Theodor Mommsen’s Nobel Prize-winning masterpiece provides a vivid, often partisan account of the Roman Republic. Mommsen treats the ancient political factions of the Optimates and Populares with the visceral energy of 19th-century parliamentary debate, culminating in his celebrated (and controversial) portrayal of Julius Caesar as the necessary savior of the Roman state. Theodor Mommsen, History of Rome · Originally published Leipzig, 1854–1856.