---
product_id: 583974423
title: "Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World"
price: "288 DH"
currency: MAD
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.ma/products/583974423-emperor-of-rome-ruling-the-ancient-world
store_origin: MA
region: Morocco
---

# Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World

**Price:** 288 DH
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

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- **What is this?** Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World
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## Description

desertcart.com: Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World (Audible Audio Edition): Mary Beard, Mary Beard, Recorded Books: Books

Review: Great Read for Ancient Rome Enthusiasts - I'm a big fan of Beard's previous book, SPQR, and this is about the same time period more or less (Julius Caesar to Alexander Severus). Her prose is very readable. For this book, it is helpful if the reader knows something of Roman history as it is arranged by topic, that is, what it was like to be emperor (what were his duties, what was his life like), rather than chronologically. If you don't already know which emperor followed which, it could be confusing (though she provides a list of the emperors at the back of the book). She uses the sources available critically, examining their own motives for writing what they did and the times in which they were writing. Overall, I liked it very much. It's not your typical "history book."
Review: Another fine book from Mary Beard - Mary Beard always does a fine job of making ancient Rome interesting and fun to read. The book is very well written and extremely readable. Beard provides an exceptional amount of detail, but hers skill as a writer (as well as her sense of humor) result in a book that's a real pleasure to read. Beard doesn't page-specific footnotes or end notes to provide additional information. She takes a novel approach by providing further readings (as well as places to visit) for each chapter. This essentially combined notes with a bibliography. What's more, the further readings contain a considerable amount of additional information. An added plus is that the book contains some fine color illustrations as well as about 100 black and white images. I'd already read SPQR and Twelve Caesars (both of which I would give five stars), so I was looking forward to reading Emperor of Rome. I enjoyed the book--and it's certainly a worthwhile read. However, Emperor of Rome warrants a rating of four stars: it isn't quite as good as SPQR or Twelve Caesars.

## Images

![Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/914fJsJobxL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Read for Ancient Rome Enthusiasts
*by T***. on December 14, 2023*

I'm a big fan of Beard's previous book, SPQR, and this is about the same time period more or less (Julius Caesar to Alexander Severus). Her prose is very readable. For this book, it is helpful if the reader knows something of Roman history as it is arranged by topic, that is, what it was like to be emperor (what were his duties, what was his life like), rather than chronologically. If you don't already know which emperor followed which, it could be confusing (though she provides a list of the emperors at the back of the book). She uses the sources available critically, examining their own motives for writing what they did and the times in which they were writing. Overall, I liked it very much. It's not your typical "history book."

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another fine book from Mary Beard
*by B***. on April 4, 2025*

Mary Beard always does a fine job of making ancient Rome interesting and fun to read. The book is very well written and extremely readable. Beard provides an exceptional amount of detail, but hers skill as a writer (as well as her sense of humor) result in a book that's a real pleasure to read. Beard doesn't page-specific footnotes or end notes to provide additional information. She takes a novel approach by providing further readings (as well as places to visit) for each chapter. This essentially combined notes with a bibliography. What's more, the further readings contain a considerable amount of additional information. An added plus is that the book contains some fine color illustrations as well as about 100 black and white images. I'd already read SPQR and Twelve Caesars (both of which I would give five stars), so I was looking forward to reading Emperor of Rome. I enjoyed the book--and it's certainly a worthwhile read. However, Emperor of Rome warrants a rating of four stars: it isn't quite as good as SPQR or Twelve Caesars.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The emperor in flesh and blood"
*by D***N on December 30, 2023*

Contrary to what one might expect given the title, Dr. Beard's _Emperor of Rome_ is neither a biography nor a summary of the rule of Roman emperors; rather, it is a brilliant examination of the conventions of imperial rule: the expectations (what made one a "good" emperor"? what was the criteria for a "bad" emperor"), the idea of "emperorship" writ large (how it was understood by not just the Roman elite, but by workaday citizens as well) in addition to an insightful exploration of the difficulties wading through contemporary Roman accounts given the tendency to either suck-up to the current emperor or run-down predecessors. Beard has a difficult task seeking to understand the persons at the center of the empire: what was administration like, what was expected of these people, how were decisions made and communicated and executed - and of particular interest to me, what was the perception and role of the women behind the throne? Beard writes that Roman emperors "present an extreme case of the historian's dilemma. How do we understand the Roman emperor on his own terms, and yet not lose sight of our own moral compass, and our obligation to evaluate, as well as to describe, the past?" I think she has hit the sweet spot in addressing this problem. Writing with humor, expertise and incisive analysis _Emperor of Rome_ is a marvelous history showing the complex and complicated nature of governance as well as providing unique insights into its political culture. Highly recommended, as is her _SPQR_ on the Roman republic.

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*Product available on Desertcart Morocco*
*Store origin: MA*
*Last updated: 2026-01-28*