Download or read book The Emperor Commodus written by John S. McHugh and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-08-31 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This historical biography goes beyond popular legend to present a nuanced portrait of the first century Roman emperor. Commodus, who ruled over Rome from 177 to 192, is generally remembered as a debaucherous megalomaniac who fought as a gladiator. Ridiculed and maligned by historians since his own time, modern popular culture knows him as the patricidal villain in Ridley Scott’s film Gladiator. Much of his infamy is clearly based on fact, but John McHugh reveals a more complex story in the first full-length biography of Commodus to appear in English. McHugh sets Commodus’s twelve-year reign in its historical context, showing that the ‘kingdom of gold’ he supposedly inherited was actually an empire devastated by plague and war. Openly autocratic, Commodus compromised the privileges and vested interests of the senatorial clique, who therefore plotted to murder him. Surviving repeated conspiracies only convinced Commodus that he was under divine protection, increasingly identifying himself as Hercules reincarnate. This and his antics in the arena allowed his senatorial enemies to present Commodus as a mad tyrant—thereby justifying his eventual murder.
Download or read book Pertinax written by Simon Elliott and published by Greenhill Books. This book was released on 2020-12-19 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination. Born in AD 126, he made a late career change from working as a grammar teacher to a position in the army. As he moved up the ranks and further along the aristocratic cursus honorum, he took on many of the most important postings in the Empire, from senior military roles in fractious Britain, the Marcomannic Wars on the Danube, to the Parthian Wars in the east. He held governorships in key provinces, and later consulships in Rome itself. When Emperor Commodus was assassinated on New Years Eve AD 192/193, the Praetorian Guard alighted on Pertinax to become the new Emperor, expecting a pliable puppet who would favour them with great wealth. But Pertinax was nothing of the sort and when he then attempted to reform the Guard, he was assassinated. His death triggered the beginning of the Year of the Five Emperors from which Septimius Severus, Pertinaxs former mentoree, became the ultimate victor and founder of the Severan Dynasty. This previously untold story brings a fascinating and important figure out of the shadows. A self made everyman, a man of principle and ambition, a role model respected by his contemporaries who styled himself on his philosophizing predecessor and sometime champion Marcus Aurelius, Pertinaxs remarkable story offers a unique and panoramic insight into the late 2nd century AD Principate Empire.
Download or read book Commodus written by O. Hekster and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-11-15 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The emperor Commodus (AD 180-192) has commonly been portrayed as an insane madman, whose reign marked the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. Indeed, the main point of criticism on his father, Marcus Aurelius, is that he appointed his son as his successor. Especially Commodus’ behaviour as a gladiator, and the way he represented himself with divine attributes (especially those of Hercules), are often used as evidence for the emperor’s presumed madness. However, this ‘political biography’ will apply modern interpretations of the spectacles in the arena, and of the imperial cult, to Commodus' reign. It will focus on the dissemination and reception of imperial images, and suggest that there was a method in Commodus’ madness.
Download or read book Verissimus written by Donald J. Robertson and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2022-07-12 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of Logicomix, Donald J. Robertson's Verissimus is a riveting graphic novel on the life and stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius was the last famous Stoic of antiquity but he was also to become the most powerful man in the known world – the Roman emperor. After losing his father at an early age, he threw himself into the study of philosophy. The closest thing history knew to a philosopher-king, yet constant warfare and an accursed plague almost brought his empire to its knees. “Life is warfare”, he wrote, “and a sojourn in foreign land!” One thing alone could save him: philosophy, the love of wisdom! The remarkable story of Marcus Aurelius’ life and philosophical journey is brought to life by philosopher and psychotherapist Donald J. Robertson, in a sweeping historical epic of a graphic novel, based on a close study of the historical evidence, with the stunning full-color artwork of award-winning illustrator Zé Nuno Fraga.
Download or read book The seven kings of Rome written by Livy and published by . This book was released on 1872 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Age of Iron and Rust Cassius Dio and the History of His Time written by Andrew G. Scott and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-03-27 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cassius Dio described his own age as one of “iron and rust.” This study, which is the first of its kind in English, examines the decline and decay that Cassius Dio diagnosed in this period (180-229 CE) through an analysis of the author’s historiographic method and narrative construction. It shows that the final books were a crucial part of Dio’s work, and it explains how Dio approached a period that he considered unworthy of history in view of his larger historiographic project.
