I'm looking to buy one or more detailed books on Rome. I'm particularly interested in the period starting from Sulla, to the end of the empire, if possible.
I've read "Social History of Rome" By Geza Alfoldy , but I don't care about "Social history" I want the facts! I've read the Romans by RH Barrow and it was good, but it only gives you a very light overview...
I've read
>The War of Gaul (boring)
>Life of the 12th Ceasers, (mildy riveting but I need something narrated by a historian)
I've heard of Gibbon but it's too long, I don't care if it doesn't go into much detail. I just want to know the history of my ancestors.
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"Life and Literature in the Roman Republic", by Tenney Frank
"Roman Civilization" by Pierre Grimal, he actually has a ton of books on Rome so you could check out his works
"Urbs" by Ugo Enrico Paoli
You don't want society and that's most of what I've got, social, cultural and economic histories
So these are all society works?
I'd love to read Gibbon but only after getting basic insight into the topic. I don't want to read volumes and volums of books when I'm looking to merely get into a topic
FRICK! I've seen those books in Amazon, they've caught my fancy, but they don't ship to where I live (in a shithole far far away). Do you know any others?
Found this nearby, and it's quite cheap
https://www.amazon.com/First-History-Rome-William-Robinson/dp/1103363115
>So these are all society works?
no, the rest I have are
>https://www.amazon.com/First-History-Rome-William-Robinson/dp/1103363115
No that's something else. Get the audiobooks and pdf. They are free somewhere.
Sulla to End of Empire is way too long to get a detailed book on for an overall period.
Gibbon, as a narrative history. Is (almost) completely correct, you can ignore after the fall of the West, he has some takes that aren't agreed with anymore. But most of it is OK until you get after the end of the West, then he gets into real moronic territory with some takes. Otherwise just get some narrative history and get other books on Late Antiquity to see what modern scholarship thinks, generally they would address the same points as Gibbon.
>ou can ignore after the fall of the West, he has some takes that aren't agreed with anymore
frick off everyone has different takes. Modern historians aren't any more believable than past historians
Sallust
Caesar's Commentaries
Tacitus
OP already said Ceasars commentaries are boring
>aren't agreed on anymore
who the frick cares cuck
The Satyricon by Petronius during the Nero reign irc. not a long read either.
He doesn't want fiction
what an idiot!
A History of the Roman Republic, Robinson
A History of Rome, Robinson
It's better than other contemporary histories because the author doesnt give a frick about anything, and thinks he is superior to you in any way because he's a rich British (classical) Liberal.
>A general review of the Roman Empire with racism and little analysis.
>Excellent book. The style is dated, but excellent. There are some parts that strike me a pointlessly racist, so be warned.
>The decades have made some asides in this book from quaint to borderline racist, but when it sticks to the point it is a vivid and entertaining telling of one of the most important civilizations to have existed.
>A lot of interesting information once you sift through the rather pronounced bias.
gays are seething at an 100 year old book, so get it before its censored, edited or banned.
deperdita
>Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician by Anthony Everitt
Covers the time period you said you're interested in, well researched, focuses on an interesting but often overlooked figure, not too long.
Here’s the small list:
“History of Rome“ by Theodor Mommsen (nearly as long as the Gibbon's book, but worth it)
“History of Rome: Ab urbe condita” by Titus Livy
“The Histories” and “The Annals” by Tacitus
If u are interested in fiction, u can try “ I, Claudius” by Robert Graves, “Memoirs of Hadrian” by Marguerite Yourcenar and “ Quo Vadis” by Henryk Sienkiewicz. All great classics, written with immaculate taste, pretty historically accurate, and perfectly catch the atmosphere
I hope that I helped you
>Memoirs of Hadrian
hope it has the part where he fricks twinks
Not really, but kind of yes
Antinous was hot tbh
>“The Histories” and “The Annals” by Tacitus
You want the guy who is asking for a simple overview to read a million page book about one year?
These are not long at all.
Second Mommsen
Mommsen is about the republic
Oh, gee, I just happen to have a volume near my desk here. Let's open it!
Does it go on beyond the that? It's still about the Republic.
t. alleged imperialist
Empire starts with pax augustus. Not earlier.
Yes and no, unfinished, but definitely worth checking out. 500 pp of cobbled together lecture notes, plans, notebook entries, and whatever else to make pic'd volume. It's still Mommsen, as fun or rather as eccentric as reading Burckhardt on Greece.
OP did ask for Sulla forward btw, a muddier period overall up to Imperial times
Bury is a good go-to for the Republic
I also recommend Forsyth's Critical History of Early Rome and Cornell's similar one
I’m about to finish I,Claudius.
Has been one of the only books that has captured my attention to completely get through.
I believe it’s still based on Historical facts, but some characterizations and other liberties were taken in its “Historical Fiction” style
O Varro
Symes Roman Revolution
Beard's SPQR
>want to find out more about this beautiful bastard
>everything is LE AUGUSTAN PROPAGANDA!!! screeching
I smell israelites and trannies
Cipher digit 3251
>Wants to learn about ancestors
>Doesn’t care about social history
Yeah I’m sure you’re directly descended from Augustus.
But anyway I recommend J.B Bury, who wrote about both the early and late Empire (pretty old, but you said you don’t care).
γλωσσῐ́ς
libitīnārius
The Storm before the Storm.
Written by Mike Duncan, the guy who did the History of Rome podcast, can recommend even though he doesn't have the academic credentials you would be looking for, but who gives a shit about academics.
gibbon and mommsen is all you need, anything else is trivial and inconsequential
Gibbon is good but only until ~476.
that does cover the end of the empire
The Roman Empire ended in 1806
The Roman Empire actually never ended
Coincidentally I currently reading such book.
"Dark Rome: Das geheime Leben der Römer" (Dark Rome: The secret life of romans) by Michael Sommer
It's quite interesting reading about the more seedy underbelly of this empire with all it's excesses, intrigues, murder etc. I wouldn't call it breathtaking - "interesting" is the best description IMHO. But I'm not sure if there's an english translation of this german book yet.
Penguin publishes an abridged version of Gibbons' 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'. It's pretty good.
>abridged
No thanks, I'm not American.
Titus Livius and Gibbon