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This is a book written to accompany the BBC telelvision series, 'Ancient Rome', which is still being shown today on various cable and satellite channels.
It focuses on six key moments in Roman history, and some of the major players involved. The founding of Rome, it's growth from a ... Read review
The true story of Rome told through six crucial moments that shaped the destiny of the ... more
Empire.The Roman Empire - the ancient world's only superpower - stood for six hundred years, a period in which dictatorship usurped democracy, nations were enslaved, the city of Rome was rebuilt and the Empire embraced Christianity. In this dramatised documentary, CGI is mixed with compelling drama to tell the dramatic stories - the great battles, rivalries, rebellions and momentous achievements - that shaped the Roman Empire.It reveals the greed, lust and ambition of men like Caesar, Nero and Constantine and with stunning locations and state-of-the-art visual effects portrays Rome as it really was: gritty, sometimes sordid, but ultimately magnificent.The series begins in 146BC with Rome's destruction of its ancient enemy Carthage; leading to the celebrated victory of Julius Caesar and the overthrow of the Republic; Emperor Nero's dramatic descent into madness; the Jewish Revolt - the biggest rebellion in Imperial history; Constantine's delivery of Christianity to the Empire; and finally the downfall of Rome, told through the tale of Alaric the Goth.
This dramatised documentary series tells the story of the rise and fall of Ancient Rome ... more
through the six key turning points. Factually accurate and based on extensive historical research it reveals how the greed lust and ambition of men like Caesar Nero and Constantine shaped the Roman Empire. It describes how Rome destroyed Carthage was conquered by Caesar how it suppressed the Jewish revolt and converted to Christianity. CGI is mixed with compelling drama and spectacular live-action battles to tell the definitive television story of how the Empire was formed how it achieved maximum power and why it eventually failed.
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Advantages: easily digested Disadvantages: leaves you wanting more
...introduction for anyone who wants to to dip their toes into ancient history before moving on to something more detailed. After reading this book, I even read the 'further reading ' section at the back, which I've never done before! This books leaves you wanting to know more. ... more
Officially, the Roman empire was founded in 753 B.C., as we all know from school, by Romulus and Remus. Raised by a she-wolf, the brothers fought and Romulus killed Remus. They founded a small fortified settlement, that in order to expand,became a haven for rootless exiles ,slaves and criminals. But any fledgling society cannot flourish with only men, so a 'religious festival' was held, and when the neighbouring tribes were invited, the men of rome promptly abducted all the women. Such is the story of 'The Rape of the Sabine Women'. How much of this story is true or untrue is disputed, but it is entirely fitting with the history of Rome with it's internicene wars, it's treachery and despotism, it's brutality and it's ambition.
And it's a beginning that certainly grabbed my attention and held it for the next 418 pages.
This is a book written to accompany the BBC telelvision series, 'Ancient Rome', which is still being shown today on various cable and satellite channels. It focuses on six key moments in Roman history, and some of the major players involved. The founding of Rome, it's growth from a small settlement to the empire it became, from a republic to an autocracy, from a pagan society to the beginnings of a christian society, the splitting into the Western and the Eastern empire and it's final downfall. Encompassing revolution, war, murder, matricide and decadence along the way.
The six chapters involve all the big personalities in Roman history- Julius Caesar, Pompey, Augustus, Nero, Constantine, Hadrian - and their power struggles, their achievements, their flaws, their legacies. They are all riveting stories, and the author manages to get beyond the usual cliches and presents the reader with a fascinating reconstruction of the vast, brutal, larger than life empire; the armies, the wars, the buildings,the day to day management and governance of a superpower,even the language. Aside from the great battles and triumphs,the isssues that the Romans faced are still valid to us today; How do to deal with a multiculturalism, how to deal with the gap between rich and poor, what makes a good citizen, and what is the right way to govern.
This is a very well researched intelligent book but unlike many history books it is not dry and academic, it's written like a novel, with a vivid sense of drama, pace and verve and is a thoroughly good read. It's an ideal introduction for anyone who wants to to dip their toes into ancient history before moving on to something more detailed. After reading this book, I even read the 'further reading ' section at the back, which I've never done before! This books leaves you wanting to know more.
scooter01 17.08.2008 (17.08.2008)
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Review of Ancient Rome, the Rise and Fall of an Empire - Simon Baker
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Product details
Author
Simon Baker
Title
Ancient Rome, the Rise and Fall of an Empire
Genre
History
Type
Non-Fiction
ISBN
0563493607; 1846072840
Manufacturer's product description
Ancient Rome is the story of the greatest empire ever known. Focusing on six momentous turning points that helped to shape Roman history, Simon Baker's gripping narrative charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower - a political machine unmatched in its brutality, its genius, its lust for power. From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discoer the most critical episodes in Roman history: the spectacular collapse of the 'free' republic, the birth of the age of the 'Caesars', the violent suppression of the strongest rebellion against Roman power, and the bloody civil war that launched Christianity as a world of religion. At the heart of this account are the dynamic, complex but flawed characters of some of the most powerful rulers in history: men such as Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero and Constantine. Putting flesh on the bones of these distant, legendary figures, Simon Baker looks beyond the dusty, toga-clad caricatures and explores the real motivations and ambitions, intrigues and rivalries.This is Rome as we've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid. Accompanying a landmark BBC television series, "Ancient Rome" is a fresh, fast-paced history which addresses themes about the nature of power that are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago.
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