BBC Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

One of the best books I have read on Rome. The author concentrates on the more important emperors with their main achievements. The writing style is very interesting, between a novel and a documentary so to speak. Quite unique. A must read for fans of the ancient Rome!

There was mixed up with tracking detail but It arrived good condition. All good

I had a trivial notion but immense curiosity about the great ancient Roman civilisation that succeeded the Greek Hellenistic and preceeded the Arab Islamic civilisation. This more or less a hiatus of 500 years , from second century BC to third century AD of the Roman era when Rome dominated the western world, spreading it fangs into Africa and upto Asia. However due to several reason, both internal and external, the western Roman civilisation imploded and the eastern Roman, although would continue for another millenia, would be a mere rump of what the ancient Romans were and would utmost attain a status of a trivial regional power during some periods of that millenia but more or less it would be fighting for revival rather than dominate the known world like ancient Romans.Having said that, this tome encompasses a wide span including the glorious era of Roman domination, the era of Roman republic, the fueds of Julius Caesaer and Pompei, the serene period of Augustus, the madness of Nero, the subjugation of Judea by father son duo of vesopasian-Titus, tetrarchy of Diocletan, and the later downfall era under Honorious.Altogether, it provides the incense and enough fuel to fire a desire to seek more knowledge of that era and one will not be disappointed by reading this book, being a fast pace turner, devoid of panegryics or statistics, it is highly recommended for a history bluff and those seeking that vicarious pleasure in a real life story line .

An amazing piece of work on part of the author. The breadth of the subject covered within a short span of 420 pages is nothing short of spectacular. The book reads like a fiction novel. At many places it reminded me of the Game of Throne series of books and I am quite sure much of that series is inspired by Rome's true events.What has survived rome to this day is truly remarkable - the Formula One car race tracks (now cars instead of chariots) are inspired from Rome, as are the Baseball and football events in their massive stadiums. The Voting system, the religious tolerance, senators, counselors, the idea of a republic, the certification and establishment of Christianity as a formal and widely accepted religion of the masses, the architectural layout of cities, and more.The Roman history, as is history of most great empires of that time (Greeks, Mongols, Mughals, etc) is full of blood, gore, treachery, deceit, and politics. It can feel quite depressing actually. The rule of Emperor Nero is mind boggling - killing countless people for money, murdering one's own mother, draining the kingdom of its riches for personal gain, etc.The Roman history also has many lessons to teach - how it is easy to slip away from Republic to an autocracy if the public and government is not vigilant; how lip service to righteousness does not serve kingdoms; how ruthlessness can bring power and fame but not really happiness or peace of mind; how minor vents can set the stage for major catastrophes and change the course of entire history (Constantipole's victory under the cross, refusal of refuge to barbarians, etc); the implications of surrendering power in hands of the weak or the unwise.I had minimal, if any, knowledge of the Roman history before I started reading this book. Now I feel I can have some conversations at great length with someone who may be more familiar with the subject. Highly recommended to any history buffs, those looking for a great read, or for those who are afraid to read fiction for wasting time but miss the thrill of it :)

This Book was not available any where except Amazon. It came in very good shapeand very punctually. The book itself is very scholarly , which is a pleasure to read.I would recommend this Company at any time.