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The City That Made a World
A history of ancient Rome, from the she-wolf and the twins to the boy emperor sent into retirement in AD 476. Caesars and generals, but also a soldier asking home for socks, an old man's certificate of sacrifice, a queen escaping on a camel, and a library being read again by AI. Every quotation comes from a public-domain translation, and every chapter's sources are named.
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The ancient texts are quoted from public-domain translations: Livy (Roberts, 1905), Polybius (Paton), Plutarch (Perrin), Suetonius (Rolfe, 1914), Tacitus (Church and Brodribb), Cassius Dio (Cary), Ammianus Marcellinus (Yonge, 1862), Eutropius (Watson, 1853), Procopius (Dewing), the early Church Fathers (1885-96), Gibbon and others. Modern scholarship and museum records are listed under each chapter.
Chapter 1. Prologue: The City by the River Livy, Preface, trans. Canon Roberts (1905) Tacitus, Annals 1.1, trans. Church & Brodribb (1876) McConnell et al., PNAS 115 (2018) 5726-31 Dessau, Hermes 24 (1889) Wikipedia: Monte Testaccio , Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum , Oxyrhynchus Papyri , Septimontium , Tiber Chapter 2. The Wolf and the Twins Chapter 3. Seven Kings Livy, Book 1, trans. Roberts (1905) Polybius 3.22, trans. W. R. Paton (Loeb 1922) Plutarch, Publicola 14, trans. Perrin (1914) Antonio et al., Science (2019) Posth et al., Science Advances (2021) Wikipedia: Lapis Niger , Liber Linteus , Apollo of Veii , Lyon Tablet , François Tomb , Servian Wall , Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Chapter 4. The Republic Is Born Chapter 5. Woe to the Conquered Chapter 6. A Victory Too Many Chapter 7. The First War with Carthage Chapter 8. Hannibal Chapter 9. Rome Does Not Break Polybius, Books 6 and 15, trans. Paton (Loeb 1923-27) Plutarch, Marcellus, Fabius Maximus and Flamininus, trans. Perrin (Loeb 1916-21) Livy, Books 26, 27, 29, 38 and 39, trans. Roberts (1905) Wikipedia: Battle of the Metaurus , Battle of Zama , Cybele Chapter 10. Masters of the Mediterranean Polybius, Books 1, 29 and 31, trans. Paton Plutarch, Flamininus, Aemilius Paulus and Cato the Elder, trans. Perrin Livy, Books 34 and 39, trans. Roberts (1905) Appian, Punic Wars, trans. Horace White (1899) Velleius Paterculus 1.13, trans. F. W. Shipley (Loeb 1924) Ridley, Classical Philology 81 (1986) Wikipedia: Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus , Battle of Corinth (146 BC) Chapter 11. The Brothers Gracchus Chapter 12. Marius and Sulla Sallust, The War with Jugurtha, trans. J. C. Rolfe (Loeb 1921) Plutarch, Marius and Sulla, trans. Perrin (Loeb 1916-20) Appian, Mithridatic Wars and Civil Wars 1, trans. White (1899) Valerius Maximus 9.2 Wikipedia: Social War (91-87 BC) , Asiatic Vespers , Proscription Chapter 13. Slaves, Pirates and Millionaires Plutarch, Crassus, Pompey and Caesar, trans. B. Perrin (Loeb 1916-19) Josephus, Antiquities 14.4.4, trans. W. Whiston (1737) Cicero, Letters to Atticus 1.1 and 1.14, trans. E. S. Shuckburgh (1899) Sallust, Catiline 25, trans. J. C. Rolfe (Loeb 1921) Strabo 14.5.2 Appian, Civil Wars 1.116-120 Wikipedia: Third Servile War Chapter 14. Caesar in Gaul Caesar, Gallic War 1, 4, 6 and 7, trans. H. J. Edwards (Loeb 1917) Suetonius, Julius 45 and 56, trans. J. C. Rolfe (Loeb 1913) Plutarch, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey, trans. Perrin Cicero, Letters to Atticus 4.16, trans. Shuckburgh Archaeology magazine, 17 Dec 2015 (Kessel) University of Leicester, 28 Nov 2017 (Pegwell Bay) Chapter 15. Crossing the Rubicon Chapter 16. The Last Days of the Republic Appian, Civil Wars 4, trans. Horace White (Loeb 1913) Cassius Dio 47 and 51, trans. E. Cary (Loeb 1917) Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.15, trans. Shuckburgh Res Gestae 