IMPERIUM ROMANUM
Frontispiece of Book I

A Compendium of the Wars of Rome

Imperium Romanum

From the Gallic sack of 390 BC to the last emperor in the West, AD 476. Eight volumes and 55 chapters of Rome at war, every account graded by the strength of its evidence, and at the end of each chapter a decision to face as those present faced it.

Begin with Book I

Begin with Book I: The Republic in ItalyRead the storyBegin with Book I: The Republic in ItalyEight volumes, from the Gallic sack to the fall of the West. About two hours a book.Face a decisionThe Demand of the Senones390 BC (traditional date; 387 or 386 BC by Polybian chronology). Stand in the room, weigh each course, decide, then learn what was done.150 lives in a page eachMeet the people150 lives in a page eachCaesar, Cleopatra, Hannibal, Augustus: who they were, what they did, how sure we can be.
Eight centuries, to scale

The road from the Allia to Ravenna

Each volume sits on the line where its years fall. Select one to open it.

  1. Frontispiece of Book I
    Book I

    The Republic in Italy

    390–264 BC · 6 chapters

  2. Frontispiece of Book II
    Book II

    The Mediterranean Wars

    264–216 BC · 6 chapters

  3. Frontispiece of Book III
    Book III

    The Long War

    216–202 BC · 7 chapters

  4. Frontispiece of Book IV
    Book IV

    The Wars of Mediterranean Hegemony

    200–146 BC · 6 chapters

  5. Frontispiece of Book V
    Book V

    The Crisis of the Republic

    133–31 BC · 8 chapters

  6. Frontispiece of Book VI
    Book VI

    The Wars of the Early Principate

    30 BC–AD 96 · 8 chapters

  7. Frontispiece of Book VII
    Book VII

    The High Empire and the Long Crisis

    96–284 · 8 chapters

  8. Frontispiece of Book VIII
    Book VIII

    The Last Age of the West

    284–476 · 6 chapters

The compendia

Meet the people, the wars, the legions and the lands

Four illustrated companions to the narrative: a page for every life, war, legion and province, with their maps and plates, each tied to the chapters that tell its story. In the chapters, a dotted name opens its card, and the card opens its dossier.

  1. The people of the Roman world
    FiguresThe people of the Roman world150 lives, from Romulus to Justinian: how each came to power, what they did with it, and how sure we can be.
  2. Every war, from the kings to Justinian
    WarsEvery war, from the kings to Justinian100 wars and campaigns, 753 BC to AD 565, with their maps, battle plans, commanders and consequences.
  3. The legions and the soldiers in them
    LegionsThe legions and the soldiers in them46 legions: where each was raised, where it fought and garrisoned, and what became of it.
  4. The lands of the empire
    ProvincesThe lands of the empire204 provinces and kingdoms, from Britain to Mesopotamia: their peoples, cities, government and fate.
The Crossroads

Stand where they stood

Every chapter ends at a real decision. You take a place in the room, weigh each course in your own voice, and choose before you learn what was done. 55 decisions, from the Allia to the fall of the West.

  1. Book I · 390 BC (traditional date; 387 or 386 BC by Polybian chronology)The Demand of the SenonesHow shall the Senate answer the Senone embassy demanding the surrender of the three Fabii?
  2. Book V · Late 100 BCThe Consul's Dilemma: Marius and the Crisis of 100 BCHow do you respond to the Senate's decree commanding you to put down Saturninus and Glaucia?
  3. Book VIII · August 476The Partition of ItalyDo you grant the federate army a third of the land in Italy, or refuse their demand?

All 55 decisions

Reading the evidence

How sure can we be?

Almost nothing about Rome's wars reaches us from an eyewitness. So every account here carries a grade from the author, and each chapter's Editor's Notes lay out the sources behind it.

How to read the grades

  • AThe strongest of four grades: strict eyewitness or contemporary archival access
  • BThe second of four grades, from A (eyewitness or contemporary record) to D (suspect or problematic)
  • CThe third of four grades, from A (eyewitness or contemporary record) to D (suspect or problematic)
  • DThe weakest of four grades: suspect attribution or problematic transmission
TimelineEvery dated eventFrom the chapters' own headings, in order. Atlas60 mapsEach volume's theatre, campaigns and battlefields. The Study148 companionsVideos, slides and infographics beside the passages they illuminate. The Index1,211 entriesWho, where and what: tap a dotted name in any chapter for its card. Listen43 conversationsTwo hosts walk through each volume's great questions.

The Capstone: the army across eight centuries, how we know, and the argument of the whole series.

194,972 words across eight volumes.