Ancient Rome: The Rise Of The Roman Empire

by Patrick Auerbach

Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion. After 450 years as a republic, Rome became an empire in the wake of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in the first century B.C. The long and triumphant reign of its first emperor, Augustus, began a golden age of peace and prosperity; by contrast, the empire’s decline and fall by the fifth century A.D. was one of the most dramatic implosions in the history of human civilization.

As legend has it, Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war. Left to drown in a basket on the Tiber by a king of nearby Alba Longa and rescued by a she-wolf, the twins lived to defeat that king and found their own city on the river’s banks in 753 B.C. After killing his brother, Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named for him. A line of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan (earlier Italian civilizations) kings followed in a non-hereditary succession.

Rome’s era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of its seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, whom ancient historians portrayed as cruel and tyrannical, compared to his benevolent predecessors. A popular uprising was said to have arisen over the rape of a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, by the king’s son. Whatever the cause, Rome turned from a monarchy into a republic, a world derived from res publica, or “property of the people.”

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Genres: History

80 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2017

Reviews

[Ed Barton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief and Disjointed History

The book covers the rise, fall, and major events of the Roman Empire. The book has good content for a short book attempting to cover 700 years of history. However, it is non-linear, even within chapters. You bounce back and forth between events jumping around Roman history. It’s tough to follow , and makes this book a mere OK.

[Vince Truax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good synopsis of the history of Rome from its beginning to decline covering aspects many people might not have been familiar with.

Good overall synopsis giving some background many people might not have known. It is a quick easy read for an introduction to Roman history.