Description

The first edition of Barthold Georg Niebuhr's History of Rome was published in Berlin in 1811-1812, while the author was teaching at the new university there. The early part of the nineteenth century saw important developments in philological scholarship in Germany, and Niebuhr's international career as a statesman and scholar reflected Germany's new-found confidence in the wider world. Niebuhr later revised his work and a third volume was added in 1832; given the pace of scholarship during this period, these first two volumes constitute something of a work in progress. Although many of Niebuhr's theories have since been disproved, others had a lasting impact both on classical scholarship and on the broader understanding of history as an academic discipline. Volume 1 covers the origins of Rome, up to Spirius Cassius (fifth century B.C.E.), while Volume 2 continues up to the Latin War and dictatorship of Publilius.