The era of the Roman Empire is one of the most brilliant periods in human history, the legacy of which determined the course of development of European civilization for centuries to come. In the I-III centuries AD. e. Rome became the center of a huge state, the largest city in the world, where representatives of hundreds of peoples and tribes flocked. Conspicuous luxury here coexisted with poverty, a highly developed culture with cruelty and despotism. The classic work of the famous French historian and statesman Jerome Carcopino tells about how the Romans of that time lived, about their occupations and family life, work and entertainment, about feasts and gladiator fights. The full-fledged hero of this book is the Eternal City itself, with its labyrinth of streets, temples, theaters and baths, among which the lives of many generations of Romans took place.