The Rise and Fall of Rome: Twelve Centuries, Five Chapters

The chapters

1. Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free

   A City on Seven Hills

   Twin babies, a she-wolf, and a city that swore it would never have a king again.

   Sources: Livy, Preface and 1.3–2.2; Plutarch, Romulus 3–12; Dionysius of Halicarnassus 1.79; Polybius 6.11–18

2. Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free

   Mastering Italy and the Sea

   The Gauls burn Rome. Two centuries later, Rome rules the sea.

   Sources: Livy 5.38–48; Plutarch, Pyrrhus 21 and Cato the Elder 27; Polybius 1.20–23, 1.63 and 3.42–56; Pliny, Natural History 16.192

3. Chapter 3 · 5 min

   From Republic to Empire

   Conquest makes Rome rich. Then it makes its generals kings in all but name.

   Sources: Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 8–20; Sallust, Jugurthine War 86; Suetonius, Julius 31–32 and 80–82; Augustus, Res Gestae 34

4. Chapter 4 · 5 min

   The Roman Peace

   One empire from Scotland’s edge to Iraq, and roads that modern highways still follow.

   Sources: Tacitus, Annals 15.38–44 and Agricola 30; Suetonius, Augustus 23; Cassius Dio 68 and 78.9; Juvenal, Satires 3.36 and 10.81; Augustus, Res Gestae 15

5. Chapter 5 · 5 min

   Divided and Fallen

   Fifty years of chaos, an empire cut in two, and a West that fades out instead of falling.

   Sources: Eusebius, Life of Constantine 1.28; Ammianus Marcellinus 31; Jerome, Letter 127.12; Anonymus Valesianus 8.37–38; Procopius, Vandalic War 1.5

Who’s who

The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.

• RemusTwin · Shepherd · Rival
• PyrrhusKing of Epirus · General · Costly Victor
• Tiberius GracchusTribune · Land Reformer
• TrajanSoldier · Builder · Best of Emperors
• Romulus AugustulusBoy Emperor · The Last in the West
• RomulusFounder · Twin · Legend

What you’ll be able to tell

This story belongs to the journey “The Roman World”. By the end of it, you can tell how Rome grew, where its borders ran, and why it didn’t fall in a day.