Pros: great realistic graphis, accurate history, villagers have opinions, challenging stragey game, excellent manual
Cons: prosperity and desirability are hard to get; battles are a bit weak
The bottom line:  I would recomend CaesarIII to any one wanting to learn or someone looking for a challenge. Everyone in our family from 9 to adult plays this game.
The Roman empire did not fall because it was boring. Many other things that caused it to fall and you have to be a good manager if you don't want to fail at CaesarIII.
This game is highly accurate with many facets of ancient Roman cities to juggle. The game is very historical even uses Roman money and structures such as aquaducts. It is a game where many things can happen all at once. This may sound a lot like Simcity but it is much more. Simcity does not even have half the attributes CaesarIII has.
You can set up trade routes and raise taxes. You dictate the future of your city. Caesar will somtimes ask for tribute which you must manage to get to him in plenty of time. Villagers constantly make appropriate comments which add to the flavor of the game and tip off the gamer to needs which must be addressed.
The graphic artists sure knew what they were doing. Everything looks so real. They even give you a choice in what type of provience you want. You can choose if you want a provience where there are battles or a peacful one. A little hint to those who want to battle, get a lot of legions or see your city fall to its knees.
You even get advisors telling you what the city needs, but not what to do. The game has a quick tutorial so you can catch on right off the bat. The authors of this game did not leave out a thing. They even give you 5 Roman gods to please. They are Ceres, the goddess of agriculture; Neptune, god of the sea; Mercury, god of commerce; Mars, the god of war; and Venus, the goddess of love. Honor them and they will give you gifts in return. Ignore them and they may destroy your city.
One more thing, I started playing CaesarIII at Christmas and I am still finding new challenges 6 months later. It is a fascinating and challenging game for this 14 year-old.