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Ancient Rome: A New History (Paperback)



A highly readable new history of Rome from its origins to the reign of Justinian.
How did the Roman world develop from a small number of people living on the banks of the Tiber to an empire encompassing some sixty-four million people spread from one end of the Mediterranean to the other? How did the Romans themselves understand this development, and did that understanding evolve over time?

Incorporating contributions from economics, archaeology, anthropology, and literary criticism, David Potter’s thought-provoking and accessible text shows students how Roman history works. The book is beautifully illustrated with maps, battle plans, portraits, paintings, sculpture, and more, and includes many quotes from original sources.


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This Potter book is a crash course in Ancient Rome. That description is a bit of a double-edged sword. There's a lot of material here, but very little depth. As a man fascinated with the history of the ancient world, I found the book sorely lacking in detail and analysis. Potter's book is what it is--a very general overview of the "entirety" of Roman history. It's something of an introductory tour of Roman history that, to the unfamiliar, is quite serviceable, but for those acquainted with the subject it is somewhat lacking.

If you're unfamiliar with Roman history, this is a worthwhile read. If you are more like me, however, and know which bank of the Rubicon is which, this is a textbook to avoid.







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