This is where Kovaliov shines. He dedicates extensive pages to the Gracchan revolution, the rebellion of Spartacus (which he portrays as a genuine slave war), and the dictatorships of Marius, Sulla, and Caesar. He argues that Caesar was not a "great man" directing history, but a product of the failure of the oligarchic Republic to manage its new imperial slave economy.
Kovaliov deviates from Edward Gibbon’s "golden age." He sees the Pax Romana (Augustus’s peace) as a stabilization of the slave-owning mode of production. The emperors are not gods; they are managers of a class dictatorship. He meticulously details the economic stagnation, the reliance on slave labor reducing technological innovation, and the gradual "barbarization" of the army. Kovaliov Historia De Roma Pdf
Viktor Kovaliov was a renowned Russian historian who made significant contributions to the field of ancient history, particularly in the study of Rome. His works are still studied and referenced by historians and scholars today. This is where Kovaliov shines
