Historical Roman History

Before the emperors, there was the Republic. Before the Republic fell, there was the Rubicon. History of the Roman Empire: Power, Betrayal, and the End of the Republic is a sweeping, uncompromising account of how one of history’s most sophisticated democracies collapsed into autocracy—not through foreign invasion or sudden catastrophe, but through internal corrosion, political violence, and the dangerous allure of strongmen. Based entirely on verifiable sources, this work strips away myth and romanticism to reveal the hard truths of Roman political decay and the rise of imperial power. ...

The War of the Three Gods is a military history of the Near and Middle East in the seventh century - with its chief focus on the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius (AD 610-641) - a pivotal and dramatic time in world history. The Eastern Roman Empire was brought to the very brink of extinction by the Sassanid Persians before Heraclius managed to inflict a crushing defeat on the Sassanids with a desperate, final gambit.

Dio Cassius was a Roman statesman and historian of Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the subsequent founding of Rome (753 BC), the formation of the republic (509 BC), and the creation of the empire (31 BC). The history continues until AD 229.

In an age of warlords and plagues, one man ruled the world armed not with superstition or cruelty, but with reason. When Marcus Aurelius took the throne of Rome, the empire’s peace was already beginning to crumble. Beyond the Danube, restless tribes gathered. In the East, Parthian kings tested Rome’s strength. At home, pestilence hollowed out cities and farms. Yet amid chaos, the emperor sat by firelight in a soldier’s tent, writing meditations to himself about humility, duty, and the fleeting nature of power. The Philosopher King tells the sweeping, visceral story of Rome’s last ...

Step back into the shadowed cities, remote villages, and colonial frontiers of the eighteenth century, a time when reason and enlightenment existed alongside superstition, brutality, and relentless crime. In 25 True Crimes That Shocked the 18th Century, history is brought vividly to life through twenty-five deeply researched true crime stories reconstructed from court records, newspapers, and contemporary accounts. From the Cape Colony in southern Africa to the cities of Europe and the colonies of the Caribbean, North America, and South America, these stories trace a world where violence ...

Josephus Flavius was a Roman-Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing the masterpiece "THE JEWISH WAR". Josephus was was born in Jerusalem which was at the time part of the Roman province of Judea. His father was of priestly descent, and his mother claimed royal ancestry. Learn more about this fascinating character who claimed Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the first Jewish-Roman war.

Roman history, from the very foundation of the city, is replete with people and stories that shock our modern sensibilities. Evil Roman Emperors puts the worst of Rome's rulers in one place and offers a review of their lives and a historical context for what made them into what they became.

Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of Julius Caesar's life, Adrian Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor's accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters. Ultimately, Goldsworthy realizes the full complexity of Caesar's character and shows why his political and military leadership continues to resonate some 2,000 years later.

Volume Two of Dio Cassius brings to a close his sweeping historical work, Roman History. This volume begins with book 50 and the struggle between Octavian and Mark Antony. Octavian's victory is the beginning of the Principate and a new direction in Roman history. Dio takes a prolonged look at the reign of Augustus.

Emperor Tiberius: Life and Reign offers a comprehensive and nuanced exploration of one of Rome’s most enigmatic emperors. Tiberius, who ruled from AD 14 to AD 37, has often been portrayed through the lens of his reclusive and autocratic later years, but this book aims to provide a balanced view, shedding light on both his achievements and controversies. From his birth into the prominent Claudian family and his early military successes to his complex relationships with Augustus and his mother Livia, Tiberius’ life is a tapestry of ambition, duty, and personal struggle. His rise to power ...

A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Christ's robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe, a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity. Set against the vividly drawn background of ancient Rome, this is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.

Appian of Alexander was a Greek historian who lived at the height of the Roman Empire during the first half of the 2nd century AD, having been born around AD 95 and died about AD 165. Very little is known about him beyond what he reveals about himself, along with the fact that he lived in Alexandria. He was a Roman citizen and held several senior-level public offices, both in Alexandria and in Rome.

610 AD. The Byzantine Empire is collapsing. Persian armies pour across the eastern frontier. The Balkans are ravaged by barbarian invasions. At the centre of the chaos sits Phocas, a half-mad soldier who has seized the throne and now rules Constantinople through spectacle and arbitrary torture. One province after another declares for Heraclius, the ambitious usurper advancing from Africa. The capital trembles on the brink of destruction. Into this inferno comes Aelric of England—scholar, rake, and reluctant agent of the Papacy. Blackmailed into abandoning a profitable life of lechery and ...

In the years 434-454 A.D., the fate of Europe hung upon the actions of one man: Attila, king of the Huns. The decaying Roman Empire still stood astride the Western World, but it was threatened by a new force, the much-feared barbarian hordes. Attila was the one-man wrecking ball that helped put the final boot into Rome's decaying splendor.

Bedrock of Empire is the much-anticipated sequel to the highly acclaimed novel, Roman Mask – Winner of the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal award for Fiction/Action. Cassius returns to Rome, intent on restarting his life after escaping death in one of the greatest military disasters of the ancient world, the loss of three legions in the Teutoburg Forest. Hopes of a hero’s homecoming are soon dashed as he discovers that a shaken Rome now scorns the returning survivors of the battle, believing them stained and tainted with ill luck. Worse is to follow, as he once again becomes entwined...

A concise, star-studded retelling of Italy's past, from Caesar and Augustus to da Vinci and Michelangelo, tracing the story of a country with prodigious global influence—from a foremost author of historic Italy.

No era in world history has fascinated us more than that of the Roman Empire, especially when it was at its height. The period known as the Pax Romana is generally agreed to have occurred between Octavian's defeat of Mark Antony at Actium in 27 B.C. to the death of Marcus Aurelius in A.D.180. During this 227-year period, most of the sharp military conflict was confined to the periphery of the empire, though the civil war kicked off during the Year of the Four Emperors in 68/69 was a glaring exception to this "universal" peace.

“Dazzling and instructive . . . [a] magisterial new book.” —Walter Isaacson, Time "An astute analysis that illuminates many of today's critical international issues." —Kirkus Reviews Henry Kissinger offers in World Order a deep meditation on the roots of international harmony and...

More than 2,000 years after his death, Julius Caesar remains one of the great figures of history. He shaped Rome for generations, and his name became a synonym for "emperor" - not only in Rome but as far away as Germany and Russia. He is best known as the general who defeated the Gauls and doubled the size of Rome's territories. But, as Philip Freeman describes in this fascinating new biography, Caesar was also a brilliant orator, an accomplished writer, a skilled politician, and much more.

In this remarkable dual biography of the two great lovers of the ancient world, Adrian Goldsworthy goes beyond myth and romance to create a nuanced and historically acute portrayal of his subjects, set against the political backdrop of their time. A history of lives lived intensely at a time when the world was changing profoundly, this audiobook takes listeners on a journey that crosses cultures and boundaries, from ancient Greece and ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire.