Including the latest research, a revised and expanded bibliography and a new index, David Shotter has updated this second edition throughout to provide a clear and concise survey of the character and life of Tiberius Caesar.
Habitually vilified as a monstrous tyrant, Emperor Tiberius has been one of history's enigmas. Now he speaks for himself - a proud, secretive, troubled man, a great general yet reluctant ruler, disgusted by the degeneracy which surrounds him. In this sequel to Augustus, Allan Massie combines a compelling study in public power and private tragedy with a vibrant portrait of the Roman world.
Shotter provides an up-to-date study of the character and the life of Tiberius Caesar, heir of Augustus and Emperor of Rome from AD 14 to AD 37. The character and reign of Tiberius has long been an enigma; he was a man of evident capability, yet his life ended in frustration and disillusionment for both himself and his subjects. This book examines the influences on his early life, the problems he experienced as the successor of Augustus, the difficulties he found in his relationships with his contemporaries, and his struggle to fill the demands of his role.
*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "His character too had its distinct periods...Again, while his mother lived, he was a compound of good and evil; he was infamous for his cruelty, though he veiled his debaucheries, while he loved or feared Sejanus. Finally, he plunged into every wickedness and disgrace, when fear and shame being cast off, he simply indulged his own inclinations." - A description of Tiberius written by the ancient historian Tacitus Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, many rulers held the reins of ultimate power. Some of them, like Octavian, Trajan, Hadrian, Constantine, and Marcus Aurelius, are still celebrated and considered among antiquity's great statesmen, generals and thinkers. Conversely, the Roman Empire also had its fair share of notorious villains, from the sadistic Nero to the debauched Commodus, and all of Rome's poor rulers pale in comparison to the record and legacy of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, a young man remembered by posterity as Caligula. One of the most overlooked emperors was also one of the first, and he lived in chaotic times. Tiberius was born in 42 BCE, just as the Roman Republic was dissolving and a new Roman imperial power structure emerged under Octavian, who became Rome's first emperor as Caesar Augustus. Tiberius's life soon became caught up with Augustus's as the emperor worked to found and establish a dynasty, but it is unclear if Tiberius ever really wanted to be part of Augustus's plans or inherit imperial power - Tiberius was known as a man who schemed and planned, but he was also a scholar and showed a marked desire throughout his life to retreat and escape the demands of power. Partially due to this continual tension, Tiberius's life is enigmatic in many ways. Tiberius championed the Republic and seemed to desire its return, yet his acceptance of imperial power and his reign solidified Rome's transition to an empire. He was a skilled general who showed concern for the well-being of his troops, and he displayed a remarkable patience as a military tactician. After he rose to become emperor in 14 CE, he ruled for over 22 years, which would be the longest reign of a Roman emperor over the next 100 years, but he remained suspicious of everyone and eventually chose the wrong person to trust, being eventually misled and betrayed by a man whom he thought was his closest friend. When he finally died, aged and lonely, he had become so hated that crowds celebrated his death. Not surprisingly, given Tiberius's lack of popularity, especially at the end of his life, many of the primary sources present a view of Tiberius that is skewed in one direction or other, usually negatively. For example, Tacitus explicitly aimed to display examples of morally good and evil characters for his audience, and described Tiberius as a man who undergoes moral decline to become a hypocritical leader and a cruel tyrant, an enemy of freedom and justice. Suetonius, likewise, is concerned with tying the story together under a moral theme, and he depicts Tiberius as a man with problems such as cruelty and hatred toward his family. Cassius Dio wrote later than the other authors, and his account has many similarities with Suetonius's and Tacitus's. On the other hand, the account of Velleius Paterculus, a contemporary of Tiberius's, gives a more positive viewpoint; Velleius celebrated the peace that was achieved under Augustus and the continuation of the benefits of Augustus's reign under Tiberius, as well as lauding Tiberius as a careful, brilliant, and courageous leader. Tiberius: The Life and Legacy of Ancient Rome's Second Emperor examines the history of one of the most famous fighting forces in the world. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the emperor like never before.
