Livy: The Early History of Rome

Since I recently reported on a book that I read about ancient Roman history, that I did not find interesting, I thought I'd report on one that I really liked. I actually read this many years ago, but made notes in the margins to help my (very bad) memory. Anyway, here it is-

The Early History of Rome, Livy

A captivating, almost year-by-year account of the early history of Rome from about 1200 B.C. to 750 B.C. until about 385 B.C., summarized in five “books”. Spoilers ahead...

The city itself was founded sometime around 750 B.C. but the book starts long before that in an attempt to show (prove?) that the Romans (or more correctly, the Latins), originated from the Trojans of ancient Troy. That may or may not be true, and Livy settles quickly into a period of time during which Rome was ruled by kings, beginning with the story of Romulus and Remus -- one brother killing the other, and their city taking the name of Romulus.

Book One covers this period - from 750 B.C. (ish) to 507 B.C. Romulus was the first of seven kings, the last being Tarquin, who was ousted, the Romans tiring of being ruled by tyrants. With the election of the first Consuls, Brutus and Collatinus, the beginning of the Roman Republic was set in motion.

Book Two covers the time of the early republic - of wars with their neighbors, the Sabines, the Etruscans, Aurunci, Volscians, and more - and also of social change, particularly of friction between the patrician ruling class and the plebeian masses. Debtors were made slaves; creditors or lenders had the power of life and death over them. The plebs on the whole were indebted to the ruling class. The friction reached a climax where the plebs left the city of Rome in secession for an adjacent hilltop (the sacred mount) in 494 B.C. From here was born the concept of the Tribunes - representatives of the common people. With this crisis averted without bloodshed, the Romans refocused on fighting their neighbors. In this times, the Romans showed that they were capable of engaging in armed conflict on two fronts, simultaneously and separately engaging their rivals in Veii and the Aequians. By 480 B.C., Rome had arrived as a formidable military power. At the same time, the friction between plebeians and patricians continued - Consuls were put on trial by Tribunes at the end of their terms, and Tribunes were murdered.

Book Three covers the social upheaval in more detail, and covers the period from 467 B.C. to 446 B.C. It should be noted that Livy himself was a patrician, and outwardly criticizes the decisions and the actions of the Tribunes, and at times seems quite biased. There were patrician politicians who made concessions to the plebeians in the interest of better relations, but were often chastised by their own class. But there were advances and setbacks in the relationship. And focus often returned to external conflict- during this period, the Romans were at war again with the Aequians and the Henrici, and virtually wiped out the Volscians. (Apparently a cow talked in 461bc. o_0.) To help with their social problems, the Romans turned to the Greeks for advice, and sent envoys to study Greek law. A group of learned men were appointed - the Decemvirs (there were 10 of them) to temporarily replace the Consuls, and to publish laws that would govern Roman society. Consular and Tribunal positions were eliminated. This was a success to a certain extent, but the Decemvirs grew accustomed to their power, and the plebes, now without representation, were resentful. Again in 450 B.C., the entire plebeian population left Rome for the sacred mount; and again, there was no bloodshed. The crisis ended with the Consular and Tribunal positions reinstated.

Book Four covers the period from 455 to 404 B.C. This period stars with the Plebs requesting the right to elect one of the Consuls- a position strictly intended for patricians only, and was seen as a threat to the particians. But war got in the way again, and the Romans now faced renewed hostility from without, and to deal with it, the patricians in 444 B.C., allowed ‘Military Tribunes’ to hold Consular powers, to that Rome could get on with defending/attacking their external enemies. Famine and plague afflicted the city, and in 430 B.C., the Carthaginians landed in Sicily, but this was not seen as relevant at the time. Fighting continues against Veii, Aequians and Volscians.

Book Five covers the period from 403 B.C to 386 B.C., and this is when the rivalry between Rome and the Etruscan city of Veii came to a head. As the Romans laid siege upon Veii, armies of Capena and the Falerii attacked the Roman camps, however Roman preparedness and tactics resulted in the capture of the city, followed by the killing and enslaving of the entire population. At this time, Veii passes into history. For a century or more up to this time, the Celtic Gauls were gradually populating Etruscan territories in the Po valley and south of the Alps, and now they were on the move south. A Roman army met them, but Celtic victory was swift, and the Gauls proceeded to sack Rome. Livy says that the citadel remained intact and that the Romans paid a fortune in gold to persuade the Gauls to leave. He also says that a remnant Roman army surprised the Gauls outside Rome, and put them to slaughter. Some of these details are disputed, but the facts are that the Gauls came suddenly and were gone suddenly, and while Rome was vanquished, it remained, and after a generation, grew much, much stronger.

Unlike some of other Roman classic literature, I really enjoyed reading Livy. For the most part, he moves quickly from event to event, covering historical facts without too much bravado and embellishments. Well, for the most part, anyway. Aubrey De Selincourt's translation was easy to read, and Robert Oglivie's introduction was informative without being overly analytical.

**** 4 stars out of 5!