Not surprisingly, given its title, this book describes the Roman Empire during the reign of the Emperor Nero and the missionary activity of the Apostle Paul. This is to say, that it describes what daily life was like in the Empire from around 37 A.D. to 67 A.D. This is a meticulously researched book that describes in detail the daily life of the inhabitants of the great metropolis of Rome as well as the provincial villages, the lives of the well to do and the poor.
This era was an important period. It was the high water mark of imperial power, and also the beginning of the transformation of the Empire from a pagan society to a Christian theocracy. By virtue of the legacy this period in history left us, and the effect that it still has on our western society, it is an era that deserves special study and attention in order to understand what the Roman Empire was really like, and how its social and political structure still resonates with ours almost two thousand years later.
Of course, even the most well researched book cannot fully describe the intricate web of social and economic life that animated the Roman Empire. Other good sources of information about the daily life of the average Roman citizen or slave can be found here: