The Roman historian Titus Livius (Livy, first century BCE–first century CE) is known for his History of Rome (Ab urbe condita). Because this classic work is Livy’s sole surviving work, some scholars choose to reference the work by Livy’s name alone:

(Livy, 2.2)

However, to maintain consistency with other ancient references with an identifiable author, we recommend that authors use the following abbreviation:

References to the work should include Livy’s name, an abbreviation for the work, and the specific part of the text being referenced:

(Livy, Ab urbe cond. 2.2)

Livy’s History of Rome originally included 142 books; of these, only 35 survive. Each book is further subdivided into chapters and sections. The example above cites chapter 2 of book 2; to cite section 4 of chapter 2, one would write: Livy, Ab urbe cond. 2.2.4.

When an English translation of the work is quoted, the translator’s name should be included in brackets (see SBLHS 2 §6.4.2):

(Livy, Ab urbe cond. 2.2 [Foster])

The extant Latin text and English translations of Livy’s History of Rome are available online at the Perseus Collection.