The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor Pdf

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The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See details for additional description. Skip to main content. About this product. Make an offer:. Stock photo. Brand new: Lowest price The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Books will be free of page markings. Edition: List Price:. See all 4 brand new listings. Buy It Now. Add to cart. About this product Product Information The Emperors of Rome charts the rise and fall of the Roman Empire through profiles of the greatest and most notorious of the emperors, from the autocratic Augustus to the The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor Claudius, the vicious Nero to the beneficent Marcus Aurelius, through to the maniac Commodus and beyond. Interwoven with these are vivid descriptions of sports and art, political intrigues and historic events. In this entertaining and erudite work, acclaimed classical scholar David Potter brings Imperial Rome, and the lives of the men who ruled it, to vivid life. Show More Show Less. Add to Cart. Any Condition Any Condition. See all 10 - All listings for this product. No ratings or reviews yet No ratings or reviews yet. Be the first to write a review. Best Selling in Nonfiction See all. Bill o'Reilly's Killing Ser. When Women Pray Hardcover T. Jakes Christian Inspirational No ratings or reviews yet. Save on Nonfiction Trending price is based on prices over last 90 days. You may also like. Rome Paperback Books. Rome Books. Rome HarperCollins Books. Rome Books Books. Rome Fodor's Books. Rome Collectibles Books. This item doesn't belong on this page. Be the first to write a review About this product. Roman emperor - Wikipedia

The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history. Often when a given Roman is described as becoming "emperor" in English, it reflects his taking of the title Augustus or Caesar. Another title often used was imperatororiginally The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor military honorific. Early emperors also used the title Princeps Civitatis 'first citizen'. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably princeps senatusconsul and pontifex maximus. The legitimacy of an emperor's rule depended on his control of the army and recognition by the Senate ; an emperor would normally be proclaimed by his troops, or invested with imperial titles by the Senate, or both. The first emperors reigned alone; later emperors would sometimes rule with co-emperors and divide administration of the empire between them. The Romans considered the office of emperor to be distinct from that of a king. The first emperor, Augustusresolutely refused recognition as a monarch. From Diocletian, whose tetrarchic reforms also divided the position into one emperor in the West and one in the Eastuntil the end of the Empire, emperors ruled in an openly monarchic style [3] and did not preserve the nominal principle of a republic, but the contrast with "kings" was maintained: although the imperial succession was generally hereditary, it was only hereditary if there was a suitable candidate acceptable to the army and the bureaucracy, [4] so the principle of automatic inheritance was not adopted. Elements of the republican institutional framework senate, consuls, and magistrates were preserved even after the end of the Western Empire. The peaceful reign of Constantine the Greatthe first to openly convert to Christianity and allowing freedom of religion, witnessed the replacement of the Caput Mundi from Rome to Constantinople in AD. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century after multiple invasions of imperial territory by Germanic barbarian tribes. Romulus Augustulus The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor often considered to be the last emperor of the West after his forced abdication inalthough Julius Nepos maintained a claim recognized by the Eastern Empire to the title until his death in Following Nepos' death, the Eastern emperor Zeno abolished the division of the position and proclaimed himself as the sole emperor of a reunited Roman Empire. Emperor Heraclius made diplomatic relations with the Companions of the Prophet Muhammadbut lost many territories after successful Islamic conquests. The Muslim rulers then claimed the title of Caesar of Rome. In addition to their pontifical office, some emperors were given divine status after death. With the eventual hegemony of Christianity, the emperor came to be seen as God's chosen ruleras well as a special protector and leader of the Christian Church on Earth, although in practice an emperor's authority on Church matters was subject to challenge. Due to the cultural rupture of the Turkish conquest, most western historians treat Constantine XI as the last meaningful claimant to the title Roman emperor. A Byzantine group of claimant Roman emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans inthough they had used a modified title since Eastern emperors in Constantinople had been recognized and accepted as Roman emperors both in the East, which they ruled, and by the papacy and Germanic kingdoms of the West until the deposition of Constantine VI and accession of Irene of Athens as Empress regnant in Objecting to a woman ruling the Roman Empire in her own right and issues with the eastern clergy, the Papacy would then create a rival lineage of Roman emperors in western Europe, the Holy Roman Emperorswhich ruled the Holy Roman Empire for most of the period between and These emperors were never