Books, authors and recomandations.

[Porcius]

I highly recommend two scholarly books by historian Erich Gruen. They both presume some familiarity with the period (neither are really summaries) but turn a lot of conventional wisdom about Republican Rome, inherited from Mommsen and Syme among others, on its head.

The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome - Two volume book on the Roman conquest of the East, discussing how Hellenistic kingdoms understood Roman power. The second volume has nice regional histories so you can trace Roman influence in Illyria, Macedonia, Syria, etc.

The Last Generation of the Roman Republic - Gruen argues that there were no revolutionary changes in the last decades of the Republic and that, in fact, politics in the period was business as usual. Reading the era as a prelude to civil war puts the cart before the horse and leads to exaggeration of certain trends at the expense of others.

 

[Porcius]

Paradox shouldn't use any books to do these games. They should hire professional historians to do the job. Most studies on the ancient world are probably terribly outdated by now. Especially those regarded as "accounts". Most of today's accepted knowledge on the ancient world is probably most known to those who work with it academically.

I say this because I'm a historian myself, although my interest is mainly the 20th century, and I know very little about the ancient world. However, generally speaking, historical studies changed a lot in the 1980's, and most of the works from the 1970's and before must often be taken with a large pinch of salt. Not that all of a sudden they're not valid, but they often based large parts of their work on predetermined models and ideas now discredited. Which means a specialist will be able to discern what's the current stand on most issues.

Most professional historians in academia write books, so it's more efficient and less costly to simply read up to date scholarship on the ancient world. (Many Roman historians, for example, now reject the overly simple Optimates v. Populares model that dominated early-mid 20th century work.) It's not that hard to find if you look.

In the end, though, the history is subservient to the game model. The designers will pick and choose what works and what doesn't.