History

SPQR: 8 key ideas

by Mary Beard

The core ideas of SPQR, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   Rome's history is still debated

   Beard tells the story of ancient Rome over its first thousand years, from its legendary founding to 212 CE.

   She stresses that historians constantly reinterpret Rome, and that much of what we think we know is uncertain or based on later myth.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   The story begins with Cicero

   Beard opens with 63 BCE, when the politician Cicero exposed a plot by Catiline to overthrow the Republic.

   She uses this moment to show Roman politics in action and to question how history is told.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   Rome's founding myths were contested

   Beard examines the stories of Romulus and Remus and other founding legends.

   She shows that Romans themselves told these myths in different ways to explain who they were. Myth shaped identity.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   Citizenship spread widely

   Beard argues that one of Rome's most distinctive features was its willingness to extend citizenship to conquered peoples.

   This helped hold the empire together. Outsiders could become Romans. This was unusual.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   The Republic gave way to emperors

   Beard describes the long transition from the Republic, with elected officials, to rule by emperors.

   Violence and civil war marked this change. Generals became more powerful than the Senate. Order was lost.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   Augustus created a new system

   Beard describes how Augustus became the first emperor while claiming to restore the Republic.

   He built a system that lasted for centuries. He kept old forms but held real power.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   Ordinary Romans had their own lives

   Beard pays attention to ordinary Romans, such as slaves, soldiers and shopkeepers.

   Their lives were often very different from those of the elite. Graffiti and tombs reveal their voices. Daily life was varied.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   Citizenship became universal

   Beard ends with 212 CE, when Emperor Caracalla gave citizenship to almost all free people in the empire.

   This marked a major shift in what it meant to be Roman.