recognized as Roman emperors by the court in Constantinople and their coronations resulted in the medieval problem of two emperors. Modern historians conventionally regard Augustus as the first Emperor whereas Julius Caesar is considered the last dictator of the Roman Republica view having its origins in the Roman writers PlutarchTacitus and Cassius Dio. At the end of the Roman Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as the English translation of imperatorthen Julius Caesar had been an emperor, like several Roman generals before him. Instead, by the end of the civil wars in which Julius Caesar had led his armies, it became clear that there was certainly no consensus to return to the old-style monarchybut that the period when several officials, bestowed with equal power by the senate, would fight one another had come to an end. Julius Caesar, and then Augustus after him, accumulated offices and titles of the highest importance in the Republic, making the power attached to those offices permanent, and preventing anyone with similar aspirations from accumulating or maintaining power for themselves. However, Julius Caesar, unlike those after him, did so without the Senate's vote and approval. Julius Caesar held the Republican offices of consul four times and dictator five times, was appointed dictator in perpetuity dictator perpetuo in 45 BC and had been "pontifex maximus" for a long period. He gained these The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor by senatorial consent and just prior to his assassination, was the most powerful man in the Roman world. In his will, Caesar appointed his adopted son Octavian as his heir. On Caesar's death, Octavian inherited his adoptive father's property and lineage, the loyalty of most of his allies and — again through a formal process of senatorial consent — an increasing number of the titles and offices that had accrued to Caesar. A decade after Caesar's death, Octavian's victory over his erstwhile ally Mark Antony at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed Octavian's supremacy. In 27 BC, Octavian appeared before the Senate and offered to retire from active politics and government; the Senate not only requested he remain, but increased his powers and made them lifelong, awarding him the title of Augustus the elevated or divine one, somewhat less than a god but approaching divinity. Augustus stayed in office until his death; the sheer breadth of his superior powers as princeps and permanent imperator of Rome's armies guaranteed the peaceful continuation of what nominally remained a republic. His "restoration" of powers to the Senate and the people of Rome was a demonstration of his auctoritas and pious respect for tradition. Some later historians such as Tacitus would say that even at Augustus' death, the true restoration of the Republic might have been possible. Instead, Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor and pleaded his case to the Senate for inheritance on merit. The Senate disputed the issue but eventually confirmed Tiberius as princeps. Once in power, Tiberius took considerable pains to observe the forms and day-to-day substance of republican government. Rome had no single constitutional office, title or rank exactly equivalent to the English title "Roman emperor". Romans of the Imperial era used several titles to denote their emperors, and all were associated with the pre-Imperial, Republican era. The legal authority of the emperor derived from an extraordinary concentration of individual powers and offices that were extant in the Republic rather than from a new political office; emperors were regularly elected to the offices of consul and censor. Every emperor held the latter office and title until Gratian surrendered it in AD to Pope Siricius ; it eventually became an auxiliary honor of the Bishop of Rome. These titles and offices conferred great personal prestige dignitas but the basis of an emperor's powers derived from his auctoritas : this assumed his greater powers of command imperium maius and tribunician power tribunicia potestas as personal qualities, separate from his public office. As a result, he formally outranked provincial governors and ordinary magistrates. He had the right to enact or revoke sentences of capital punishment, was owed the obedience of private citizens privati and by the terms of the ius auxiliandi could save any plebeian from any patrician magistrate's decision. He could veto any act or proposal of any magistrate, including the tribunes of the people ius intercedendi or ius intercessionis. His person was held to be sacred. Roman magistrates on official business were expected to wear the form of toga associated with their office; different togas were worn by different ranks; senior magistrates had the right to togas bordered with purple. A triumphal imperator of the Republic had the right to wear the toga picta of solid purple, richly embroidered for the duration of the triumphal rite. During the Late Republic, the most powerful had this right extended. Pompey and Caesar are both thought to have worn the triumphal toga and other triumphal dress at public functions. Later emperors were distinguished by wearing togae purpuraepurple togas; hence the phrase "to don the purple" for the assumption of imperial dignity. The titles customarily associated with the imperial dignity are imperator "commander"which emphasizes the emperor's military supremacy and is the source of the English word emperor ; Caesarwhich was originally a name but came to be used for the designated heir as Nobilissimus Caesar"Most Noble Caesar" and was retained upon accession. The ruling emperor's title was the descriptive Augustus "majestic" or "venerable", which had tinges of the divinewhich was adopted upon accession. As princeps senatus lit. In modern terms these early emperors would tend to be identified as chiefs of state. The office of princeps senatushowever, was not a magistracy and did not entail imperium. The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor some points in the Empire's history, the emperor's power was nominal; powerful praetorian prefectsmasters of the soldiers and on a few occasions, other members of the Imperial household including Imperial mothers and grandmothers were the true source of power. The title imperator dates back to the Roman Republicwhen a victorious commander could be hailed as imperator in the field by his troops. The Senate could then award or withhold the extraordinary honour of a triumph ; the triumphal commander retained the title until the end of his magistracy. In 38 BC Agrippa refused a triumph for his victories under Octavian's command, and this precedent established the rule that the princeps should assume both the salutation and title of imperator. It seems that from then on Octavian later the first emperor Augustus used imperator as a first name praenomen : Imperator Caesar not Caesar imperator. From this the title came to denote the supreme power and was commonly used in that sense. Otho was the first to imitate Augustus, but only with Vespasian did imperator emperor The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor the official title by The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor the ruler of the Roman Empire was known. The word princeps plural principesmeaning "first", was a republican term used to denote the leading citizen s of the state. It was a purely honorific title with no attached duties or powers. It was the title most preferred by Augustus as its use implies only primacy, as opposed to another of his titles, imperatorwhich implies dominance. In the era of Diocletian and beyond, princeps fell into disuse and was replaced with dominus "lord" ; [12] later emperors used the formula Imperator Caesar NN. The use of princeps and dominus broadly symbolise the differences in the empire's government, giving rise to the era designations " Principate " and " Dominate ". As a result, historians distinguish the Augustan period as the principate and the period from Diocletian to the 7th-century reforms of Emperor Heraclius as the dominate from the Latin for "lord". Reaching back to the oldest traditions of job-sharing in the republic, however, Diocletian established at the top of this new structure the Tetrarchy "rule of four" in an attempt to provide for smoother succession and greater continuity of government. Under the Tetrarchy, Diocletian set in place a system of co-emperors, styled "Augustus", and junior emperors, styled "Caesar". When a co-emperor retired as Diocletian and his co-emperor Maximian did in or died, a junior "Caesar" would succeed him and the co-emperors would appoint new Caesars as needed. The four members of the Imperial college as historians call the arrangement shared military and administrative challenges by each being assigned specific geographic areas of the empire. From this innovation, often but not consistently repeated over the next years, comes the notion of an east-west partition of the empire that became popular with historians long after the practice had stopped. The two halves of empire, while often run as de facto separate entities day-to-day, were always considered and seen, legally and politically, as separate administrative divisions of a single, insoluble imperium by the Romans of the time. The final period of co-emperorship began inwhen Emperor Theodosius I 's sons Arcadius and Honorius succeeded as co-emperors. The Roman Empire survived in the east untilbut the marginalization of the former heartland of Italy to the empire [ clarification needed ] had a profound cultural impact on the empire and the position of emperor. Inthe official language was changed from Latin to Greek. But many in Western Europe began to refer to the political entity as the "Greek Empire". The evolution of the church in the no-longer imperial city of Rome and the church in the now supreme Constantinople began to follow divergent paths, culminating in the schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths. The position of emperor was increasingly influenced by Near Eastern concepts of kingship. Starting with Emperor Heraclius, Roman emperors styled themselves "King of Kings" from the imperial Persian Shahanshah from and "Basileus" from the title used by Alexander the Great from The later period of the empire is today called the The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor Empire as a matter of scholarly convention. Although these are the most common offices, titles, and positions, not all Roman emperors used them, nor were all of them used at the same time in history. The consular and censorial offices especially were not an integral part of the Imperial dignity, and were usually held by persons other than the reigning emperor. When Augustus established the Princepshe turned down supreme authority in exchange for a collection of various powers and offices, which in itself was a demonstration of his auctoritas "authority". As holding princeps senatusthe emperor declared the opening and closure of each Senate session, declared the Senate's agenda, imposed rules and regulation for the Senate to follow, and met with foreign ambassadors in the