Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine

SUMMARY. This book is deceptively short but information-rich. Author Strauss masterfully chooses ten Caesars whose reigns can serve as “jump points” to span this high period of the Western Roman Empire. The book was well-researched yet interesting and easy to understand. Strauss appears to have visited numerous Roman sites, and comments first-hand on their features. By using these prominent Caesars as focal points, Strauss teaches Roman history and introduces the reader to Roman times. Strauss personifies the Caesars by describing them physically from their Roman coinage and surviving statuary, and by speculating about their personalities. He also delves into family relationships and their effect on ruling and succession. The author provides two excellent guides to understand the dynastic framework: a “cast of characters” and a “family tree” for each dynasty. Unfortunately, this material is in the back of the book and not readily discovered. This book reminded me that some of the Roman traditions contributed to the modern world, such as a republican government, a system of laws, and the proclamation of Sunday as a day of rest. But their times also echo current political issues. INTRODUCTION. This book covers a relatively short but important period of Roman rule. From the founding of Rome until the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire covered 2,206 years. The era of the Western Roman emperors covered 520 of those years. And, this book covers 368 years of that period. The book provides a relevant study of what governance was like after Rome lost its republic. Rome formed a republic in 509 BC. But in 44 BC, Julius Caesar became “dictator for life” ending the republic’s 465-year span. From that time until its demise, Rome existed under authoritarian rule. HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK. The initial Caesar in this book, Augustus, was Rome’s first emperor following Julius Caesar. Ruling for 41 years (27 BC-14 AD), Augustus was perhaps the prototype Caesar. The empire’s expansion reached its peak during the reign of Trajan (98-117 AD). Then came the decline. The legions began to take a different role. Beyond deploying for expansion, they were used to protect the frontier and maintain order. Legion strength grew, and more money was need to satisfy them. Currency was devalued, which brought on inflation and economic woes. And, the empire that had been united by Roman culture and ideals of government was beginning to unwind. At the end of the 1st century, Trajan became the first Caesar from the provinces rather than from Rome. By the 3rd century, increasing numbers of citizens and legions were no longer Roman. The armies were already multi-cultural when Septimus Serverious (193-211 AD) became the first Caesar from North Africa. Then in 212 AD, the emperor Caracalla extended full Roman citizenship to all free-born subjects whether Roman or provincial. But citizenship’s meaning had already become devalued. A citizen’s vote became irrelevant because Caesars held the power. By the 4th century, parts of the empire began to be governed separately. Diocletian (284-305 AD), in order to ease the burden of empire rule, distributed power among four Caesars based on geography. Then in 330 AD Constantine, the first Christian Caesar, moved the unified empire’s center of power to the city of Byzantium and refounded it as Constantinople. Following periods of Christian persecution, Constantine supported Christianity with changes in Roman law, funding, and tolerance. And in 380 AD, Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. Upon the death of Theodosius I, East and West were again divided in 395 AD. With Rome increasingly vulnerable to attack, in 402 AD, the Western Roman Empire’s capital was moved to Ravenna in northern Italy. In 476 AD, the barbarian invader Odoacer captured Ravenna and forced Emperor Romulus Augustulus to abdicate. The Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. The book concludes with a poignant epilog. In 540 AD, Justinian, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, attacked Italy and recaptured Ravenna. The Roman Empire had returned, where the “afterglow” of its Latin culture remains to this day. INCONSISTENCY AND INSTABILITY. The nature of authoritarian leadership led to inconsistency. Some emperors emphasized expansion and militarism. Others sought a stable frontier and emphasized internal improvements. Nero and Hadrian gave heavier attention to arts and culture. Marcus Aurelius was a Caesar-philosopher. Diocletian excelled as an administrator. Rule under the Caesars was politically unstable. Succession plans varied, and were sometimes ambiguous. Caesars choose their successors through bloodlines or by creative adoptions. But the Roman army was also political. Many Caesars had risen through the military and respected the army’s power. The army chose contenders to become emperor and battled among themselves. They affected the succession process, including participation in assassinations. So, a Caesar’s death was an opportunity for upheaval. In the year 193 AD, five different Caesars ruled, followed by a four-year civil war among army powers. During other times, co-Caesars ruled. In the Roman Republic, the senate had enormous power. But under the Caesars, the senate grew weaker. Diocletian removed the senate’s authority to confirm the army’s choice for Caesar. Sometimes the senators could restrain a Caesar’s power, but their struggles could result in their exile or execution. By the 3rd century AD, the emperor was, essentially, the sole creator of the law. Political and economic situations deteriorated as the emperors assumed more direct control over all aspects of political life. Conditions for legal development became less favorable. LIFE OF A CAESAR. In the Caesars’ days, the man made the times. Possessing Rome’s power, each Caesar was free to pursue his own agenda. This book emphasizes the distinctive personalities, behaviors, and styles of the selected rulers. Although their interests varied, the most successful Caesars had diverse abilities and strong leadership qualities. A Caesar’s latitude was awesome. He had almost absolute power, including the power of life or death over his subjects. For example, if a Caesar wanted to marry a subject’s wife, he had only to order her husband to kill himself. But a Caesar’s life was perilous. A ruler who fell from favor with the citizenry, the senate, or the army risked assassination. A Caesar’s misguided abuses or a potential successor’s ambition could inspire a coup plot. During this period no woman rose to become an empress, but wives, mothers, and daughters held extraordinary power as champions, kingmakers, trusted advisors, plotters, or manipulators. A few were given titles of prestige or deified. Some wives traveled to battle zones and established useful liaisons within the army. But his wife was often doomed after a Caesar died.

