The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire

The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire by Anthony Everitt

The early history of Rome is a mixture of legend and actual history. This book covers it all from Romulus and Remus up until Julius Caesar. The book presents the legends with the history to tell the full story. There is acknowledgement that some parts are likely not factual. However, there are other "legendary" bits of history that have been uncovered as truth. There is often a bit of truth mixed in with the legend. Even if if it is not truly historical, it does provide a window into what they thought of themselves.

As the history of Rome does get more historical, it appears there are a number of lucky breaks. Rome had a persistence and a refusal to play by the common rules of battle. That allowed them to snatch victory from seeming defeat. Rome had a revolving leadership, which would result in turnover from incompetent to visionary rulers. This helped them manage to prevent Hannibal from destroying Rome. Through history, Rome had institutions that we would recognize with a great deal of "rule by the people". However, strong rulers were able to take advantage of this, thus leading to the taking of power by Caeser.