A History of Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins is a fantastic look into Roman history by author Gareth Harney. This is the kind of book that any history lover can get into, regardless of whether they are interested in ancient or Roman history or not. Why? Because it brings together two awesome subjects – Rome and ancient coins. History nerds unite!
Like the title suggests, Harney takes twelve different coins
and then creates a separate chapter for each coin and goes into the historical
subject of the chapter, how the coin relates to the subject of the chapter, and
in many cases the way the coin is used as modern evidence of the thing being
discussed.
We basically cover the 1,200-year history of Rome, from its
legendary founding to the fall of the Western Empire. I loved the entire concept of building a book
about Rome and coins because, as Harney, argues in the book, coins were one of
the primary tools used in ancient times to project power and control across the
ancient world. Coins were symbols of
power and used as propaganda pieces on a scale unimaginable to people today.
And I have to say, I thought the book generally worked in
such a fantastic way. The narrative
flowed well, we moved through time from early days of the founding of the
republic and the coin with the she-wolf and Romulus and Remus and worked our
way up in to the time of later emperors like Constantine the Great. We read about a coin struck with the image of
the Colosseum and learned about that building’s history and role in the culture
of Rome.
One of my favourite chapters was about a coin that included
an image of the fortress of the Praetorian Guard which was outside Rome. I had understood the Praetorians were
powerful, but I had never really read anything specifically about the actual
establishment of the Praetorians, the impact that the construction of a
fortress on the edge of Rome had, and how much power the Praetorians had over
individual emperors. This chapter actually shed light on a history that is
often tangentially referenced in other works but not directly dealt with in
any I have read.
In any case, I just loved this book and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the history of Rome, ancient coins or just coin collecting generally. Fabulous!
Looking for more Ancient Rome history then check out my review of Nero: Matricide, Music and Murder in Imperial Rome here!
Publication date: 2025 | Publisher: Atria Books | Page Count: 368
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