Mary T. Boatwright is Professor of Ancient History in the Department of Classical Studies at Duke University. She is the author of several books, including Hadrian and the City of Rome; Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire; The Romans: From Village to Empire, A History of Ancient Rome from Earliest Times to Constantine (with Daniel J. Gargola and Richard J. A. Talbert); and A Brief History of the Romans (with Daniel J. Gargola and Richard J. A. Talbert).

• 1. Rome and its peoples; 2. Gauls, Celts, Germans, and other 'northerners'; 3. The Greeks, different yet alike; 4. Egypt and Egyptians in Roman imagination and life; 5. The Jews – political, social, or religious threat, or no threat at all?; 6. Christians, a new people; 7. Rome's peoples and Rome.

'… there is no other book that might plausibly be used to introduce this topic to an undergraduate audience and as such it is likely to be widely influential as a textbook… this short book is an exceptional achievement.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review