest Enemies 407
Hannibal (247182 BC) 407
Antiochus III (242187 BC) 407
Mithridates VI, King of Pontus (12063 BC) 408
Spartacus (fl 7371 BC) 408
Cleopatra VII of Egypt (6931 BC) 409
Vercingetorix (fl 52 BC, d 46 BC) 409
Caratacus (d AD 4351) 410
Boudica (d AD 61) 410
Simon Bar Cochba (fl AD 132135) 411
The German tribes 411
Chapter 26: Ten (or So) Great Roman Places to Visit 413
Rome and Ostia 413
Pompeii and Herculaneum 414
Ravenna 414
Ephesus 414
Aphrodisias 415
Sbeitla 415
Piazza Armerina 415
Hadrians Wall 416
Petra 416
Dendara 416
Bath 417
Index 419
