How Rome’s Middle Class Lived—and What Happened When It Fell

The Roman Forum, a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Ancient Rome, circa 1920–1960. J.L. Hamar/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Commentary

For most of us, especially those of us who think about it a lot, the Roman Empire conjures up famous names of such men as Caesar, Augustus, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and a few others of the imperial elite. We might also think of grand structures like the Colosseum, the Appian Way, and the Pantheon, or massive spectacles from gladiator duels to races at the Circus Maximus. Dozens of books explore the Empire’s wars against Dacia in southeastern Europe, the Iceni in Britannia, Germania in northern Europe, and the Jews in Palestine.