This 4th edition of the popular text continues to provide a comprehensive analytical survey of Roman history from its prehistoric roots in Italy and the wider Mediterranean world to the dissolution of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity in A.D. 600. Clearly organized and eminently readable, its explanatory narrative of major political and military events provides a chronological and conceptual framework for the social, economic, and cultural developments of the periods presented. Major topics are treated separately so that students can easily grasp key concepts and ideas.