ORIGIN OF EMPIRE

At the beginning of the three dramatic centuries that make up this book's narrative, Rome was an Italian republic with limited influence. By the book's end, we find the emperor Hadrian's territories stretching from England to Turkey. Taking in wars with Hannibal, the destruction of Carthage, Augustus' extraordinary Empire-building and Hadrian's famous wall, this masterful history traces the process of cultural, political and civic transformation which led to the creation of the most successful state in the history of Europe.