Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

First published in 2006

This edition published in 2007 by BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing.

A Random House Group Company.

Copyright © Simon Baker 2006

Foreword by Mary Beard © Woodlands Books Ltd 2006

Simon Baker has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009

Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at

www.randomhouse.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 846 07284 0

The Random House Group Limited makes every effort to ensure that the papers used in our books are made from trees that have been legally sourced from well-managed and credibly certified forests. Our paper procurement policy can be found on www.randomhouse.co.uk

To buy books by your favourite authors and register for offers visit

www.rbooks.co.uk

Commissioning editor: Martin Redfern

Project editor: Eleanor Maxfield

Copy editor: Trish Burgess

Designer: seagulls.net

Maps and family trees by HL Studios, Long Hanborough, Oxon

Picture researcher: Sarah Hopper

Production controller: David Brimble

Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Cox & Wyman, Reading, RG1 8EX