S.P.Q.R. A History of Ancient Rome

The definitive history of Rome, from its foundation to its fall, by a world-renowned specialist.

How did what was once an insignificant village in central Italy become the seat of an empire dominating the Mediterranean?

In this major work, Mary Beard recounts the emergence and then the fall of an unprecedented culture that shaped many of our fundamental concepts of power, citizenship, war, political violence, empire, luxury and beauty.

From the founding myth of Romulus and Remus (8th century BC) to the edict of Emperor Caracalla granting Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire (3rd century), Mary Beard traces the entire history of the Urbs. Rejecting simplistic admiration or systematic condemnation, she shows that ancient history, far from being set in stone, is constantly revised and rewritten in light of new knowledge.

Thus celebrated figures — Cicero, Caesar, Cleopatra, Augustus and Nero, among others — take on an entirely different colour, while those actors overlooked in traditional histories — women, slaves and freedmen, conspirators and, broadly, those who are not on the side of the victors — reclaim their place in the dazzling Roman adventure.

Our perception of Rome has changed considerably over the past fifty years. SPQR synthesises that shift and in turn shapes our view of its history.