Plebs Romana (the True Story Of The Real People Who Built An Empire)

By (author) Jones, Peter
Short description/annotation:
A short yet groundbreaking history of Ancient Rome through the eyes of the oft-forgotten people who made up the empire''s majority - the Plebs.
Description:

''A deftly written, colourful little tour of plebeian Rome'' Dan Jones, Sunday Times

The untold story of the real people who built an empire

The plebs were the backbone of Roman civilization. They were the farmers who fed the city, the soldiers who conquered the Mediterranean, and the craftsmen who built the monuments we still admire today.

In Plebs Romana, renowned classicist and bestselling author Peter Jones takes us through the twists and turns of Rome''s turbulent history - from bloody conquests and civil wars to street riots and shocking scandals - to reveal how this disparate, downtrodden underclass evolved into a political force that challenged the ruling elite and transformed the Roman Republic.

From debt crises to dinner parties, graffiti to gladiators, slaves to strikes, Jones provides fascinating insights into every aspect of ordinary Roman life. It is an extraordinary and entertaining account that, for the first time, places at the heart of the story Rome''s working people, who unwittingly helped to lay the foundations of our political system.

''Jones has an eagle''s high eye for the history of Rome'' The Times
''Jones makes the classical world feel both beguiling and fresh'' Sunday Times

Table of contents:
Introduction: Introduction 1: The First Four Kings of Rome - 753-616 BC 2: The Last of the Kings - 616-509 BC 3: The Founding of the Republic - 509-473 BC 4: A New Law-Code and the Rule of the Ten - 473-449 BC 5: Further Plebeian Success and the Emergence of Camillus - 449-390 BC 6: The Coming of the Gauls and Destruction of Rome - 390-350 BC 7: The Conquest of Italy and the Triumph of the Plebs - 350-280 BC 8: The Beginning of Empire - 280-167 BC 9: From Triumph to Disaster - 167-27 BC 10: The Augustan Revolution - An Overview 11: Pompeii - AD 79
Review quote:
Jones'' books are neat introductions to aspects of Greek or Roman history, lightly and colourfully told, but underpinned by a lifetime of scholarly rigour. Plebs Romana... is erudite, precise and packed with information, while being exactly the right size to keep in the downstairs loo.
Review quote:
Delightfully informative... learned, but deftly executed... It is an absorbing account, full of wonderful little stories of events or of individuals that made their mark in the tussles which led the plebs to gain real power and influence in Roman politics.
Biographical note:
Peter Jones was educated at Cambridge University and taught Classics at Cambridge and at Newcastle University, before retiring in 1997. He has written a regular column, ''Ancient & Modern'', in the Spectator for many years and is the author of various books on the Classics, including the bestselling Learn Latin and Learn Ancient Greek, as well as Vote for Caesar and Reading Virgil''s Aeneid I and II.