The Romans : A 2,000-Year History

Publisher: John Murray Press
Publish date: 18 June 2026
Pages: 736
Language: English

Subjects: History, Ancient, Rome, Civilization

'At last, a history of the Roman state as it has always been crying out to be told, and never has been!' RODERICK BEATON

The greatest empire in Western history - told as never been told before.

Rome is often remembered for its spectacular collapse. But for over two thousand years - through civil wars, plagues, invasions, and religious upheaval - the Roman state survived, adapted, and reinvented itself. From a muddy settlement on the banks of the Tiber to the glittering court of Constantinople, this is the untold story of a civilisation that endured.

In The Romans, acclaimed historian Edward J. Watts tells the first truly complete history of Rome in all its epic sweep: the Punic Wars, the fall of the republic, the coming of Christianity, Alaric's sack of Rome, the rise of Islam and the onslaught of the Crusaders who would bring about the empire's end. This is the Rome of Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, and Constantine. But it is also the Rome of Charlemagne, Justinian, and Manuel Comnenus, and countless diverse men and women who shaped the empire: African emperors, Byzantine intellectuals and ordinary citizens whose loyalty together made it the most resilient state the world has ever seen.

An expansive, eye-opening portrait, this the definitive history of Rome and its citizens.