The beginnings of Rome : Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 B.C.) / T.J. Cornell.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 403-491) and index.

1. Introduction: The Evidence -- 2. The Pre-Roman Background -- 3. The Origins of Rome -- 4. The Rise of the City-State -- 5. Traditional History: Kings, Queens, Events and Dates -- 6. The Myth of 'Etruscan Rome' -- 7. The Reforms of Servius Tullius -- 8. The Power of Rome in the Sixth Century -- 9. The Beginnings of the Roman Republic -- 10. Patricians and Plebeians -- 11. The Twelve Tables -- 12. Wars and External Relations, 509-345 BC -- 13. The Emancipation of the Plebs -- 14. The Roman Conquest of Italy -- 15. Rome in the Age of the Italian Wars -- Appendix: a note on early Roman chronology.

The beginnings of Rome, once thought to be lost in the mists of legend, are now being revealed by an ever-increasing body of archaeological evidence, much of it unearthed during the past twenty-five years. This new material has made it possible to trace the development of Rome from an iron-age village to a major state which eventually outstripped its competitors and became a Mediterranean power.

The study of this period raises acute questions of historical method, demanding analysis of many different kinds of archaeological evidence in conjunction with literary sources.

Professor Cornell uses the results of up-to-date archaeological techniques and takes current methodological debates into account. The Beginnings of Rome offers new and often controversial answers to major questions such as Rome's relations with the Etruscans, the conflict between patricians and plebeians, the causes of Roman imperialism and the growth of a slave-based economy.