34, trans. F. W. Shipley (Loeb 1924) Plutarch, Antony, trans. Perrin Ramsay and von Premerstein, Monumentum Antiochenum (1927) Wikipedia: Laudatio Turiae Chapter 17. Augustus Res Gestae, trans. Shipley (1924) Suetonius, Augustus, trans. Rolfe (1913) Tacitus, Annals 1.2, 1.61 and 5.1, trans. Church & Brodribb Livius.org: Kalkriese Wikipedia: Kalkriese , Battle of the Teutoburg Forest Chapter 18. The Wolf by the Ears Tacitus, Annals 1.1, 4.1 and 6.50, trans. Church & Brodribb Suetonius, Tiberius and Caligula, trans. Rolfe (1913) Velleius Paterculus 2.126, trans. Shipley (Loeb 1924) Cassius Dio 58, trans. Cary Harriet Flower, BMCR 1997.07.22 Smithsonian Magazine on the Nemi mosaic Wikipedia: Nemi ships Chapter 19. Claudius and Nero Suetonius, Claudius and Nero, trans. Rolfe (Loeb 1914) Tacitus, Annals 14-15, trans. Church & Brodribb British Library P.Lond. 1912 (Letter to the Alexandrians) Acts 18:2 Wikipedia: Lyon Tablet , Great Fire of Rome Chapter 20. Four Emperors and the Fall of Jerusalem Tacitus, Histories 1.2 and 1.4, trans. Church & Brodribb Suetonius, Vespasian, trans. Rolfe (1914) Josephus, Jewish War 7.8-9, trans. Whiston (1737) Yeshiva University Arch of Titus project (2012) British School at Rome, "Resurrecting a ghost inscription from the Colosseum" (Cooley, 2026) Archaeology Magazine, Nov 2022 (Colosseum drains) Wikipedia: Lex de imperio Vespasiani , Masada Chapter 21. The Mountain Pliny the Younger, Letters 6.16 and 6.20, trans. W. Melmoth rev. F. C. T. Bosanquet Suetonius, Titus and Domitian, trans. Rolfe (1914) Tacitus, Agricola 2-3, trans. Church & Brodribb Cassius Dio 67, trans. Cary Archaeology.org, 8 Nov 2024 (Pompeii DNA) phys.org, Nov 2021 (Civita Giuliana room) MIT Technology Review, 27 Feb 2025 (glass brain) scrollprize.org grand prize report FineBooks Magazine, 6 May 2025 (PHerc. 172) Chapter 22. The Best of Emperors Cassius Dio 68, trans. Cary (Loeb 1925) Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.33-34, 10.37, 10.96-98, trans. Melmoth/Bosanquet Eutropius 8.5, trans. J. S. Watson (1853) Gibbon, Decline and Fall ch. 3 Wikipedia: Trajan's Column , Trajan's Bridge Chapter 23. The Restless Emperor Chapter 24. The Philosopher and the Plague Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, trans. George Long (1862) Cassius Dio 72-73, trans. Cary (Loeb 1927) Lucian, Alexander 36, trans. H. W. and F. G. Fowler (1905) Duncan-Jones, Arctos 52 (2018) McConnell et al., PNAS (2018) Historia Augusta, Marcus 28 Wikipedia: Antonine Plague , Antonine Wall Chapter 25. The Empire for Sale Chapter 26. The Soldier Emperors Ammianus 31.5 and 31.13, trans. C. D. Yonge (1862) Cyprian, On Mortality 14 and Epistle 81, trans. R. E. Wallis (ANF 1886) Eusebius, Church History 7.21-22, trans. A. C. McGiffert (1890) Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors 5, trans. W. Fletcher (1886) W. S. Davis, Readings in Ancient History vol. 2 (1912-13) Eutropius 9.3-9.7, trans. J. S. Watson (1853) Martin and Gruskova, GRBS 54 (2014) and 62 (2022) Simon James, AJA 115 (2011) Wikipedia: Plague of Cyprian , Dura-Europos , Amphitheatre of El Jem , Battle of Abritus , Band-e Kaisar Chapter 27. The Empire in Three Pieces Chapter 28. Four Emperors Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors 7, 10-13 and 34, trans. Fletcher (1886) Eutropius 9.19-9.28, trans. Watson (1853) Eusebius, Church History 8, trans. McGiffert (1890) Eusebius, Life of Constantine 2.50-51, trans. E. C. Richardson (1890) Epitome de Caesaribus 39 A. Kropff, Edict on Maximum Prices translation (2016, paraphrased) Wikipedia: Edict on Maximum Prices , Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs , Diocletian's Palace , Carausius , Beaurains Treasure , Diocletianic Persecution Chapter 29. In This Sign Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors 44, trans. Fletcher (1886) Eusebius, Life of