The History of Rome (Volumes 1-5)

Rome's growth from early settlements into a Mediterranean power provides the structure of this five-volume history. Theodor Mommsen examines the monarchy, the republic, expansion in Italy, the conflicts with Carthage and the Greek states, and the political struggles involving the Gracchi, Sulla, Pompeius and Caesar. William Purdie Dickson's English translation includes the author's additions and corrections, with a preface explaining the choices made in carrying the German prose into English.

Alongside campaigns and changes of government, the contents devote space to law, religion, agriculture, commerce, education, literature and art. A passage on maritime affairs connects the spread of piracy with Rome's weak naval administration, showing how Mommsen links events to institutions and policy. Readers interested in ancient Rome can use the work to follow those connections across several periods and to examine the judgments of a nineteenth-century historian.