The Rise of Rome
38. Romanum Imperium Iuvenile Secundum L. Florum Moll, Herman Copper engraved with hand colour London: Printed for the Proprietor Carington Bowles, at his Map and Print Warehouse, No. 69, St Paul’s Church Yard. MDCCLXXXIV [1784] 152 x 224 mm A map of ancient Italy, from Bowles’ Geographia Classica, or the Geography of the Ancients, as contained in the Greek and Latin Classics. The map depicts, following Florus, the Roman world before the first Punic War, when Rome had annexed most of modern day Italy, but had not yet stretched to Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, or north of the Arno river. Rome’s expansion to control the Italian peninsula was the result of almost three centuries of constant war, against the Latins, Samnites, Etruscans, and finally, the Hellenistic king, Pyrrhus of Epirus, who had temporarily held the Greek and Lucanian territories of Southern Italy. Coasts and borders are outlined in hand colour, as are mountain ranges and the fiery cone of Mount Etna on Sicily. Rome itself is picked out in red.
Lucius Annaeus Florus (c. AD 74 -130) was a Roman compiler and historian. Little is known of his life, though tradition suggests he was born in Roman Africa. His most famous work was an Epitome of Roman history, largely based on the History of Titus Livy. Despite its numerous errors of chronology of geography, the book was a favourite of Medieval audiences, providing a succinct and lively account of Rome’s greatness, from its mythic origin to the reign of Augustus. In essence, the Epitome was a biography of the Roman World, describing it sequentially as infant, juvenile, and man. Condition: Central vertical fold as issued. [41380] £75