Constantine, trans. Richardson (1890) Zosimus 2, trans. Green and Chaplin (1814) Sozomen 1.5 and 1.21, trans. C. D. Hartranft (1890) Socrates 1.17, trans. A. C. Zenos (1890) Eutropius 10.5-10.8, trans. Watson (1853) Wikipedia: Battle of the Milvian Bridge , Arch of Constantine , Colossus of Constantine , Serpent Column Chapter 30. The Last Pagan Emperor Ammianus books 16-25, trans. Yonge (1862) Julian, Letter to the Athenians and Letters 22 and 36, trans. W. C. Wright (1913, 1923) Eutropius 10.12-10.16, trans. Watson (1853) Zosimus 3, trans. Green and Chaplin (1814) Theodoret 3.20, trans. Blomfield Jackson (1892) Wikipedia: Julian (emperor) , Siege of Amida (359) , Julian's Persian expedition Chapter 31. The Day of Adrianople Chapter 32. The Emperor and the Bishop Sulpicius Severus, Chronicle 2.50, trans. A. Roberts (1894) Symmachus, Relatio 3, and Ambrose, Letter 51, trans. H. de Romestin (NPNF 1896) Theodoret 5.17 and 5.22, trans. Jackson (1892) Sozomen 7.25 Socrates 5.25-26 Libanius, Oration 30, Lardner's translation (1830) Augustine, City of God 5.26, trans. M. Dods Zosimus 5.38, trans. Green and Chaplin (1814) Wikipedia: Altar of Victory , Massacre of Thessalonica , Battle of the Frigidus , Serapeum Chapter 33. The City Which Had Taken the Whole World Jerome, Letters 123 and 127, trans. W. H. Fremantle (1893) Claudian, On the Consulship of Stilicho 3, trans. M. Platnauer (1922) Zosimus 5-6, trans. Green and Chaplin (1814) Procopius, Wars 3.2, trans. H. B. Dewing (1916) Augustine, City of God 1.7, trans. Dods Jordanes, Getica 158, trans. C. C. Mierow (1915) British Museum: Hoxne Hoard Wikipedia: Sack of Rome (410) , Crossing of the Rhine , Stilicho Chapter 34. The Princess and the Vandals Photius, Bibliotheca cod. 80 (Olympiodorus), trans. J. H. Freese (1920) Procopius, Wars 3.3-3.5, trans. Dewing (1916) Augustine, Letter 220, trans. J. G. Cunningham (1886) Possidius, Life of Augustine 28-31, trans. H. T. Weiskotten (1919) Orosius 7.43 (paraphrased) Wikipedia: Galla Placidia , Mausoleum of Galla Placidia , Vandal Kingdom , Aetius , Bonifacius Chapter 35. Attila Priscus, trans. J. B. Bury (1923) Jordanes, Getica 182-259, trans. Mierow (1915) Procopius, Wars 3.4-3.5, trans. Dewing (1916) Gregory of Tours 2.6-2.7, trans. E. Brehaut (1916) Hydatius, Chronicle Wikipedia: Attila , Battle of the Catalaunian Plains , Walls of Constantinople , Sack of Rome (455) , Pope Leo I Chapter 36. The Last Emperors Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters 1.2, 1.9, 3.3, 7.7, trans. O. M. Dalton (1915) Eugippius, Life of Severinus 7 and 20, trans. G. W. Robinson (1914) Procopius, Wars 3.6-3.7 and 5.1, trans. Dewing Anonymus Valesianus 8.37-38 Jordanes, Getica 241-243, trans. Mierow Cassiodorus, Variae 3.35 Wikipedia: Ricimer , Majorian , Romulus Augustulus , Odoacer , Julius Nepos Chapter 37. Epilogue: What Rome Left Behind Procopius, Wars 5.1, trans. Dewing (1919) Gibbon, Decline and Fall, General Observations (1781) and Memoirs Eugippius, Life of Severinus 44 Rutilius Namatianus, On His Return 1.66 (Latin) Seymour, Masic et al., Science Advances (6 January 2023) Peter Heather, The Fall of the Roman Empire (2005) Guy Halsall, Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West (2007) Bryan Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization (2005) Wikipedia: Mausoleum of Theodoric , Boethius , Corpus Juris Civilis , Fall of Constantinople , East-West Schism , Poggio Bracciolini , Laocoön and His Sons , Ara Pacis , Appendix Probi , Historiography of the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Narrated by an AI voice. Written and fact-checked with the help of AI tools, from published scholarship, museum records and the ancient texts themselves; where scholars disagree, the book says so. Dates for Rome's first centuries are traditional.
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