About the book: 2002 / The book is a reprint of the work of the outstanding Russian antiquarian Professor S.I. Kovalev (1886-1960), but thanks to the editors and comments his student E.D. Frolov - professor, head of the Department of History of Ancient Greece and Rome at St. Petersburg State University, and also due to extensive additions (they are highlighted in the text in smaller font) it can be considered radically new. Vivid, deep and detailed sketches color the entire history of Rome - from its foundation in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. before the fall under the onslaught of the barbarian tribes of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. - and bring to life pictures of the past for the reader. The book reveals the most important problems of the history of Rome: the formation of the classes of patricians and plebeians, features of Roman statehood, civil wars, the formation of an empire, etc. Characteristics of famous historical figures are given: Pyrrhus and Hannibal, Scipio Africanus and Cato , Sulla and Pompey, Caesar and many others. The publication is intended for students of humanities faculties of universities, and will also be of interest to everyone interested in the history of antiquity.