The Roman epoch is unsurpassed in history. What has endured to our own time is the empire's great cultural legacy -- in law, language, architecture, and government -- and the fascination of Rome's story. The book presents the history and heritage of the remarkable Roman era, presenting an all-around introduction to the politics, people, culture, and everyday life of the world ruled by Rome. Unlike most general histories of the subject, it enables the reader to know the Romans not only from reading about them, but by hearing directly from them through the words of orators, philosophers, historians, poets, playwrights, and satirists.