Evil Roman Emperors
The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More
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Narrated by:
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David de Vries
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By:
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Phillip Barlag
About this listen
Nero fiddled while Rome burned. As catchy as that aphorism is, it's sadly untrue, even if it has a nice ring to it. The one thing Nero is well-known for is the one thing he actually didn't do. But fear not, the truth of his life, his rule and what he did with unrestrained power, is plenty weird, salacious and horrifying.
And he is not alone. 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.
Lucius Tarquinius Suburbus called peace conferences with warring states, only to slaughter foreign leaders; Commodus sold offices of the empire to the highest bidder; Caligula demanded to be worshipped as a god; even the Roman Senate itself was made up of oppressors, exploiters, and murderers of all stripes.
Roman history, deviant or otherwise, is a subject of endless fascination. What's never been done before is to look at the worst of the worst at the same time, comparing them side by side, and ranking them against one another. Until now.
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- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 107
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story5 out of 5 stars 72
In this historical yet somewhat dramatic account of the Roman emperors, you'll find judgments, opinions, and for the most part, hard facts about the rulers of the vast empire that controlled the Mediterranean Sea and beyond for centuries. You'll discover the disgust of historians with Nero's and Caligula's murderous inclinations, their incest, their sexual orgies, and their betrayal. You'll hear of Julius Ceasar's success and totalitarianism during his despot reign.
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5 out of 5 stars
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You gotta appreciate things like this
- By Anonymous User on 02-14-20
By: Ron Carver
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The Roman Emperors
- Hadrian, Constantine the Great, Commodus, Caracalla, Etc.
- By: Coby Evans
- Narrated by: Adam Forsyth
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 103
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 96
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Story5 out of 5 stars 96
This guide will guide you to the right knowledge about all the historical details you need to know about Nero, Caligula, Hadrian, Commodus, Constantine the Great, Caracalla, Marcus Aurelius, Julius Caesar, Augustus, and others. Some were pure evil, abusive, and sheer dictators with their own self-interest that was their only focus. Others had the best intentions for the empire. These emperors left their mark on the people, the history of the entire empire, and the cultural influence the Romans had on us.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Ruth on 01-10-20
By: Coby Evans
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Emperors of Rome: Julius Caesar, Constantine, Nero, Caligula, and More
- By: Kelly Mass, Summaries from History
- Narrated by: Miriam Webster
- Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 101
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story5 out of 5 stars 101
What do you know about the emperors of Rome? Rome had good and bad emperors, selfish and selfless ones. Some were wise, others were foolish. And each left their legacy and their imprint on historical concepts of the Roman empire itself. In this book, we will explore the details of a number of these emperors, especially some of the best-known ones that have been hand-picked by the editors of this book.
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5 out of 5 stars
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That's interesting
- By Bettie on 10-05-19
By: Kelly Mass, and others
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Agrippina
- The Most Extraordinary Woman of the Roman World
- By: Emma Southon
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 139
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 138
The story of Agrippina, at the center of imperial power for three generations, is the story of the Julio-Claudia dynasty - and of Rome itself, at its bloody, extravagant, chaotic, ruthless, and political zenith. In her own time, she was recognized as a woman of unparalleled power.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fun!
