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    Book Review by Ian Hughes

     

    Recently, there has been a growth of interest in and publication of books about Late Antiquity. This has been stimulated to a large extent by a growth in the publication of many of the difficult primary sources concerning the period, usually with an accompanying commentary.  However, there is one small problem that lies at the core of any study of the period: the sources contain a limited amount of information and what little there is has been analysed and debated for a very long time.

     

    The net result is that there is little new that can be found with which to reassess the events of the fourth and fifth centuries C.E.  It may be possible to augment our knowledge with other evidence, and the most obvious alternative is archaeology. Yet there are problems with this, the most obvious and frustrating being that archaeology can rarely give dates within a small time frame, even less an exact year.  Recent archaeological excavations in the Roman Forum and its surrounds are different...

     

    ...continue to the full review of The Restoration of the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity by G. Kalas

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    A Year of Ravens: a novel of Boudica's Rebellion by various authors
     
    Book Review by Thomas A. Timmes
     
    A Year of Ravens is one of those memorable books that will live on in your imagination for years to come. Each scene, written with exquisite skill, vivid imagery, and attention to detail, is reminiscent of the best motion picture moments that we enjoy over and over.
     
    Year of Ravens is written by seven distinguished authors (Ruth Downie, Stephanie Dray, Kate Quinn, Vicky Alvear Shecter, S.J.A. Turney, and Russell Whitfield) who among them have published over 130 books. Each author writes a single chapter, but rather than a disjointed and distracting change in style and wording, the chapters flow together seamlessly. Each chapter is a showpiece of imagery, composition, and imagination. The reader sees and feels the action as it unfolds...
     
    ...continue to the full review of A Year of Ravens: a novel of Boudica's Rebellion by various authors
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    We had a gap in our history story between Caracalla and Macrinus so we filled it with a great new article, with lots of titbits some would not associate Caracalla with, like he is one of the reasons that 1000 years later Byzantines would still call themselves "Romans"....
     
    Caracalla after the murder of Geta
     
    In the short term the death of Geta weakened rather than strengthened the rule of Caracalla. The people were upset both by the crime of fratricide, and by the fear that the divine punishment for that crime might involve the rest of the empire as collateral damage. The army were upset, because the soldiers had sworn allegiance to both brothers. The senate, while not deeply disturbed by the death of Geta, was dismayed by the loss of so many of its members in the subsequent purge.
     
    ...to the full article of Caracalla after the murder of Geta
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    Enough talk. The time to take action had arrived. Those involved in the conspiracy had plotted and schemed for some time, taking great care to weed out the unreliable or uncommitted. Now the Tyrant must be removed and if that meant his death, then so be it. One man approaches the Tyrant on petty business, and when dismissed haughtily, instead grabs him firmly.There is no going back. The Tyrant realizes something is dreadfully wrong. He'd been warned this would be a dangerous time; even his wife had implored him not to attend this meeting. But now the conspiracy rush forward with daggers drawn. A desperate scuffle breaks out as conspirators stab wildly, hurting each other in their frenzied assault upon their victim. Unable to fend off the attack, the Tyrant finally gives up and slumps to the floor, covering his face with his cloak in one last gesture of vanity. His body would be found beneath the statue of a murdered rival...
     
    continue to the full review of Brutus: Caesar's Assassin by Kirsty Corrigan
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    Death in Ancient Rome is not a casual weekend beach read! This is a scholarly book written for academics and serious students of Roman history. I doubt it would hold much appeal to the general public. I found the 18 page Introduction with its multiple compound sentences, qualifying statements, parenthetical phrases, and sheer wordiness to be profoundly challenging. By comparison, the remaining 201 pages were enjoyable, informative, and easy to read.  Catharine Edwards is certainly qualified to undertake the daunting task of sifting through the writings of ancient authors to discover Roman attitudes towards death and dying. As a professor of classics and ancient history at Birkbeck College, University of London, she specializes in Roman cultural history and Latin prose literature...
     
    ...continue to the full review of Death in Ancient Rome by Catharine Edwards
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    The defining moment of Geta's life happened eleven months before he was born. This was when his brother Lucius Bassianus (the future emperor Caracalla) was born to Geta's parents, Domna Julia and Septimius Severus.
     
    During the period when both brothers were born, Septimius Severus was an imperial functionary in the court of the emperor Commodus, the last of Rome's Antonine dynasty. Due to the demands of the imperial service, Lucius Bassianus was born while his father was serving in Gaul, and on 7 March 189, Geta was born in Milan, Italy. (This birthplace is recorded in the 'Life of Geta' in the notoriously unreliable Historia Augusta, which proves its unreliability by saying in the 'Life of Septimius Severus' that Geta was born in Rome.)
     
    ...continue to the full article of Roman Emperor Geta - Publius Septimius Geta Augustus
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    The Ancient Guide to Modern Life by Natalie Haynes
     
    Review by Nick Brown
     
    Authors, publishers and readers are always on the lookout for new concepts and surely no one could deny the appeal of Natalie Haynes’ book from 2010. It sets out to draw parallels between the modern and ancient worlds and does so in a lively, thoughtful manner. In eight chapters, the author – a classics scholar and stand up comedian no less - examines politics, law, philosophy, religion, women, town and country, entertainment and money. The introduction outlines Haynes’ ‘obsession’ with the ancient world and her knowledge and passion are evident throughout the ensuing two hundred and sixty pages...
     
    ...continue to the review of The Ancient Guide to Modern Life by Natalie Haynes
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    NEW – Free Download in our member section! The download is for free, all you have to do is log on and DOWNLOAD
     
    In the following pages it has been my object to trace the history of the domain lands of Rome from the
    earliest times to the establishment of the Empire. The plan of the work has been to sketch the origin and
    growth of the idea of private property in land, the expansion of the ager publicus by the conquest of
    neighboring territories, and its absorption by means of sale, by gift to the people, and by the
    establishment of colonies, until wholly merged in private property. This necessarily involves a history of
    the agrarian laws, as land distributions were made and colonies established only in accordance with laws
    previously enacted.
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    Interview with Steven Saylor

    By Viggen, in News,

    Today we are going to do a quick word rap with Steven Saylor, bestselling author and best-known for his Roma Sub Rosa historical mystery series, set in ancient Rome.
     
    UNRV: Hello Steven, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got interested in ancient history....
     
    ...continue to the interview with Steven Saylor
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    Steven Saylor has built his authorial reputation on modern historical history, particularly in the genre of historical mysteries. His “Roma Sub Rosa” series has seen 14 books published beginning in 1991 and continuing through 2015 with his 15th entrant in the series, “Wrath of the Furies: A Novel of the Ancient World”. This story is written primarily from the perspective of a young Gordianus, who grows up to become Gordianus the Finder, the Roman sleuth whose mysteries are set across the Roman Empire in Saylor’s Roma series. "Wrath of the Furies" is the third book of a trio of prequels to the Roma Sub Rosa series, this one set in Alexandria and Ephesus...
     
    ...continue to the full review of Wrath of the Furies: A Novel of the Ancient World by Steven Saylor
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