Rome

Rome is the central focus of this book and is arguably the most important place discussed in its pages. Over the course of the many centuries discussed in this book, Rome grows from a small settlement to a large urban metropolis. When one thinks of or writes about Rome, one is typically referring to the hilled city on the Tiber River in central Italy that grew to become the capital of a vast empire. Because this city became such an important capital, Rome is not only a place but a concept. Rome expanded its control over vast territories in Europe, Western Asia, Northern Africa, and the Middle East, and thus Roman Britain, for example, is very different from Roman Egypt, and from the city of Rome itself.

The Rome in Beard's book is characterized by three different periods of government: the Regal Period, the Republican Period, and...