Includes bibliographical references (p. 543-557) and index.

Pt. 1. Pre-Roman and the rise of Rome. The foundations of early Rome and the rise of Rome ; Phoenicians, Greeks, and Etruscans in pre-Roman Italy ; Early Rome to 500 B.C. ; Early Roman society, religion, and values ; The rise of the Roman Republic, 509 to 287 B.C. ; The Roman conquest of Italy and its impact, 509 to 264 B.C. -- Pt. 2. The high point of the Roman Republic. The First Punic War and the beginning of overseas imperialism, 264 to 241 B.C. ; Between the wars, 241 to 218 B.C. ; The Second Punic War, 218 to 201 B.C. ; War and imperialism in the Hellenistic East, 200 to 133 B.C. ; Roman imperialism in the West, 200 to 133 B.C. ; The transformation of Roman life, 264 to 133 B.C. ; The great cultural synthesis, 264 to 133 B.C. -- Pt. 3. The world of the late Republic. The Gracchi and the struggle over land reform, 133 to 121 B.C. ; The breakdown of the system, 121 to 88 B.C. ; Marius and Sulla: Civil War and reaction, 88 to 78 B.C. ; Personal ambitions and public crises, 78 to 60 B.C. ; The rise of Caesar, 60 to 52 B.C. ; Caesar wins and is lost, mid-50s to 44 B.C. ; The last days of the Republic, 44 to 30 B.C. ; Social, economic, and cultural life in the late Republic, ca.133 to ca.30 B.C. --

Pt. 4. The early Roman Empire. The establishment of the Principate, 29 B.C. to A.D. 14 ; Systematic reform under Augustus ; Imperial stabilization under Augustus ; The impact of Augustus on Roman imperial life and culture ; The first two Julio-Claudian emperors: Tiberius and Gaius (Caligula), A.D. 14 to 41 ; Claudius, Nero, and the end of the Julio-Claudians, A.D. 41 to 68 ; The crisis of the Principate and recovery under the Flavians, A.D. 69 to 96 ; The five "good" emperors of the second century, A.D. 96 to 180 ; Imperial culture and society in the first two centuries, A.D. -- Pt. 5. Crisis, continuity, and change in the third and fourth centuries. Changes and conflicts in the early third century, A.D. 180 to 235 ; The third-century anarchy, A.D. 235 to 285 ; Changes in Roman life and culture during the third century ; Diocletian creating the fourth-century empire, A.D. 285 to 305 ; Constantine the Great and Christianity, A.D. 306 to 337 ; From Constantine's dynasty to Theodosius the Great, A.D. 337 to 395 ; The evolving world of late antiquity in the fourth century A.D. ; Christianity and classical culture in the fourth century -- Pt. 6. The transformation of the Roman world in late antiquity. The fifth-century West: the localization of imperial power under Germanic kings ; Fifth-century empresses and the survival of the empire in the East, A.D. 395 to 518 ; Justin and the establishment of Justinian's autocracy, A.D. 518 to 532 ; The impossible dream of universal empire, A.D. 532 to 602 ; The transformation of the late antique Roman world, A.D. 395 to 600 ; The church and the legacy of Rome.