The Shortest History of Ancient Rome

At its height, Rome ruled an empire stretching from Britain to Mesopotamia and left an enduring mark on law, politics, language, architecture and ideas of citizenship. In The Shortest History of Ancient Rome, Ross King compresses more than a thousand years of Roman history into a lively, accessible account, beginning with the foundation legends of Romulus and Remus and ending with the transformations and invasions of late antiquity.

Alongside emperors, generals and political upheaval, King introduces the wider Roman world through rebellious women, thinkers, builders, artists, soldiers, slaves and ordinary people. He traces Rome’s development from city to republic and vast empire while asking what held Roman power together and why it eventually fractured in the West. Concise without reducing the story to a list of rulers and battles, this is an approachable introduction for readers seeking the broad sweep of Roman history in a single volume.