Henry Fynes Clinton (1781–1852) made an innovative contribution to classical scholarship with this history of the Roman Empire, published in two volumes in 1845 and 1850. Applying a scientific method of analysis to the study of ancient history, he organises the information chronologically in tables, demonstrating the connection between different spheres at various phases of development of the empire. Volume 1 lists the Roman Consuls and the events that took place under their mandate, including significant Greek and Roman literary and cultural achievements. Among Clinton's sources were chronicles, law codes, medals and coins, and classic literature, covering a period of over five hundred years. Beginning with the death of Augustus in 14 CE, this volume ends in 578 CE, a century after the conventional date of the empire's fall. An index to the tables gives the reader a chronological overview which is still of great value today.
