Product Description

One of the most powerful civilizations in history, the Roman Empire roled the world for more than five centuries. Although renowned for its military prowess, Rome s real power stemmed from its unprecedented mastery of urban planning and engineering.

Hosted by Peter Weller, ROME: ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE chronicles Rome s spectacular structural history from the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to the Empire s eventual collapse in c. 537 AD. Each of Rome s legendary rulers left their mark on the city--some stately, some sordid--and their collective ambition caused a surge of innovation and ingenuity that led to Rome s glorious ascendance. Examine the planning and construction of the city s greatest masterpieces, including the awe-inspiring Colosseum and its mysterious subterranean aqueducts, and piece together Rome s magnificent past through its architectural triumphs.

Abundant in exclusive location footage and cutting-edge CGI graphics, the multiple Emmy Award-winning ROME: ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE breathes new life into the incredible history and majesty of the epic Roman Empire.

DVD Features: Behind the Scenes Featurette History in the Making: Rome: Engineering an Empire

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13090 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2007-09-25
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

Customer Reviews

7th grade CA curriculum
I rented this video for my 7th grade son. It was interesting to see how things were accomplished by the Romans. It talked about the Roman Emperors during that time, but the engineering feats that they accomplished really kept my son's attention and helped him gain more understanding. I would highly recommend this for any 7th grader in addition to their textbook. Parents, be aware there are a couple sexual references, but shown as a historical educating perspective.

More sensationalist than accurate
I don't own the DVD, but I'm watching the show on the History Channel as I write this. It certainly has its share of interesting tidbits, especially when discussing Roman engineering and architecture. Unfortunately, it clearly values sensationalism over accuracy in retelling the history - for example, it states that Nero was the prime suspect for starting the Great Fire of Rome, retelling the story about him playing the lyre ("fiddling") while Rome burned. However, the most reliable Roman historian, Tacitus, who was alive during the fire and who generally was anti-Nero, informs us that Nero wasn't even in Rome when the Great Fire started (and even praises his reactions to the fire); as this wouldn't fit in with the overly simplistic portrait the show paints of Nero, though, it is not mentioned. When a show makes mistakes such as these, common knowledge among Roman historians and easily researched, it is difficult to trust any of the history it relates. Most of the commentary by experts is fairly basic, with little that is particularly insightful or thought-provoking.

To sum up, the program is fairly strong when covering the specific engineering feats, but unreliable whenever it moves to Roman history and culture.

Rome: Engineering a solid Foundation
I used this video with my high school mythology class. Most classes are not impressed with Roman mythology since it is borrowed from the Greeks. After seeing this video, they leave with a new respect for the Roman Empire. With their engineering marvels, the Romans were too busy to come up with a good mythology.