- By Curatina on 02-27-20
By: Emma Southon
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Charlemagne
- A Captivating Guide to the Greatest Monarch of the Carolingian Empire and How He Ruled over the Franks, Lombards, and Romans
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story5 out of 5 stars 26
Warrior. Ruler. Patron of the arts and language. Terrorist. Brutal oppressor. Protector of the good. Guardian of Christendom. Father of Europe. There are so many different ways in which Charlemagne can be described, and yet, the man himself is often seen as an enigma. Depending on the viewpoint of history, he could have been either a monster or a guardian angel. Yet, as with most men, the truth lies somewhere in between. The truth is that he was human.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By lawrence theriot on 01-25-23
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The Romanovs
- A Captivating Guide to the Last Imperial Dynasty to Rule Russia and the Impact the Romanov Family Had on Russian History
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
An undoubtedly interesting, exciting, and dramatic chapter of Russian history was when it was ruled over by the Romanov dynasty. This powerful ruling family came to power shortly after the frightening rule of a legendary figure in Russian history: Ivan the Terrible. After murdering his own son and unborn grandson, Ivan died without an heir, resulting in the formation of a new dynasty. This was the Romanov family.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By Hugo 719 on 05-02-22
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The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
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A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
- Murder in Ancient Rome
- By: Emma Southon
- Narrated by: Sophie Ward
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 702
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 617
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 612
In ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common - murder. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered. But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside ancient Rome’s darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life and death and what it means to be human.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Narration is stilted, author tries too hard
- By Allison Jackson on 07-13-21
By: Emma Southon
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Ghost on the Throne
- The Death of Alexander the Great and the Bloody Fight for His Empire
- By: James S. Romm
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 206
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 177
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 176
When Alexander the Great died at the age of 32, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea in the west all the way to modern-day India in the east. In an unusual compromise, his two heirs - a mentally damaged half brother, Philip III, and an infant son, Alexander IV, born after his death - were jointly granted the kingship. But six of Alexander's Macedonian generals, spurred by their own thirst for power and the legend that Alexander bequeathed his rule "to the strongest," fought to gain supremacy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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ends a bit short
- By RIR on 06-14-21
By: James S. Romm
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The Sacred Band
- Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom
- By: James Romm
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
From classicist James Romm comes a thrilling deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes - and the saga of the greatest military corps of the age, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Stop now and don’t buy this book.
- By Robert Pitman on 06-08-21
By: James Romm
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A Brief History of China
- Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
In his retelling of a Chinese history stretching back 5,000 years, author and China-expert Jonathan Clements focuses on the human stories which led to the powerful transformations in Chinese society - from the unification of China under its first emperor, Qinshi Huangdi, to the Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan and the consolidation of Communist rule under Mao Zedong. Clements even brings listeners through to the present day, outlining China's economic renaissance under Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Succinct and detailed overview of a huge topic
- By Stephen Sheafer on 08-19-20
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The Death of Caesar
- The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 228
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 204
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 203
William Shakespeare's gripping play showed Caesar's assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals' plot put together by Caesar's disaffected officers and designed with precision. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, but they had the help of a third man - Decimus. He was the mole in Caesar's entourage, one of Caesar's leading generals, and a lifelong friend.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Absorbing
- By Jean on 03-24-15
By: Barry Strauss
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Alaric the Goth
- An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome
- By: Douglas Boin
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 131
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4 out of 5 stars 110
Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the conventional story of Rome's collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Can't finish it.
- By Stan K. Smith on 06-21-20
By: Douglas Boin
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Dynasty
- The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,615
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,454
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,441
Author and historian Tom Holland returns to his roots in Roman history and the audience he cultivated with Rubicon—his masterful, witty, brilliantly researched popular history of the fall of the Roman republic—with Dynasty, a luridly fascinating history of the reign of the first five Roman emperors. Dynasty continues Rubicon's story, opening where that book ended: with the murder of Julius Caesar. This is the period of the first and perhaps greatest Roman emperors. It's a colorful story of rule and ruination, from the rise of Augustus to the death of Nero.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Accessible, enjoyable history
- By Mary on 01-28-16
By: Tom Holland
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When Women Ruled the World
- By: Kara Cooney
- Narrated by: Kara Cooney
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,956
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,627
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,621
This riveting narrative explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshepsut to Cleopatra - women who ruled with real power - and shines a piercing light on our own perceptions of women in power today. Female rulers are a rare phenomenon - but thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, women reigned supreme. But throughout human history, women in positions of power were more often used as political pawns in a male-dominated society. What was so special about ancient Egypt that provided women this kind of access to the highest political office?
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Thoroughly Feminist Review of Ancient Egypt
- By Morgan on 03-07-19
By: Kara Cooney