Mary Beard's SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Summary

This is Roman history roughly from its mythological dawning about 753 BC to the time when free adult males within the Roman Empire were declared by Emperor Caracalla as citizens of Rome in 212 CE. Beard starts the history of ancient Rome with an account of how Lucius Sergius Catalina (Cataline) conspired against Rome and how it was foiled by the Senate. The book uses the conspiracy as a springboard to discuss various aspects of Roman civilization including, citizenship, its military as well as R