The History of Ancient Rome

By: Garrett G. Fagan, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Garrett G. Fagan

Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Even today, the influence of Ancient Rome is indelible, with Europe and the world owing this extraordinary empire a huge cultural debt in almost every important category of human endeavor, including art, architecture, engineering, language, literature, law, and religion. At the peak of its power, Rome's span was vast. In the regional, restless, and shifting history of continental Europe, the Roman Empire stands as a towering monument to scale and stability, unified in politics and law, stretching from the sands of Syria to the moors of Scotland. And it stood for almost 700 years.

In this series of 48 spirited lectures, you'll see how a small village of shepherds and farmers rose to tower over the civilized world of its day and left a permanent mark on history. In telling Rome's riveting story, Professor Fagan draws on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, including recent historical and archaeological scholarship, to introduce the fascinating tale of Rome's rise and decline, including the famous events and personalities that have become so familiar:

• Horatius at the bridge
• Hannibal crossing the Alps during Rome's life-or-death war with Carthage
• Caesar being assassinated before a statue of his archrival Pompey
• The doomed lovers Antony and Cleopatra
• The mad and venal emperors Nero and Caligula
• The conversion of Constantine.

The course also addresses one of history's greatest questions: Why did the Roman Empire fall? And you'll learn why most modern scholars believe that the empire did not "fall" at all, but, rather, changed into something very different - the less urbanized, more rural, early medieval world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1999 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1999 The Great Courses

Good information but scholarly

Do be aware that this lecture series is more scholarly and historical. So it is a bit dry. But with that in mind it is a good course and does a good job telling the remarkable story of roman civilization

My children asked me to please stop talking about Rome

This amazingly thorough but accessible trip through the history of Rome was a joy. Great details filling in overarching themes. I appreciate knowing when we are more or less certain about historical facts versus various theories. I view the world differently after listening to these lectures and highly recommend them.

History lovers delight!

I am a history buff so I am very familiar with the Roman Empire. It’s one of my favorite historical eras.
I learned a great deal more in this lecture series than I had hoped. The way the series was organized was logical and easy to follow. There were just enough details to educate me but not enough to make it overwhelming. The lecturer had a pleasant oration and pace. I will undoubtedly listen to certain chapters again.

Accessible

Any additional comments?

As an amateur with a long interest in Roman History I found this series highly engaging and incredibly informative.
Professor Fagan has an easy style and the content is simply brilliant. The flow of the narrative is superb and the connection to the thematic section of the course is well constructed.
I have read bits of Pliny and currently I am reading Gibbon. I feel these are works that require a solid base in Roman History prior to attacking and I now feel like I am armed to teeth thanks to this course.
Thoroughly recommended to anyone with anything from a passing interest to a life long love affair with Roman History.

Terrific Overview

Where does The History of Ancient Rome rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The best

What did you like best about this story?

Well paced, with narrative giving way to thematic discussions toward the end; professor is extremely knowledgeable with sense of humor that leavens the topic just enough

Have you listened to any of Professor Garrett G. Fagan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no, but 1-1.5 hours at a time was not uncommon

Prerequisite for Understanding Western History

If you want to understand how we got here culturally, you must know something about Ancient Rome. Now, I can clearly see how much Rome has influenced us. Particularly interesting is the effect Rome had on our Founding Fathers and the design of our government. In Rome we see a reflection of ourselves, and our past, present, and possible future. Bravo Dr. Fagan!

Awesome!

Thorough, engaging, fantastic. An excellent introduction (and then some) to the topic of Roman history. Seriously, I don't want to gush, but I feel like I just stole a college course. Great buy for anyone who wants to wade into history.

good intro but want more

Good intro to Roman history it a bit rushed. very good basic info very well presented

just very good

I've heard some of this before, and I can see where the lecturer makes decisions of focus and allocation of time. This is clearly not the first time he had delivered this course. Its very polished and executed.

the ancient history of rome great courses

this is a good lecture with a informativ proffesor witch is very good to listen to.