The Empire of the Eternal City: A Brief History of Ancient Rome

The history of Ancient Rome spans 13 centuries. The legendary state fell in 476 AD, when the last Roman emperor was overthrown, who ironically shared the same name as the founder of the city. However, the history of Rome did not end there. Roman culture, having absorbed the achievements of other great powers, provided medieval West and East with knowledge in all areas of life for many centuries. The famous explorer Ross King guides the reader through the tangled and dramatic history of the Eternal City, which gave rise to a powerful empire where treachery and cruelty coexist with greatness and heroism.
«Indeed, if a significant part of the world became Rome under Augustus and his successors, then to a large extent, we also became Romans. In many places and in many respects, culturally, legally, and politically, the orbis Romanus continues to live. The proud boast of Claudian — “The power of Rome will never end” — can be read not as a statement made at a time when the empire was on the verge of collapse, but as a prophecy of a future in which Roman culture, politics, and thought will live and thrive for another thousand years». (Ross King)