An examination of the development of archaic Rome which successfully united disparate cultures and integrated them into political life. The author discusses the

New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and

In the unseasonable heat of a spring morning in 80 B.C., Gordianus the Finder is summoned to the house of Cicero, a young advocate staking his reputation on a c

Studies the complex system of trade exchanges and commerce that profoundly changed Roman society.

By the third century BC, the once-modest settlement of Rome had conquered most of Italy and was poised to build an empire throughout the Mediterranean basin. Wh