A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives

by Philip Matyszak, Joanne Berry

One hundred vivid portraits of real-life characters bring to life the highs and lows of Rome’s dramatic history. A vibrant portrait of a lost world, A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives reveals the mightiest civilization of antiquity through the eyes of one hundred of its citizens. The book gives a voice not just to Rome’s most famous generals and rulers, such as Caesar and Caligula, but also to its builders, sculptors, poets, historians, gladiators, shepherds, enslaved people, and courtesans. The book begins with Faustulus, the fosterfather of Romulus and Remus, and closes with the final emperor, Romulus Augustulus. The stories of Roman women are given their due as well―from Servilia, Caesar’s lover; to Agrippina, the murderous wife of Claudius; Amazonia, the sword-swinging gladiator; and Hypatia, philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. Exploring every level of society and using the latest archaeological evidence as well as ancient texts, the authors build up a picture of what it meant to live in Ancient Rome. 20 illustrations

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Ancient History, Classics, Roman, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2023

About the author

Philip Matyszak is a British nonfiction author, primarily of historical works relating to ancient Rome. Matyszak has a doctorate in Roman history from St. John's College, Oxford. In addition to being a professional author, he also teaches ancient history for Madingley Hall Institute of Continuing Education, Cambridge University.

Reviews

[Ieva · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 zvaigznes.
Interesanta valoda, daudz faktu. Man ļoti patīk, kad par vēsturi stāsta caur cilvēkiem - jo vēsture jau ir tieši par to - par mums, cilvēkiem. Taču šī nav laba grāmata manam tempam un lasīšanas stilam - ejot cauri visam ātri un uzreiz, viss saplūst, enciklopēdijas šķirkļi jūk un mana uztveres spēja netiek līdzi.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some people missing in the early sections, and considering their stature (Romulus & Remus, Marius, Scipio Africanus) one would think they would be there. But some omissions aside, I find this to be an excellent one-stop-shop biographical encyclopedia.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75 Stars*

A very brief introduction of Ancient Rome through its people. Sometimes too brief, sometimes too wordy in military accomplishments (shocking for Ancient Rome I know…) but I still came away knowing way more than I did before starting so that’s a positive!

[Maggie May · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really cool way to explore the history of Ancient Rome

[kenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars = Rome in Space (Try to read the words 'Republic', 'Empire', and 'Senate' together so many times in a book without thinking of Anakin and Padme)
House of the Dragon = Rome with Dragons (Many Alicent Hightower reminiscent women, and Aegon Targaryen embodies the very chaotic kind of evil spirit of every politician and almost every emperor to ever exist in the chaos that was Ancient Rome. I'm Team Green though so I'm denying the usurper allegations.)

[Bren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about this book is that it generally spoke of the more powerful or famous people of the Roman Empire, but there were plenty of depictions of more minor people such as slaves, soldiers, poets, etc. There were also a fair amount of women in the book. Each person receives roughly 1- 3 pages of script, depending on their importance and the amount of historical records the authors have to work with. This means you can breeze through each individual in a few minutes. This obviously only gives you a very basic bio of each person, but you probably knew that by the book's title. There are some points in the book where information that would have been relevant much earlier in the book is not mentioned until much later. I'm not sure if this is because the authors wrote the book in a non-chronological order, but it was mildly frustrating.

Overall a good read with that will provide you with a basic knowledge of the Empire and its lands and peoples. It would also be a good read for someone looking to supplement their knowledge with some of the lesser characters of the Empire.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book covers all of ancient Rome, from the adopted father of Romulus and Remus, to the last emperor of Rome - appropriately also named Romulus - with a wide swath of people in between, from well-known and well-documented emperors and saints, to slaves and soldiers who only show up in tantalizing glimpses in the records.

I would have liked to see more acknowledgement, especially in the beginning section, of how much fiction, myth and propaganda made its way into the so-called "historical" record (there is definitely a lot of trope-y BS in Lucretia's story) but at least there is some addressing of the political angle most writers in regard to biographies later on in the timeline.

This is a good introduction to ancient Rome as a whole, told with the lives of both the well-known and almost unknown.

[Larry (LPosse1) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives is a perfect little reference volume. I feel that it is not to be read from cover to cover. I use it as I read my many Roman history books. I come across a name I don't know while reading my many Ancient Rome books. I refer to this wonderful book.

As a semi-retired teacher I have looked forward to reading more. Books and titles that I wanted to explore. Matyszak and Berry's little book is a great little compendium to enhance my study.As a side tidbit. I found this book at a great Independent book store in Galena, Illinois (Galena Book and Paper) This evocative volume serves as a wonderful resource and it reminds me of a wonderful weekend getaway!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating window into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people of ancient Rome from Kingdom, to Republic, to Empire, to ruin. I liked that it wasn’t just an overview of Rome’s greatest hits but also dived into the lives of regular people (of which many women!) who didn’t get buildings named after them or statues erected in their honour.

A little confusing at times because a lot of the names were similar but that’s really only the fault of the (aptly described) unimaginative Roman naming system. Although it would’ve been fun to include a couple of family trees, especially for the Emperors who (with the help of their families) started murdering each other in the first and second century AD.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good bathroom reader. I found it hard to keep track of these people and their names. There are some names you'll know but many more you've never heard of unless you're a historian. It might benefit from a visual aide like a map of people and their relationships to one another on a timeline.

[Watto Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

100 lives with over 1000 names mentioned - hard to remember anything interesting about the book

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Interesting lives. 3.5 Stars.

[ane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool concept but it bored me to tears. Finished out of pure spite.

[Joana Diniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good overview of the lives of some well-known romans and ordinary day romans. includes some christians by the fall of the empire.

[adria]

Dnf at 33% turns out I just don’t gaf abt Roman history

[Emma McGilvray · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was hoping there would be more common people featured in this, but there weren’t a whole lot. language was too academic.

[Henry Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Very cool concept and a very easy read. I think the authors got lost in the minutiae of people’s lives sometimes and should have covered their significance a little more. Fun book

[gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un complément indispensable pour approfondir l’histoire de l’Empire Romain, de l’Empereur tout puissant à l’esclave en passant par les philosophes, les femmes qui marquèrent leur époque, etc. A consulter à tout moment.