Ancient Rome: A Captivating Introduction to the Roman Republic, the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire
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Narrated by:
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Timothy Burke
About this listen
If you want to discover captivating stories of people and events of ancient Rome then keep reading....
The Roman civilization is probably the single most important civilization in the history of the planet. Its expansion defined Europe. Its constitution shaped societies from Russia in the east to the United States and Latin America in the west. Not even its conquerors were immune to the superior Roman culture.
In this new captivating history book, you’ll learn all you need to know about Roman institutions and politics. But our focus will be on the captivating stories and curious personalities of the Roman emperors, politicians, and generals - from Romulus, Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, and Hadrian to Constantine, Justinian, and Belisarius.
Equally important (and perhaps even more interesting) are the stories of influential women - mothers, wives, and lovers, from Cleopatra and Agrippina to Theodora and Zoe with the coal-black eyes - whose schemes often redirected the course of history.
Here are some of the topics covered in Ancient Rome: A Captivating Introduction to the Roman Republic, the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire:
- The Seven Kings of Seven Hills: The Foundation of Rome and Its First Rulers
- The Early Republic
- The Punic Wars and Mediterranean Dominance: The Middle Republic
- Decay, Corruption, and Civil Wars: The Late Republic
- Gaius Julius Caesar, Crossing the Rubicon, and Death That Shook the City
- The Rise of First Roman Emperor
- Early Roman Empire: Princeps Augustus and Julio-Claudian Dynasty
- The Flavian Dynasty
- The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty
- Late Empire
- The Empire of Constantine
- Constantinian Dynasty
- Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire
- The Byzantine Millennium
- And much, much more!
Listen to this audiobook now to learn more about ancient Rome!
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- By: Edward J. Watts
- Narrated by: Matt Kugler
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In Mortal Republic, prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts offers a new history of the fall of the Roman Republic that explains why Rome exchanged freedom for autocracy. For centuries, even as Rome grew into the Mediterranean's premier military and political power, its governing institutions, parliamentary rules, and political customs successfully fostered negotiation and compromise. By the 130s BC, however, Rome's leaders increasingly used these same tools to cynically pursue individual gain and obstruct their opponents.
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A Well Written Timely Work
- By David I. Williams on 09-10-20
By: Edward J. Watts
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From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa
- A Crash Course in 2,000 Years of Middle East History
- By: Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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To untangle the modern Middle East conflict and the 2,000 years behind it, this book is divided into 25 concise chapters. Each one is devoted to a major theme in Middle East history, such as the beginning of Islam, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, and the beginning of Israel in 1948. They can be read in a few minutes, giving you a fast overview of the issues and help you to understand Middle East current events.
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Interesting, but of course it's quite brief
- By Philo on 07-26-13
By: Michael Rank
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Scandinavia
- A History
- By: Ewan Butler
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, award-winning historian Ewan Butler writes, struggled through unions and separations with both outsiders and each other, developing their own personalities and languages yet retaining their ancient connections.
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Excellent History of Scandinavia after the Vikings
- By Arthur on 05-05-17
By: Ewan Butler
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The Most Powerful Women in the Middle Ages
- Queens, Saints, and Viking Slayers, From Empress Theodora to Elizabeth of Tudor
- By: Melissa Rank, Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Anne Day-Jones
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The idea of a powerful woman in the Middle Ages seems like an oxymoron. Females in this time are imagined to be damsels in distress, trapped in a high tower, and waiting for knights to rescue them, all while wearing traffic-cones for a hat. After rescue, their lives improved little. Their career choices were to be either docile queens, housewives, or be burned at the stake for witchcraft. But what if this image of medieval women is a complete fiction? It turns out that it is. Powerful female rulers fill the Middle Ages.
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Wonderfully empowering
- By Teresa Carter on 01-29-23
By: Melissa Rank, and others
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The Normans
- From Raiders to Kings
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: James C. Lewis
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Normans, Lars Brownworth follows their story, from the first shock of a Viking raid on an Irish monastery to the exile of the last Norman Prince of Antioch. In the process, he brings to vivid life the Norman tapestry's rich cast of characters: figures like Rollo the Walker, William Iron-Arm, Tancred the Monkey King, and Robert Guiscard. The Normans presents a fascinating glimpse of a time when a group of restless adventurers had the world at their fingertips.
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Norsemen in Palermo
- By Jim on 02-23-15
By: Lars Brownworth
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Lost to the West
- The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Lars Brownworth
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization.
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Just a delight for anyone interested in history !
- By Cinders on 05-28-13
By: Lars Brownworth
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By the Spear
- Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire
- By: Ian Worthington
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.
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Bueller..... Bueller...... Bueller...... Monotone
- By Jonathan Allen Beard on 02-15-15
By: Ian Worthington
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Constantine the Emperor
- By: David Potter
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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This year Christians worldwide will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's conversion and victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than did Constantine. The reason is not simply that he converted to Christianity but that he did so in a way that brought his subjects along after him. Indeed, this major new biography argues that Constantine's conversion is but one feature of a unique administrative style that enabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths.
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In this sign thou shalt conquer!
