Читать книгу World History For Dummies - Peter Haugen - Страница 83

From its legendary beginnings to its fractured demise, the Roman civilization had a certain pizzazz that has captured the imagination of not just historians, but also everybody who’s fascinated by human achievement, military adventure, political intrigue, and tragedy. Shakespeare was among those who have been drawn to its stories (see more in the later section “Crossing the Rubicon”), and so am I.

What’s the attraction? You can look at Rome’s long rise and descent from any number of angles and marvel at the complexity and sophistication, not to mention the cruelty and corruption of this long-lived culture. In the brief glimpses that follow, you can find clues to what fascinates so many of us with the Roman civilization.