Download or read book Harper s Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities written by Harry Thurston Peck and published by . This book was released on 1896 with total page 860 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire written by Edward Gibbon and published by . This book was released on 1914 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume the First written by Gibbon, Esq., Edward and published by . This book was released on 1776 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire t 2 t 3 t 4 t 5 t 6 t 7 written by Edward Gibbon and published by . This book was released on 1854 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Greek Narratives of the Roman Empire under the Severans written by Adam M. Kemezis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-23 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how Greek authors who witnessed sudden political change reacted by re-imagining the larger narrative of the Roman past.
Download or read book Praetorian written by Guy de la Bédoyère and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-28 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The dramatic story of the soldiers at the heart of the Roman empire . . . traces the history of the praetorians and the emperors they served.”—Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors Founded by Augustus around 27 B.C., the elite Praetorian Guard was tasked with the protection of the emperor and his family. As the centuries unfolded, however, Praetorian soldiers served not only as protectors and enforcers but also as powerful political players. Fiercely loyal to some emperors, they vied with others and ruthlessly toppled those who displeased them, including Caligula, Nero, Pertinax, and many more. Guy de la Bédoyère provides a compelling first full narrative history of the Praetorians, whose dangerous ambitions ceased only when Constantine permanently disbanded them. de la Bédoyère introduces Praetorians of all echelons, from prefects and messengers to artillery experts and executioners. He explores the delicate position of emperors for whom prestige and guile were the only defenses against bodyguards hungry for power. Folding fascinating details into a broad assessment of the Praetorian era, the author sheds new light on the wielding of power in the greatest of the ancient world’s empires. “Any future researcher into the subject will certainly begin here.”—The Times (London) “A lively and up-to-date history of the Praetorian Guard, the anti-coup divisions of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Constantine. De la Bédoyère tells their story with clarity and panache, and his book can be most warmly recommended both to aspiring tyrants and the ordinary armchair historian.”—The Sunday Times “Fast paced and engaging.”—The Sunday Telegraph “A definitive and highly readable account.”—Tom Holland, author of Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic
Download or read book Septimius Severus the Roman Army written by Michael Sage and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed account of Severus’ reign with particular emphasis on his military campaigns against the Parthians and the Garamantes in North Africa. The assassination of Emperor Commodus in 192 sparked a civil war. Septimius Severus emerged as the eventual victor and his dynasty (the Severans) ruled until 235. He fought numerous campaigns, against both internal rivals and external enemies, extending the Empire to the east (adding Mesopotamia), the south (in Africa) and the north (beyond Hadrian’s Wall). The military aspects of his reign, including his reforms of the army, are the main focus of this new study. After discussing his early career and governorship of Pannonia, Michael Sage narrates his war with Pescennius Niger, the siege of Byzantium, and the campaign in northern Mesopotamia that added it as a province. The much more difficult campaign against Clodius Albinus in Gaul is also studied in detail, as is that in North Africa. The narrative concludes with an account of the last campaign in Britain and Severus’ death. The final chapters analyze Septimius’ reforms of the army and assess their impact on events of the next seventy years until the accession of Diocletian. His greatest weakness was his love for his family. Like Marcus Aurelius he loved his children too much. They failed to maintain what he had bequeathed them. “Sage performs a masterful job putting Severus into a broad strategic overview of the times.” —The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society “Highly recommended to fans of the Roman Empire, and of the Roman Military, old and new alike. It is easily accessible and well written, and it features research of the highest quality.” —Ancient Warfare
Download or read book The Cambridge Ancient History written by Alan K. Bowman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1982 with total page 1252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Chronicle Conteyning the Liues of Tenne Emperours of Rome written by Bp. Antonio de Guevara and published by . This book was released on 1577 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire written by Edward Gibbon and published by . This book was released on 1890 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Catalogue of the Collection of Coins and Medals written by Matthew Young (Numismatist.) and published by . This book was released on 1839 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
