Ancient Rome: The Definitive Visual History

The Definitive Visual History

by D.K. Publishing

Immerse yourself in the history of ancient Rome – from its origins as a small settlement on the Palatine Hill to its peak as an empire reigning over 90 million people, and its tumultuous decline. 

Covering more than 1,000 years of history, and an empire that stretched from Scotland to Syria, Ancient Rome reveals in vivid detail all of the key political, cultural, and military events that shaped the Roman Empire and explores what it was like to live in a society that laid the foundations for many aspects of the modern world.

Sumptuous photography and engaging text cover every facet of life in ancient Rome, from art, entertainment, and fashion to engineering, medicine, and war, while detailed maps trace the rise of the mighty Roman Empire.

Step back in time as you explore the pages of this history book to

- Themed spreads explore developments in areas such as sculpture, religion, warfare, and engineering.
- Includes tales of the most dramatic events and battles in Roman history, as well as profiles of influential historical and cultural figures.
- An optional 80pp reference section includes sections on rulers, gods and goddesses, and key sites

Featuring Rome’s greatest emperors, from Augustus to Constantine, as well as profiles of generals, historians, and influential women, Ancient Rome also delves into the fascinating stories of gladiators, bakers, and enslaved people. The most iconic buildings of Rome are brought to life with specially commissioned CGI recreations, while the stories of ordinary citizens, soldiers, and persecuted groups from across the empire are told with the help of illustrations, artifacts, and eyewitness accounts.

Beautifully illustrated and unparalleled in scope, Ancient Rome is the perfect book for anyone who is interested in this defining period of world history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Reference, Historical, Coffee Table Books

400 pages, Hardcover

Published April 25, 2023

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Andrew Jelinek]

I’ve read almost twenty books about Ancient Rome in the last few years, and this is for sure one of my absolute favorites. What I appreciate most of all is that this book never loses sight of the common people: I was left with vivid impressions of how ordinary Romans lived. Many books focus much too strongly on the political aspects of things, always seeing things from the perspective of the rulers; this one is much more expansive.

[Roman Zadorozhnii]

A well-organized and beautifully illustrated book

[Blake Coats]

A fantastic book on Ancient Rome, it was exactly what I was looking for. It works really well as an introductory overview from the founding of Rome to the end of the Roman Empire (about 1000 years). It's also worth noting that the quality of the book and its visuals are very good.

It covers most topics in two page sections, which made for easy daily reading and helped me find the aspects of Roman history I was most interested in so that I know what I want to read more about in future books. Additionally, I really enjoyed the variety of topics - a great deal of the focus is on politics and military conquests, but it also provided a great overview on art, culture, architecture, and daily life. While I wouldn't say I am an expert on Rome, I do certainly feel I have a much more well-rounded perspective and appreciation of it than I did before.

[Pedro Pascoe]

A birthday present, that I dipped into in bite size pieces, one entry per day, confirming the stereotype that men think about the Roman Empire every day. Although in this case, the Early Roman period, Republic and Empire are covered in lavishly illustrated and photographed bite size pieces, spanning the life of the (Western) Roman experience.

It's not an in-depth analysis, nor ground-breaking historical work, but a broad smattering of the many facets of Ancient Rome, just to keep the idea of Ancient Rome ticking along in the brain and the soul.

A lovely presentation to keep the Roman experience bubbling along on a daily basis.

[Tyler James]

D.K. Publishing and it's authors are simply the best you will find when looking for history books on all subjects. This was my third book that I have read from DK (Read WW1 and WW2) and I was hooked most of the way through.

This book covers everything about Roman history while making it fun and visually appealing to read through. It includes sections on battles, historically significant moments, and important figures. The end of the book even futures sections on all the kings, consuls, and emperors through Rome's entire history. It also details all the Deities along with detailed descriptions of the remaining Roman sites still left in today's world.

- The 3D graphical models included were so cool! Loved seeing these versions of the Forum, Coliseum, and other Roman structures.
- Easy to follow. Book follows everything in chronological order. I do wish they covered other subjects like, Julius Caesars reign more, but I understand the reasoning to keep the book to the point and fluid.

[Christiana]

This was an expansive summary on Roman history dating from the time of Rome as a small kingdom to the grand empire that fought to control much of the world with both much success and disastrous defeat and then its inevitable fall by its own hands as much as by foreign invaders.

The historians here discuss more than just the political figures and wars that occurred however; they also paint a view of how the typical Roman would have lived their life and all the art, architecture and food discovered in their ruins.

Truly recommend this book for those wanting a full view of ancient Roman society with all its bloodied, terrible and brilliant moments. My only criticism is that discussion of certain topics like the many politicians and monuments can become repetitive at times.

[Ritchie]

From Rome's humble beginning to it's mighty, and rather prolonged fall this book covers it all as an expansive overview.

Not only that but it's chock full of images, diagrams and maps detailing the lives of the people, their religion, philosophy, science and plenty of samples of their art.

I feel rather well informed on all things essential and a little more when it comes to Rome after reading this and can't wait to learn more.

[Marjory Sy]

A good purchase/find. I appreciate the illustrations, details and the manner on how this book was arranged. These factors allowed me to relate the book to the TV series and movies done on Ancient Rome. How I wish this book was available when we had World History subject then. I will pass this gem on to the next generation.

[Kirsti]

Favorite fact I learned from this book: The word arena comes from the Latin word for sand because inside an arena, the ground was covered in sand to soak up all the blood.

It's a little strange to get a DK book on audio because DK books have so many visuals. I spent quite a bit of time listening to captions, some of which weren't even complete sentences. But I learned a lot.

[Ginny]

This took me so long to finish because I read just 10 or so pages before bedtime. I don’t know why ancient Roman society fascinates me so much. But, it does. This book is a wonderful addition to knowing more about that time and culture. I am reading alongside this, the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and found this a good compendium.

[Jack Wright]

Absolutely incredible distillation of every time period in ancient Roman history. The book supports the writing with beautiful visuals of both artifacts and models that reimagine important aspects of the culture and history.

[Lisa Smith]

O.K., now I REALLY want to go to Rome. Gorgeous, informative book. Loved the photos and information on Pompeii, which just fascinates me to no end. Got this from the library but would love to buy and hold on to this one.

[Floriane]

Stunning illustrations and a well told story. Definitely worth its price and I won't hesitate to buy the other books in the collection (Ancient Egypt & Ancient China)

[Knjiški Ahilej]

4.9

[Ramesh Naidu]

A marvelous breezy read . Ideal to read before visiting any part of the Roman Empire