Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome masterfully synthesizes the vast period from the second millennium BCE to the sixth century CE, carrying readers through the succession of fateful steps and agonizing crises that marked Roman evolution from an early village settlement to the capital of an extraordinary realm extending from northern Britain to the deserts of Arabia. A host of world-famous figures come to life in these pages, including Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Augustus, Livia, Cicero, Nero, Hadrian, Diocletian, Constantine, Justinian, and Theodora. Filled with chilling narratives of violence, lust, and political expediency, this book not only describes empire-shaping political and military events but also treats social and cultural developments as integral to Roman history. William E. Dunstan highlights such key topics as the physical environment, women, law, the roles of slaves and freedmen, the plight of unprivileged free people, the composition and power of the ruling class, education, popular entertainment, food and clothing, marriage and divorce, sex, death and burial, finance and trade, scientific and medical achievements, religious institutions and practices, and artistic and literary masterpieces. All readers interested in the classical world will find this a fascinating and compelling history.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Early Italy Chapter 2: Origins of Rome Chapter 3: The Young Republic Chapter 4: Roman Conquest of Italy Chapter 5: Duel with Carthage Chapter 6: Roman Conquest of the Mediterranean World Chapter 7: Impact of Overseas Conquests on the Senatorial Oligarchy Chapter 8: Impact of Overseas Conquests of the Economic and Social Organization of Italy Chapter 9: Greek Cultural Influences on Rome Chapter 10: Rival Conceptions of State and Society Plague Roman Politics: From the Gracchi to the Social War Chapter 11: Sulla Chapter 12: Pompey and Caesar Chapter 13: Antony and Octavian Wrestle for Empire: Final Dissolution of the Old Republican Order Chapter 14: Economic, Social, and Cultural Climate of the Late Republic Chapter 15: Augustus and the Founding of the Roman Empire Chapter 16: Augustan Social and Religious Policy Chapter 17: Augustan Art and Literature and the Augustan Legacy Chapter 18: From Tiberius to Nero: The Julio-Claudian Dynasty Chapter 19: From Vespasian to Domitian: The Flavian Dynasty Chapter 20: From Nerva to Marcus Aurelius: The Five Good Emperors Chapter 21: Government, Economy, and Society in the First and Second Centuries Chapter 22: Architecture and Sculpture in the First and Second Centuries Chapter 23: Literature in the First and Second Centuries Chapter 24: Commodus and the Severan Dynasty Chapter 25: Third-Century Imperial Crisis and First Phase of Recovery Chapter 26: Reorganization of Diocletian and Constantine Chapter 27: Last Years of the United Empire Chapter 28: Society and Culture in the Later Empire Chapter 29: Rise of Christianity Chapter 30: Christian Triumph and Controversy Chapter 31: Dismemberment of the Roman Empire in the West Epilogue: The Thousand-Year Survival of the Roman Empire in the East Bibliography

About the Author :
William E. Dunstan is a visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and teaches at North Carolina State University.

Review :
Will Dunstan's texts are always a pleasure to read and his Ancient Rome is enjoyable as well. The book is a delightful balance between the coverage of topics required of a text and the human elements of history included in the narrative that make history fun to explore. An excellent text: thorough and readable, balanced and inclusive. The strength of the book lies in Professor Dunstan's adept mingling of political and military history with cultural, social, and literary histories of Rome. An undergraduate text cannot divorce one for the rest if students are to gain a through understanding of the Roman world.