name of the Senate. Being pontifex maximus made the emperor the chief administrator of religious affairs, granting him the power to conduct all religious ceremonies, consecrate temples, control the Roman calendar adding or removing days as neededappoint the vestal virgins and some flamenslead the Collegium Pontificumand summarize the dogma of the Roman religion. While these powers granted the emperor a great deal of personal pride and influence, they did not include legal authority. In 23 BC, Augustus gave the emperorship its legal power. The first was Tribunicia Potestasor the powers of the tribune of the plebs without actually holding the office which would have been impossible, since a tribune was by definition a plebeianwhereas Augustus, although born into a plebeian family, had become a patrician when he was adopted into the gens Julia. This endowed the emperor with inviolability sacrosanctity of his person, and the ability to pardon any civilian for any act, criminal or otherwise. By holding the powers of the tribune, the emperor could prosecute anyone who The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor with the performance of his duties. The emperor's tribuneship granted him the right to convene the Senate at his will and lay proposals before it, as well as the ability to veto any act or proposal by any magistrate, including the actual tribune of the plebeians.

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. In 27 BC, after the civil war that followed the assassination of Julius Caesar, Octavian was proclaimed emperor by the Roman Senate and given the title 'Augustus'. Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. Published by Quercus first published September 6th More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Emperors of Romeplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Some emperors literally only get a line or two of explanation - partly because in some cases, they only ruled for a couple of months or perhaps because of a lack of definite information about them. Some maps would have been useful to illustrate the various changes in imperial boundaries and administrative organisation - or just to make it clear where certain provinces and regions were. I like to think I have a good idea where most of them equate to on a modern map as I've studied the Roman Empire, but someone newer to the subject might find it confusing to keep up with constant references to areas like Dacia and Thrace which are now called quite different names. The book does also touch on aspects of Roman life such as religion and trade in order to put events and the empire itself into perspective. This is useful and ensures the book is not just a constant stream of biographies. All in all, it's a decent book, fairly accessible to the general reader as well as specialists. Jan 09, Julesmarie rated it liked it Shelves: biographynon-fictionromecurriculum-rome. As other reviewers have said, this The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor a good overview of each of the emperors of Ancient Rome. I, however, did not find it to be an excellent reference book. When read chronologically, the book provides fascinating facts and insights into each emperor and also into how each relates both to his predecessor and to his successor. Also helpful were the fact summarizers on the sides of the pages introducing each new emperor. When I tried to go back and pull out information on a specific emperor to sha As other reviewers have said, this is a good overview of each of the emperors of Ancient Rome. When I tried to go back and pull out information on a specific emperor to share with my students, however, I found it challenging to remember all I needed to about the previous emperor in order to follow what was being said about the one I wanted to focus on. In other words, unless being read in order, the facts are too obscure and not reviewed enough to use it as a reference book. Sep 03, Miles Watson rated it liked it. I enjoyed this book, which is a concise and largely easy read that is also highly informative. Author David Potter manages to alternate biographies of the all the Caesars with asides on Roman history, politics, economics, and culture, much of which I was unfamiliar with. I particularly appreciated his view of history not merely as battles and coronations, but as an ebb and flow of political ideas and economic systems -- he explains at the end of the book that the Roman Empire died not so much fr I enjoyed this book, which is a concise and largely easy read that is also highly informative. I particularly appreciated his view of history not merely as battles and The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor, but as an ebb and flow of political ideas and economic systems -- he explains at the end of the book that the Roman Empire died not so much from outward attack but from an increasing belief among the Roman people that they had no stake in the government or the Empire. The reason I only gave it three stars is because the sheer size of the subject necessitates that many periods and people get short shrift; also because, especially after about the second century A. Emperors are constantly getting deposed, poisoned, assassinated, stabbed or occasionally just dying of old age, and with all the usurpers and pretenders, plus the fact that after Diocletian, multiple emperors served at the same time, things just get confusing. It is worth noting that Potter does not continue his history past the destruction of the Western Roman Empire in the late fifth century A. I found this understandable for