The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome

This short book is an excellent introduction to Roman history. It is divided into easy to digest chapters which deal with a single theme.

The atlas is not that large. I bought four similar atlases all from Penguin and they are all thin books (Atlases are supposed to be hugh. However this (and the other 3 books) do contain loads of information. The book skims over the Republican era. The first map at page 22 and by page 32 the Republic is over. The book has only a few maps of the expansion of Rome within Italy (hardly a mention of the Samnites, or Sabines; and one small blip on the map for Sparticus) It has a few maps of Asia Minor at this time. With Carthage and the Punic wars taking up most of these few pre-Empire maps. Maybe 10 maps to cover 600 years. We then have many maps to cover the next three hundred years. Then the book ends abruptly. Shows Constantine's Empire and then quickly shows the Germanic kingdoms and the new Byzantine Empire. And it is over. No maps of Parthia or the neo Persian empires. No maps of the distribution of Germanic tribes outside of Roman areas. I would have liked to have a bigger book with larger maps. Too many maps cover two pages, so the book binding obscures some information and making a scan of a map is very hard. On the plus it has many other types of information (unfortunately sometimes repeated by the author in the start of a chapter and later in some specific article). The types of info include the economy, currency (25 silver Denarius = 1 gold Aureus), the legions (names and numbers at different times), how mines work, the olive oil industry, and of course articles on emperors, politics and religion. A good dozen examples of city maps and a legion camp are shown. On the whole a good reference and a good read on the history of Rome. But of course a real book with 1000+ pages is required to cover all aspects of the Roman empire. So this is a great companion atlas to that other book. I also got Penguin's Ancient & Medieval Histories (2xMcEvedy) and Ancient Civilizations (Haywood). Together all four give you the info to cover Rome very well.

I think I found answers to all I've ever wanted to know about the Roman Empire. This book is certainly readable by anyone. If you don't like reading long texts, this book is perfect. If you do like longer texts, this book is also nice. The balance between pictures and texts is optimal in my opinion.

An excellent little booklet on ancient Rome starting from the initial stages as a city state right up to the decline and fall after 378 AD or so. A superb reference book simply because of its small size and quick clear illustrations with maps and diagrams which display important information extremely well, even the little known fact that Chinese ambassadors visited Rome in the age of Marcus Aurelius is fascinating. The book is full of gems like this. It outlines the trade that took place including the silk route to China and India, the major figures including not only the emperors but also the major proponents of art, history and rhetoric such as Cicero and Tacitus. This is a book intended for a quick summary not an in depth detailed look at a topic as such it does this very well indeed. Highly recommended for a concise history of Rome

With several dozen books on my shelf regarding Ancient Rome, I often need something akin to an index for all of their combined knowledge: a few paragraphs, a map, or a photo will have me scurrying to the appropriate text (or, of late, an internet link).Of note are the numerous Roman city maps, showing walls, aqueducts, forts, temples, etc. relative to the natural geography.