For someone who is looked for a historical account of the Roman Empire and it’s leaders, this book was very informative. Especially enjoyed the historical facts as it related to Judaism and Christianity sprinkled throughout the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to get a Roman perspective on how the Roman leadership and society function as it interacted with different cultures.

I like the writing style from this author, Mr Barry Strauss, it is the way that history should be written. Very well organized, while not emphasize too much on unnecessary details, it makes the reading process very smooth and enjoyable. It highlights all the most necessary parts of each of the emperor's reign and in between those important emperors there are short connecting parts to illustrate the key events and situations happened in that period. I had the basic knowledge on the key events of Roman empires already before I read this book, and after reading this book, I have gained more insights, and filled the gaps in my understanding. I sincerely thank the author for writing this great book, and hopefully he has the energy to use the same way to continue the writing on the rest of the Byzantine Empire, would he?

I have read several historical biographies about Rome and her many Caesars, and I am always interested in reading more. When I purchased the Kindle version of "Ten Caesars ", I was fairly sure I would be reading some familiar information. Although some of the material was familiar to me, there was a lot of new information that I had never read. I believe Mr. Strauss has done an excellent job in researching his subjects and the history relating to them and the events leading up to and pertaining to their reigns. The reading style is easy and the narrative moves along very smoothly. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this type of history regarding the time periods of these particular Roman Emperors.

Good general history of the 10 Roman Emperors selected

Ilustrativo

If you want to learn more about the Caesars, this is a good read/listen - but I got bored with it after a few hours. I'm pretty sure I'll go back and finish it, but it was too much of the same for too long.

Excellent account of 10 significant Caesars. This book gives a very succinct and fascinating summary of 10 of the more significant both positively and negatively emperors during the empire phase of ancient Rome. It raises several interesting points about many of them for example the number of them that were not actually Roman may surprise people as may the number that were chosen by the army Directly. A number of assumptions and myths our debunked. This is a very readable and very informative text for those interested in the subject matter. I highly recommend it.

Boa visão histórica.

This description of the 10 most important emperors from Octavian to Constantine is a fascinating and very human story despite their being literally worshipped as gods. For anyone interested in any form of history, the study of the rulers is a good place to start. This book describes the rulers themselves and the environment in which they loved, hated, lived and ruled, and, as such, is a great way to learn and better understand a most important section of the Roman era. Of course, this is only a part of the story of the Roman world which anyway extends in some sense from the 8th century BC to the 15th century AD. However, the Imperial era of the four centuries at the start of the Christian Era, in many ways, characterises our view of what we mean by 'The Romans'. In this book, Barry Straus successfully brings us close to this era and shows us the stresses and strains on the Roman Empire, how the emperors reacted, their successes and failures as well as the violence and perfidy of almost all of them - even the 'good' ones! This is a wonderful interwoven story of these people and the Romans in general. Very readable, nicely written and completely accessible to all.

I heard about this book and it is very informative. I love it!!

Schnelle Lieferung,Ware wie beschrieben

A useful bibliography is provided . Recommended for general students of Rome and the empire. Easy to read and only a few typos