The Importance of Roman History in the City of God

Augustine is trying to debunk the old and patriotic sagas that Rome had been telling about itself for generations. Augustine's knowledge of Salist left him with a general grasp of the events of the late Republic, but across the 400 pages of the city of God he focuses his energies almost entirely on the period before Christ. The result of Augustine's limited engagement with Roman history is ultimately a little strange and had long-term consequences in Latin Christendom.