SPQR
A History of Ancient Rome
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Narrated by:
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Phyllida Nash
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By:
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Mary Beard
About this listen
Sunday Times top 10 best seller.
Shortlisted for a British Book Industry Book of the Year Award 2016.
The new series Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit is on BBC2.
Ancient Rome matters.
Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories - from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of Lucretia - still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship, security and the rights of the individual still influence our own debates on civil liberty today.
SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world's foremost classicists. It explores not only how Rome grew from an insignificant village in Central Italy to a power that controlled territory from Spain to Syria, but also how the Romans thought about themselves and their achievements, and why they are still important to us. Covering 1,000 years of history and casting fresh light on the basics of Roman culture from slavery to running water, as well as exploring democracy, migration, religious controversy, social mobility and exploitation in the larger context of the empire, this is a definitive history of ancient Rome.
SPQR is the Romans' own abbreviation for their state: Senatus Populusque Romanus, 'the Senate and People of Rome'.
©2016 Mary Beard (P)2016 Hachette Audio UKListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome traces the breathtaking history from the empire’s foundation by Augustus to its Golden Age in the 2nd century CE through a series of ever-worsening crises until its ultimate disintegration. Taught by acclaimed Professor Gregory S. Aldrete of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, these 24 captivating lectures offer you the chance to experience this story like never before, incorporating the latest historical insights that challenge our previous notions of Rome’s decline.
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Gregory S. Aldrete is a treasure
- By Laurel Tucker on 02-04-19
By: Gregory S. Aldrete, and others
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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
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An Historic Achievement
- By Ellen S. Wilds on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Edward Gibbon
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 126 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.
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Masterpiece - Best Audiobook I’ve Listened To
- By Student on 09-18-18
By: Edward Gibbon
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The Storm Before the Storm
- The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic
- By: Mike Duncan
- Narrated by: Mike Duncan
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. After its founding in 509 BCE, the Romans refused to allow a single leader to seize control of the state and grab absolute power. The Roman commitment to cooperative government and peaceful transfers of power was unmatched in the history of the ancient world. But by the year 133 BCE, the republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome now ruled.
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Interesting, albeit a bit dry
- By Aria on 11-14-17
By: Mike Duncan
What listeners say about SPQR
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sylla
- 12-04-22
Pronunciation
The narrator is generally good but her pronunciation of Latin so atrocious that even one who knows Latin has to pause and wonder to get what it is.
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- Tomasf
- 12-09-21
Excellent
This was my first book about the Romans I’ve ever read and it was fantastic. Written by the UK’s foremost scholar of Roman history at the end of her long and distinguished career this feels like the definitive history of Rome’s first millennium. I just loved the sensitive and nuanced way she talks about this. The depth of expertise is amazing and she makes it really engaging through lots of interesting stories and details. Overall, you just get the sense of someone who knows this stuff inside out and is not willing to overstate points to make them more interesting but is happy to discuss multiple interpretations while giving her own distinctive take. Personally, i really appreciate this more nuanced take and the healthy amount of myth-busting she gets in to. The only downside is the reader - she’s ok, but not great and stumbles over some sentences (partly because they are not that easy to read) and there are a few (2?) editing errors where sentences are repeated.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-02-24
Great book, but recorded with low audio
Very interesting and well structured book. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Wish it was recorded better, as it was impossible to listen with earphones. Despite that, the performance was very good.
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