Rush hour on the main streets, homeless people under bridges, magnificent weekend homes, high immigration, and unisex toilets. Modern-day New York? Berlin? No – Rome in the Imperial Age! This journey back in time is a must for any history buff eager to discover what real life was like in Ancient Rome.
What was happening in the streets while famous gladiators were bashing each other’s skulls in the arena and generals were expanding the Roman Empire? What was life like in the cosmopolitan capital, famed for its thriving economy, yet plagued with smog and traffic jams? In a class society marked by extreme luxury and vast poverty?
Karl-Wilhelm Weeber guides us through imperial Rome with wit and flair. He reveals how much live nightingales cost and the likelihood of reaching the age of 10. We learn that xenophobia was the exception in the city of immigration, but that discrimination against people with disabilities was widespread. The overexploitation of nature was already being practiced and criticized, and – despite being a functioning constitutional state with a flourishing economy – life was hardly a walk in the park for most people in Ancient Rome.
