Tracing the rise of Rome from its origins as a cluster of villages to the foundation of the Empire, this book reproduces the text of the Oxford History of the Classical World: Rome in a smaller paperback form. Written by a team of specialist scholars, it includes chapters on social and political history, the Emperors, art and architecture, and the works of the leading Roman poets, historians and philosophers. Retaining the original line drawings and maps, this edition contains a new 8-page section of illustrations, specially selected by Sir John Boardman.