Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Ten Caesars : Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine / Barry Strauss.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2019Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover editionDescription: xi, 410 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781451668834
  • 145166883X
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Prologue: night on the Palatine -- Augustus, the founder -- Tiberius, the tyrant -- Nero, the entertainer -- Vespasian, the commoner -- Trajan, the best prince -- Hadrian, the Greek -- Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher -- Septimius Severus, the African -- Diocletian, the great divider -- Constantine, the Christian.
Summary: "Best-selling historian and classicist Barry Strauss tells the story of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire through the lives of ten of its most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: "Bestselling classical historian Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire through the lives of ten men who ruled Rome, from Augustus, the founder, to Constantine, who refounded the empire as Christian and established a new capital at Constantinople, three and a half centuries later. During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. The empire reached from modern-day Britain to Iraq, and over time emperors came not from the old Roman families of the first century but from men born in the provinces, some of whom had never even seen Rome. By 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. But in one way it remained faithful to his vision: it survived, no matter the cost. In the imperial era Roman women--mothers, wives, mistresses--had substantial authority and influence over the emperors, and Strauss profiles the most important among them, from Livia, Augustus's wife, to Helena, Constantine's mother. But even women in the imperial family often found themselves forced by their emperors to marry or divorce for purely political reasons, and at times they faced exile or even murder. Rome laid the foundations of the West, and its legacy still shapes us 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 made it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. In time they learned to maintain the family business--the government of an empire--by adapting when necessary and always persevering. [This book] is essential history as well as fascinating biography."--Dust jacket.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 937.0609 S912 Available 33111009327749
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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 ).

"Best-selling historian and classicist Barry Strauss tells the story of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire through the lives of ten of its most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine"-- Provided by publisher.

"Bestselling classical historian Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire through the lives of ten men who ruled Rome, from Augustus, the founder, to Constantine, who refounded the empire as Christian and established a new capital at Constantinople, three and a half centuries later. During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. The empire reached from modern-day Britain to Iraq, and over time emperors came not from the old Roman families of the first century but from men born in the provinces, some of whom had never even seen Rome. By 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. But in one way it remained faithful to his vision: it survived, no matter the cost. In the imperial era Roman women--mothers, wives, mistresses--had substantial authority and influence over the emperors, and Strauss profiles the most important among them, from Livia, Augustus's wife, to Helena, Constantine's mother. But even women in the imperial family often found themselves forced by their emperors to marry or divorce for purely political reasons, and at times they faced exile or even murder. Rome laid the foundations of the West, and its legacy still shapes us 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 made it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. In time they learned to maintain the family business--the government of an empire--by adapting when necessary and always persevering. [This book] is essential history as well as fascinating biography."--Dust jacket.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-387) and index.

Prologue: night on the Palatine -- Augustus, the founder -- Tiberius, the tyrant -- Nero, the entertainer -- Vespasian, the commoner -- Trajan, the best prince -- Hadrian, the Greek -- Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher -- Septimius Severus, the African -- Diocletian, the great divider -- Constantine, the Christian.

Powered by Koha