Lives of the Roman Emperors presents a concise biography of every Roman emperor from Augustus to Romulus Augustulus and some of the more prominent usurping emperors in a single volume. Each biography is informed by ancient texts and modern scholarship, presenting a balanced and informed opinion of the lives of ninety-five rulers. Each entry presents an account of every emperor’s early life, family, career, relations with the senate, achievements, enlightened rule versus tyranny, and their deaths. A special emphasis is laid upon the physical appearance of emperors through the lens of ancient writers, marble portrait sculpture, and coins, and their ideology. The biographical sections are complemented by a comprehensive introduction and chapters summarising the main social and economic trends of the Late Republic, Principate, and Late Roman periods, while a concluding chapter examines the crucial relations between the emperor and the army, the senate, and the people – key to any emperor’s longevity. Lives of the Roman Emperors is a unique reference tool for students and scholars of Roman history, providing a reign-by-reign account of some of the most celebrated, fascinating, and notorious characters in history in an informative yet accessible style.
