Early Rome to 290 Bc: The Beginnings of the City and the Rise of the Republic

Description

The emergence of Rome as an imperial power. In the first few centuries of its existence, Rome developed from a minor settlement on the Tiber into the most powerful city-state in Italy. This book examines the reasons for Rome's emergence and success within a highly competitive Italian environment, and how much it owed to its neighbours. It explains how many of Rome's key characteristics, such as its powerful ruling elite, its stable political institutions, its openness to outsiders, and its intensely militaristic society, were shaped by their origins in the monarchy and early Republic. It covers the rise of Rome from small scale community to supremacy in central Italy. It uses the latest archaeological evidence to demonstrate the sophisticated and cosmopolitan nature of early Rome. It analyses the origins of Rome's Republican form of government and its aggressive drive to conquer. Illustrations Preface and acknowledgements Series editor’s preface Abbreviations 1. Sources and approaches 2. Early Italy, from the Bronze Age to the classical era 3. Myths and legends of the foundation of Rome 4. Kingship 5. Urbanism and city foundation 6. Economy and society in archaic Rome and central Italy 7. Rome in the early Republic 8. Roman foreign relations in the sixth, fifth and fourth centuries bc 9. Rome and Italy 338–290 bc: conquest and accommodation 10. Rome around 300 bc 11. Conclusion Chronology Guide to further reading Bibliography Index