jjares reviewed History of Rome: A Captivating Guide to Roman History, Starting from the Legend of Romulus and Remus through the Roman Republic, Byzantium, Medieval Period, and Renaissance to Modern History on + 3255 more book reviews
Captivating History starts the story of Rome with the mythological story (and variations) of the tale of Romulus and Remus. Then the author explains a different myth according to the famous Roman Virgil. Looking for archaeological evidence, they found a pastoral settlement as early as the 14th century BCE.
Small villages merged into city-states and an elite class emerged in the 7th century BCE. At this point, Rome was a monarchy with a king and was ruled by them for the first two-and-a-half-centuries. One fascinating fact is that early religion wasn't related to morality but to having a good relationship with gods and the city-state. Rituals and animal sacrifices were important.
The Roman monarchy fell about 509 BCE and was replaced with a republic. With this change, the city was the property of all its people, not just the king. In fact, anything having to do with 'kingship' was hated and scorned by the people of Rome. Consuls replaced the king; there were two and they could veto each other. They also kept each other in check and only led for a year.
Today's civil law of the Western world is based on Roman's Twelve Tables Laws and the improvements they added over the centuries. They introduced, equality, justice, and punishment for all citizens. After the Punic Wars, Rome was opened to Greek influence. The Roman aristocracy enjoyed the softness and leisure that the Greeks introduced.
The following pages outline the amazing collection of Roman leaders. One shocking statistic about Julius Caesar was that in 46 BCE, his conquest of Gaul (France) cost one million Gallic lives, plus the enslavement of another million. I was stunned to see there were that many people in Gaul at that time.
The story of the various Roman consuls who eventually merged into Octavius becoming emperor sounds like a soap opera. Captivating History should be commended for encapsulating so much history in just a few pages. Part of the history of Rome is the story of the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (centered in Constantinople). After the Western Roman Empire fell, the Byzantine Empire with Justinian I entered a significant phase.
However, 200 years of the Justinian Plague ravaged Europe and Asia Minor. After the formation of the Papal States, the two factions of the Catholic Church began long arguments that lead to the Great Schism (which has never been resolved). The pages explaining the wars between the pope and kings shows why our forefathers were so smart to keep religion and government separate.
The Renaissance, which influenced all aspects of life, inspired people to rediscover their history and study the idea of humanism. Renewed learning (and the printing press) allowed commoners to read the Bible themselves and interpret God's word on their own. Before long, people like Martin Luther were calling the Church out for abuses. Once the hole started in the dike, religion exploded and the Catholic Church lost its authority.
Finally, this book rounds out Rome's history with a quick summary of the Italians part in WWI and WWII. This is an amazing accomplishment to tell so much history is under 200 pages.
Small villages merged into city-states and an elite class emerged in the 7th century BCE. At this point, Rome was a monarchy with a king and was ruled by them for the first two-and-a-half-centuries. One fascinating fact is that early religion wasn't related to morality but to having a good relationship with gods and the city-state. Rituals and animal sacrifices were important.
The Roman monarchy fell about 509 BCE and was replaced with a republic. With this change, the city was the property of all its people, not just the king. In fact, anything having to do with 'kingship' was hated and scorned by the people of Rome. Consuls replaced the king; there were two and they could veto each other. They also kept each other in check and only led for a year.
Today's civil law of the Western world is based on Roman's Twelve Tables Laws and the improvements they added over the centuries. They introduced, equality, justice, and punishment for all citizens. After the Punic Wars, Rome was opened to Greek influence. The Roman aristocracy enjoyed the softness and leisure that the Greeks introduced.
The following pages outline the amazing collection of Roman leaders. One shocking statistic about Julius Caesar was that in 46 BCE, his conquest of Gaul (France) cost one million Gallic lives, plus the enslavement of another million. I was stunned to see there were that many people in Gaul at that time.
The story of the various Roman consuls who eventually merged into Octavius becoming emperor sounds like a soap opera. Captivating History should be commended for encapsulating so much history in just a few pages. Part of the history of Rome is the story of the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (centered in Constantinople). After the Western Roman Empire fell, the Byzantine Empire with Justinian I entered a significant phase.
However, 200 years of the Justinian Plague ravaged Europe and Asia Minor. After the formation of the Papal States, the two factions of the Catholic Church began long arguments that lead to the Great Schism (which has never been resolved). The pages explaining the wars between the pope and kings shows why our forefathers were so smart to keep religion and government separate.
The Renaissance, which influenced all aspects of life, inspired people to rediscover their history and study the idea of humanism. Renewed learning (and the printing press) allowed commoners to read the Bible themselves and interpret God's word on their own. Before long, people like Martin Luther were calling the Church out for abuses. Once the hole started in the dike, religion exploded and the Catholic Church lost its authority.
Finally, this book rounds out Rome's history with a quick summary of the Italians part in WWI and WWII. This is an amazing accomplishment to tell so much history is under 200 pages.
