Ursus Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Looking for insightful biographies of the following individuals: Sulla Julius Caesar Augustus Sejanus (if there is any?) Vespasian Trajan Hadrian Aurelius Diocletian Constantine Would prefer modern authors, not the primary sources. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_Warrior Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Julius Caesar by Christian Meier (did I spell that right?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil61 Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Christian Meiers "Caesar" is quite a decent bio of JC. It's very rich in political detail, less so in military aspects of Caesar's life. I'd be curious to get your take on Michael Parenti's contraversial bio, "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" as well. I liked it, you may or may not, but even if you feel like throwing the damn thing across the room it's a fairly stimulating and needed (in my opinion) different look at Roman history in a field where sometimes very stodgy conservative views have had wide reign. I've read "Following Hadrian: A Second Century Journey Through the Roman Empire". It's part biography and part historical novel. Not my first choice, it's flawed but well written, interesting and gives a flavor of his times. I've read bio's of Augustus and Constantine but it's been so many years I can't remember the exact names which may be a comment on their quality--or just bad memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neos Dionysos Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 "Diocletian and the Roman Recovery" by: Stephen Williams "Marcus Aurelius" by: Anthony Birley "Sulla; The Last Republican" by: Arthur Keaveney "Sulla the Fortunate" by: G.P. Baker "Trajan: Optimus Princeps : A Life and Times" by: Julian Bennett "Vespasian" by: Barbara Levick Someone else mentioned Hadrian and Constantine shouldn't be terribly hard. On Sejanus, I don't think one exists... unless you want me to check classical/historical journals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLavius Valerius Constantinus Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 (edited) Has anyone got a good source for Constantine in mind because I am obviously very interested. Edited January 15, 2006 by FLavius Valerius Constantinus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 While not exactly a biography, a superb overview of the political career of Octavian is provided by Ronald Syme in "The Roman Revolution." I don't agree with his conclusion, which I find facile in comparison to the rest of his book (see Erich Gruen's "The Last Generation of the Roman Republic" for a similar point), but I think Syme's book manages to mobilize an army of details against the Augustus-worship that has plagued Roman history since his propaganda-machine first got started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil25 Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Augustus On Augustus, I too endorse Syme (but be warned his Latinate style, abrupt and terse, and his very exact use of words can be demanding. But it is one of the greatest of history books and well-worth reading. I recently enjoyed, very much, Richard Holland's "Augustus: Godfather of Europe". "Rubicon" (confusingly by TOM Holland, has I think been reviewed on this site before. A good overall coverage. Augustus caesar by David shotter is a short pamphlet examining some key questions.. I also have a work "Augustus" by AHM Jones. On Caesar - Rex Warner did an excellent (and in their day much admired) series of novels (but excellently reserached and written). I have "The young Caesar" on my shelves (Fontana 1965 - originally published 1958). I also have "Party Politics in the Age of Caesar" by Lily Ross taylor (Univ California Press c 1949) which has a bust of Marcus Porcius Cato as it's frontispiece!! Sejanus - I am not aware of anything on his, but I'd be fascinated to hear if there is anything available. I see him as a pivotal character in understanding the early principiate. Hadrian - "Beloved and God" by Royston Lambert is good, focused mainly on the relationship with Antinuous. Stewart Perowne (1960) wrote a "standard biography" - I have a US edition. Aurelius - the Birley is good, as might be expected. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Here are some recently (or soon to be) published books.... About or around Constantine... Constantine and the Christian Empire by Charles Odahl Law and Family in Late Antiquity : The Emperor Constantine's Marriage Legislation by Judith Evan Grubbs Constantine's Legislation Concerning the Pagan Sunday by Abram Herbert Lewis The Control of Christianity by the State Under Constantine and His Successors Abram Herbert Lewis The Conversion of Constantine by Eugene L. Solomon The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine by Noel Lenski The Life & Times Of Constantine by Kathleen Tracy Constantine and Eusebius by Timothy D. Barnes Some books about Diocletion: Diocletian and the Tetrarchy by Roger Rees The Reflections of Diocletian by RobertC.,IIMontague Diocletian and the Roman Recovery by S. Williams Aurelian: Aurelian and the Third Century by Alaric Watson Restorer of the World: The Roman Emperor Aurelian by John F. White Marcus Aurelius: Marcus Aurelius by ANTHONY BIRLEY Marcus Aurelius: The Dialogues by Alan Joseph Stedall Marcus Aurelius: A biography by Anthony Birley The Antonines; The Roman Empire in Transition by Michael Grant Hadrian: Hadrian's Empire by Danny Danziger, Nicholas Purcell Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire by Mary T. Boatwright Hadrian: Consolidating the Empire by Julian Morgan Hadrian : The Restless Emperor by ANTHONY BIRLEY Trajan: Trajan: Optimus Princeps by Julian Bennet Vespasian: VESPASIAN by Barbara Lewick The Long Year: A.D. 69 by Wellesley, K AD69 : The Year of four Emperors by Gwyn Morgan (reviewd by Germanicus) Sejanus: Sejanus by David Wishart (ok this is a novel but according to this review it is very good other then that you have to stick with Tiberius to get some info as far as i know Tiberius and the Roman Empire by Charles Edward Smith Tiberius by Robin Seager Augustus: there are so many books, here are some new coming out or just been released Augustus: Caesar's Web - Power And Propaganda In Augustan Rome by Matthew D. H. Clark Augustus by Richard Holland Gender, Domesticity, and the Age of Augustus : Inventing Private Life by Kristina Milnor The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus by Karl Galinsky Augustus and the Creation of the Roman Empire : A Brief History with Documents by Ron Mellor Augustus Caesar (Lancaster Pamphlets in Ancient History) by David Shotter Caesar's Legacy : Civil War and the Emergence of the Roman Empire by Josiah Osgood Caesar: there are so many books, here are some new coming out or just been released Caesar in Gaul and Rome : War in Words by Andrew M. Riggsby Cleopatra's Kidnappers : How Caesars Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar by Stephen Dando-Collins Julius Caesar And The Roman Republic by Miriam Greenblatt Caesar by Adrian Goldsworthy ...maybe there are some books you have overlooked and you find interessting... cheers viggen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil25 Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 The Wishart "Sejanus" is fiction, but he writes well. Especially recommended for those who like Lindsay Davis; Stephen Saylor etc. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted January 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 Thanks to all above. I may investigate some of your suggestions as time and money allow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sextus Roscius Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 (edited) If anyone knows of contemporary books on these too, I'd like to know. (sorry to use your thread Urus, but I didn't want to waste forum space.) Cicero... of course for me The Roscii family? Edited January 15, 2006 by Sextus Roscius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 There are two books coming out about him later in the year... Cicero and the Jurists by Jill Harries Cicero the Advocate by Jonathan Powell and lets not forget pompeius magnus reviewed Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician by Anthony Everitt cheers viggen p.s. sorry dont know anything about the Roscii family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livia Drusilla Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 (edited) Many good suggestions regarding Caesar-biographies have already been made, but I would like to add Julius Caesar by Pat Southern (Tempus 2001). It's a short, but good introduction to the life of Caesar. With regard to Cicero, I can recommend the biography Cicero - A Turbulent Life by Anthony Everitt (John Murray 2001). As well as focusing on the facts about his life and deeds, intimate details bring the character to life. Edited January 15, 2006 by Livia Drusilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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