starters, it would have tripled the length of what was clearly meant to be a short book but a little disappointing, since I would have greatly appreciated his insight. Nevertheless, I can recommend this book as a good source on a list of the men who not only ruled the Western world during its formative period, but also largely created it. Apr 24, Bryan Whitehead rated it really liked it Shelves: To cover around years of roman imperial history in such a small book is not an easy task, and although the author clearly tries to avoid excessive telling of unimportant facts, so much names which are so similar in such less periods of time in some periods give the reader a hard time by understanding what was going on on each event. I would give it a 3. I have read many books about the Roman Empire and this one has the advantage of summarising very eloquently the reigns of all Roman emperors in less than pages, but also to provide several chapters explaining very clearly about the evolution of Roman society, culture and religious beliefs across the centuries. A highly recommended book! Fascinating and well written book. Always good to be reminded of past empires and how they ended. The only thing I would have liked would be a list of all the emperors and their dates in an appendix. Jul 25, Bob Lundquist rated it really liked it. An OK summary of the emperors as far as I can tell. Gives a good history of how the republic became the empire. Jul 15, J. Carlin does a fantastic job of giving listeners overviews of the Punic Wars, Rome's first major conflict, and the Fall of the Roman Republic when Julius Caesar came to power. But, I was still fascinated with what happened with Rome, as like a lot of people who took an American high school ancient history class, more or less what I learned was that Rome fell sometime in the 1st millenia A So, I picked this up from Half-Price Books after listening to a ton of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast. But, I was still fascinated with what happened with Rome, as like a lot of people who took an American high school ancient history class, more or less what I learned was that Rome fell sometime in the 1st millenia AD, and then there was kind of nothing happening until the Renaissance i. I learned bad history. So, I picked up this book because I was really interested in filling the gaps of my knowledge, and it did a good job in providing me with a little more context with which to view the subject. I would suggest approaching this book like a sort of survey course in imperial Roman history. It's not designed to go deep into any one particular subject outside of the subject of The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor. At a certain point in the writing, the events start to run together: this guy killed this other guy who pissed off this last guy and they're all related and the military wants these OTHER guys in charge I think that's sort of the point Potter tries to make; that imperial power isn't sustainable when it's arranged through the force of personality because that personality diesbut at the same time, there was no real system of government possible that could accommodate so many needs for assimilation and warfare all at once over so great a space of land. At any rate, this is a very good book about a dense subject, and I think it's admirable to cover so much information in so short an amount of pages. Mar 13, Alexis rated it really liked it. This book is that kind of overview. It's not for a deep historian. However, it really does cover all the basics for each and every Emperor, and has wonderful moments of drama, skeptical analysis and even moments of humor - without being salacious - to make it a very enjoyable read. If you use it as I did, as an overview start to this enormous historical period, you won't be disappointed. Some of the insets are hard to read because of the color design, but the book is generally very inexpensive for its depth and breadth so I didn't mind that so much. I keep it as a reference because it's very easy to find each Emperor and his often horrifying exploits. Mar 07, Roisin rated it liked it. Don't think I've read anything by this author, but the book looked like a relatively quick read and was. Good for a refresh on the topic. I'm more interested in going to the ancient or other sources for detail. Packed full of info, fascinating stories and some very amusing ones about these The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor of merry emperors, this highly readable book is good, but short. If looking for more information on each emperor, look elsewhere. The text can get a bit confusing at times. When trying to cross check, loo Don't think I've read anything by this author, but the book looked like a relatively quick read and was. When trying to The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor check, look up stuff, quick references, forget it. Not that kind of book. No notes, so unsure of where some of the sources have come from. Though does mention some early historians who wrote about them. If want a quick overview of this topic, go for it, snog or marry. If want great detail and references, avoid. Pod The Emperors of Rome: The Story of Imperial Rome from Julius Caesar to the Last Emperor spoken! Nov 30, Cirilio rated it really liked it. For a growing love for history, I would definitely recommend this book to those with a military-political fascination. This book was fun for me to read as it gave a lot of background information about the rise of the many Roman Emperors such as Augustus, Nero, Claudius, and such.