The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome, 31 BC-476 by Michael Grant

The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome, 31 BC-476 Reviews

• 
  Gary Inbinder

  Classical scholar Michael Grant put together an excellent, well-sourced collection of brief biographies covering all the Roman emperors from the first emperor Augustus (31 BC) to Romulus (476 AD) the last emperor of the West. The Eastern (Byzantine) Empire, which was more Greek than Roman, lasted another thousand years until the capital, Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. (Trebizond, a rump state of the Byzantine Empire, limped on until 1461).
  
  With the exception of some truly great emperors like the first Augustus, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and Constantine and a handful of reasonably good ones like Nerva, Antoninus Pius, Trajan and Vespasian, the remainder tended to run the gamut from competent to mediocre to unremittingly evil or hopelessly insane. Moreover, in the case of the majority of the non-entities who held the job--some simultaneously and for very short periods--the emperors' life expectancy was short. However, for that brief period they lived much better than most people in the ancient world. Many were assassinated, killed in battle or executed and, while they remained in power they had to deal with constant attack on all frontiers from Vandals, Goths, Huns et. al. (by the time of Romulus the legions, including the generals, in Italy were mostly German) palace intrigue, rivals in their own family, plagues, famines, economic disaster, hyper-inflated currency, riots and civil war. To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan's police sergeant, Ah, take one consideration with another, a Roman emperor's lot was not a happy one.
• 
  Kathryn

  1st Recorded Reading: October, 2005
  
  According to my records, I read this book back in 2005; but I decided to read it again, not least because I had bought a new used copy. It is a good book, going through all the Emperors chronologically (all 92 of them), and is a very good resource volume. It is a book that I very much enjoyed reading; not least because it helps to remember the past to help understand the present and to plan for the future.
  
  The Roman Empire has a definite beginning, with the accession of Gaius Octavius, known as Octavian, the heir of the assassinated Julius Caesar, who chose to be known as Augustus in 27 BC; all Emperors after him added the name “Augustus” to their titles. For nearly 500 years the Empire lasted, with Emperors being chosen because of their blood or marriage or professional relation to the previous Emperor, or because the legions in a particular area were able to nominate a candidate acceptable to them who survived the consequent civil war. The book follows the lives of the 92 Emperors of the Roman Empire, until the Roman Empire effectively ceased to exist in the West in AD 476 (the Eastern Empire, based in Constantinople, lasted from about AD 300 until 1453).
  
  The book includes several maps, a Key to Latin Terms, an Index of Latin and Greek Authors, and an Index to Maps and Places (with modern equivalents of place-names). The one thing that the book does not have is a regular Index; the author may have thought one unnecessary, because of the book being arranged chronologically by Emperor, but in my humble opinion I think an index would have been useful.
  
  I very much enjoyed reading this book (again), and with any luck will not purchase the book again, thinking that it will be a good book to read; while it is indeed a good book, I do not need more than one copy of the book.
• 
  Terence

  Like the Oxford Dictionary of Popes, Grant packs a lot of information into necessarily brief essays on every Roman emperor from Augustus Caesar to Romulus Augustus but if you need to know about Pertinax's senatorial career or the first Gordian's family background, this is the reference for you.
• 
  Sean Chick

  A superb reference work but perhaps I am being too harsh when I ask for more. I kept wondering how the empire kept going on despite such chaos in the empire's leadership. Most of these emperor's were killed, which makes Romulus Augustulus interesting: it seems he was not murdered.
• 
  Jeff Clay

  Several years ago I picked up a small stack of Michael Grant books at The Last Book Store in Los Angeles. I had just recently begun a foray into ancient history focused (primarily) on Greek, Persian, Punic, and Roman civilizations. Decades ago I had read Grant’s still well-regarded The Twelve Caesars and thought this treasure trove of a find at the book store was serendipitous. (Yes, one must read more than Grant if interested in Classical and Hellenistic times and of course there are more “modern” narrative-driven historians, but Grant is still a good writer to spend time with.)
  
  Move forward several years and I picked up a copy of GMT’s Time of Crisis. This is a politico-military game based on the 230s CE and models four emperors of that time: Maximinus Thrax, Gordian III, Balbinus and Pupienus. When I play these historical games - which I do all the time - reading a history book or two helps my immersion into a given time. I did a quick search and found a book centered on this decade (since received, read, and reviewed) but I also went to my book shelf and pulled out my trusty Grant: The Roman Emperors.
  
  Part V is focused on “The Age of Crisis” and after reading it once again found Grant clear, succinct and illuminating. This book is unlikely to be read cover to cover but instead provides the perfect proverbial forty thousand foot view of 500 year’s worth of Roman emperors. As such it remains more a reference work to be consulted from time to time than devoured in a sitting. And for that it can be highly recommended.
• 
  Everett

  This is exactly what the title says it is. It is a biographical guide. You are not going to get a complete biography of every Roman Emperor from 31BC to 476AD in less than 400 pages. You will, however, get a very good guide to all of them. Recommended for anybody interested in the Roman Empire.
• 
  Justin Bumgarner

  Easily the best book about emperors ever written. Covered all of them with enough detail without bogging overdoing it
• 
  Devero

  Nel complesso una buona lettura consultativa, completa anche se, ovviamente, non esauriente.
  Ma la bibbliografia aiuta e indirizza chi vuole saperne di più.
  Sarebbero anche 3 stelle e mezza.
• 
  Karolinde (Kari)

  All though a little dry, there was a lot of great information in this book. It covers all of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire. Grant evens includes tidbits on upstarts who managed to actually get power for a small time. It seems well researched and I really learned a lot. I would have liked a complete biography through the end of the Byzantine Empire, but it was still a worth the time I took to read it.
• 
  Jen

  It's good as a reference, but not to read straight-through. Plus, I could have done without the author referring to homosexual emperors as "sexual inverts."
• 
  Nathaniel

  Lots of information, but as difficult to read as you'd imagine if you wanted to give the biography of every single Roman emperor that ever lived.
• 
  Jennifer

  
  A bit hard to keep track of the names in later years, but a good read. Interesting that Romulus Augustulus wasn't the last Emperor.
• 
  Kwende

  Everything you want to know about the Roman Emperors but where afraid to ask!
• 
  Bret

  I will never finish reading this book - toward my betterment.
• 
  Tyler

  Really slow read.
• 
  Roy

  Yet another history by Michael Grant.
• 
  Ginger Heskett

  I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
  
  http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14340376