- By Darwin8u on 06-11-18
By: David Potter
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The Race for Paradise
- An Islamic History of the Crusades
- By: Paul M. Cobb
- Narrated by: Paul M. Cobb
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Race for Paradise, Paul M. Cobb offers a new history of the confrontations between Muslims and Franks we now call the "Crusades", one that emphasizes the diversity of Muslim experiences of the European holy war. There is more to the story than Jerusalem, the Templars, Saladin, and the Assassins. Cobb considers the Arab perspective on all shores of the Muslim Mediterranean, from Spain to Syria.
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A heady piece of history and a romp.
- By Meeno on 05-28-15
By: Paul M. Cobb
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Ancient Rome
- By: Thomas R. Martin
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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With commanding skill, Thomas R. Martin tells the remarkable and dramatic story of how a tiny, poor, and threatened settlement grew to become, during its height, the dominant power in the Mediterranean world for 500 years. Encompassing the period from Rome's founding in the eighth century BC through Justinian's rule in the sixth century AD, he offers a distinctive perspective on the Romans and their civilization by employing fundamental Roman values as a lens through which to view both their rise and spectacular fall.
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Great review and understanding of Christianity
- By David on 12-08-20
By: Thomas R. Martin
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The Roman Empire
- The Amazing History of a Great Empire That Has Fallen
- By: Kelly Mass, Summaries from History
- Narrated by: Miriam Webster
- Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The Roman Empire has been in the spotlight for ages. It has been studied, research, and taught in schools across the world. Inventions, words, vocabulary, and philosophy have been derived from those important transition in human history. The Romans were ruthless in some ways yet civilized in others. They were a peculiar people who did things differently than those they called barbarians. Their warfare, their habits, their vision of the future...these all made their empire what it became. What is that makes us so obsessed with this particular time period?
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This is great
- By Edwin on 09-26-19
By: Kelly Mass, and others
What listeners say about Ancient Rome: A Captivating Introduction to the Roman Republic, the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael Cooper
- 09-19-18
Its wonderful to read.
Being a survey book I could see no other reason to read it. I was pleasantly surprised. I found the book to read like a novel. Overall the author nails the mood of the time period and inserts the facts needed for an introduction to what Ancient Rome was, where it came from, how it evolved, and the seeds of its undoing. I also enjoyed the period pieces that the author chose to write about, because to fit every major event in Rome's history.
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- Linda Cherylh
- 09-19-18
I was pleasantly surprised.
I think you will enjoy this book, if you are like me and a relative novice on Roman history, give it a try.
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- Barry Helenh
- 09-19-18
I found this book an excellent starting point.
The book concentrates on approximately 7 turning points in Roman history and the personalities who mattered the most. I think the chapter I enjoyed the most was the one on the Jewish rebellion. With this as a background I think I'm ready to tackle works of Josephus.
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- Nahk Nafri
- 09-19-18
Good book for me on the Roman Empire.
Good book for my first on Roman Empire history. We are going to Italy this fall and I wanted some appreciation of the Roman Empire. I have done a lot of reading on Greek history but not so much on the history of the Romans. I think I will try and buy the next series about the specific topic.
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- Hanna Macleod
- 09-19-18
Like a documantry, good one.
I was some ways into this book when I began to think that this thing read like one of those not too serious documentaries on the History channel. Of course that's in fact what it is. I bought the book mainly because I enjoy Captivating History's writing and figured she would not endorse and write the introduction for something of questionable quality. Indeed, this is a very successful gloss of the high (read dramatic) points of Roman history.
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- Razan Diraf
- 09-19-18
My favorite book.
My favorite overview of Roman history is neither a book nor documentary. Check out the Great Courses lectures on Roman history - either buy them or they are often available from your library. The lectures are interesting and the professor engaging. Best of all you can listen to them on your commute or next long trip.
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- Willy Staples
- 09-19-18
A book of high quality data.
Overall I found this book to be an excellent starting point for anyone wishing to learn about Ancient Rome, its culture, politics, military, and what Rome's accomplishments have meant to western civilization.
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- Aryeh Madina
- 09-21-18
Engaging and very well-written.
I took a class on Ancient Rome over the summer, and I purchased this book because I found my textbook extremely dry and disorganized. I wanted something a little more engaging that would help me glean more from the course materials. I am a History major and absolutely love reading history books (that's pretty much all I read these days). This book provided nice snapshots of Ancient Roman history that really sucked me in and made the events of the time seem real.
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- Shirley Perine
- 09-19-18
Interesting history of the Roman rulers.
Interesting read that follows the Roman empire from its inception until falling apart. The focus is on the long list of rulers over many centuries and was enlightening. It reads as easily as a novel. I would prefer to have more insights into how they ruled their far flung empire. There are many parallels to current events. I would have liked additional insights into the culture and the massive engineering projects across the empire, however that is probably a different book(s). This one focuses on the rulers.
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- Bradley Kimbrell
- 09-19-18
Love history, love ROME.
If you are curious about Roman history, you can't go too wrong with this book, just know that it's sort of like reading a history of America skipping about to just the cool bits. "George Washington becomes president, now off to Abraham Lincoln!" as thought nothing happened in between or to anyone who was not at the top of the heap.
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