On March 15th, 44 BC a group of senators stabbed Julius Caesar, the dictator of Rome. By his death, they hoped to restore Rome's Republic. Instead, they unleashed a revolution. By December of that year, Rome was plunged into a violent civil war. Three men--Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian--emerged as leaders of a revolutionary regime, which crushed all opposition. In time, Lepidus was removed, Antony and Cleopatra were dispatched, and Octavian stood alone as sole ruler of Rome. He became Augustus, Rome's first emperor, and by the time of his death in AD 14 the 500-year-old republic was but a distant memory and the birth of one of history's greatest empires was complete. Rome's Revolution provides a riveting narrative of this tumultuous period of change. Historian Richard Alston digs beneath the high politics of Cicero, Caesar, Antony, and Octavian to reveal the experience of the common Roman citizen and soldier. He portrays the revolution as the crisis of a brutally competitive society, both among the citizenry and among the ruling class whose legitimacy was under threat. Throughout, he sheds new light on the motivations that drove men to march on their capital city and slaughter their compatriots. He also shows the reasons behind and the immediate legacy of the awe inspiringly successful and ruthless reign of Emperor Augustus. An enthralling story of ancient warfare, social upheaval, and personal betrayal, Rome's Revolution offers an authoritative new account of an epoch which still haunts us today.
Robin Seager has updated his classic biography of Tiberius, which focuses on the Emperor’s complex character as the key to understanding his reign. The most readable account available of the life of Tiberius, the second Roman emperor. Argues that Tiberius’ character provides the key to understanding his reign. Portrays Tiberius as a man whose virtues and beliefs were corrupted by power. Shows how Tiberius’ fears of conspiracy and assassination caused him to lose his grasp of reality. A new afterword discusses important new evidence that has come to light on the reign of Tiberius.
Compared with the preceding rulers, Julius Caesar and Augustus, the name does not ring out with the same fame and pomposity. Shakespeare wrote no plays about Tiberius; his name does not echo in the history books with the same awe-inspiring prominence.
“One of the really remarkable books of our day”—the story of the Roman emperor on which the award-winning BBC TV series was based (The New York Times). Once a rather bookish young man with a limp and a stammer, a man who spent most of his time trying to stay away from the danger and risk of the line of ascension, Claudius seemed an unlikely candidate for emperor. Yet, on the death of Caligula, Claudius finds himself next in line for the throne, and must stay alive as well as keep control. Drawing on the histories of Plutarch, Suetonius, and Tacitus, noted historian and classicist Robert Graves tells the story of the much-maligned Emperor Claudius with both skill and compassion. Weaving important themes throughout about the nature of freedom and safety possible in a monarchy, Graves’s Claudius is both more effective and more tragic than history typically remembers him. A bestselling novel and one of Graves’ most successful, I, Claudius has been adapted to television, film, theatre, and audio. “[A] legendary tale of Claudius . . . [A] gem of modern literature.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Bestselling classical historian Barry Strauss delivers “an exceptionally accessible history of the Roman Empire…much of Ten Caesars reads like a script for Game of Thrones” (The Wall Street Journal)—a summation of three and a half centuries of the Roman Empire as seen through the lives of ten of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine. In this essential and “enlightening” (The New York Times Book Review) work, Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire from rise to reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and moved the capital east to Constantinople. During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. By the fourth century, the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire had changed so dramatically in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture that it would have been virtually unrecognizable to Augustus. Rome’s legacy remains today in so many ways, from language, law, and architecture to the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Strauss examines this enduring heritage through the lives of the men who shaped it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. Over the ages, they learned to maintain the family business—the government of an empire—by adapting when necessary and always persevering no matter the cost. Ten Caesars is a “captivating narrative that breathes new life into a host of transformative figures” (Publishers Weekly). This “superb summation of four centuries of Roman history, a masterpiece of compression, confirms Barry Strauss as the foremost academic classicist writing for the general reader today” (The Wall Street Journal).