Ten Caesars

Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine

By: Barry Strauss

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling classical historian Barry Strauss tells the story of three-and-a-half centuries of the Roman Empire through the lives of 10 of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine.

Barry Strauss’ Ten Caesars is the story of the Roman Empire from rise to reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and moved the capital east to Constantinople.

During these centuries, Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. The empire reached from modern-day Britain to Iraq, and gradually, emperors came not from the old families of the first century but from men born in the provinces, some of whom had never even seen Rome. By the fourth century, the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire had changed so dramatically in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture that it would have been virtually unrecognizable to Augustus.

In the imperial era, Roman women - mothers, wives, mistresses - had substantial influence over the emperors, and Strauss also profiles the most important among them, from Livia, Augustus’ wife, to Helena, Constantine’s mother. But even women in the imperial family faced limits, and the emperors often forced them to marry or divorce for purely political reasons.

Rome’s legacy remains today in so many ways, from language, law, and architecture to the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Strauss examines this enduring heritage through the lives of the men who shaped it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. Over the ages, they learned to maintain the family business - the government of an empire - by adapting when necessary and always persevering no matter the cost. Ten Caesars is essential history as well as fascinating biography.

©2019 Barry Strauss (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Excellent

A great history of Rome with the most important Caesars on the fore front. Highly recommend.

where's. Claudius?

Very good. Great narration. Endless research learned yet..... an hour spent on Nero and 5 minutes on Claudius. I can see not giving Caligula a chapter but I was interested in learning facts about Claudius and dismissing the many myths as the author did with Nero and the others. Disappointed.

The ten Caesars

If you like ancient history, you will like his book. I highly recommend listening to this book

Light on Details

It's a great tour of several centuries of history. It skips the chaotic inter-regnum periods in favor of a much more personal perspective of the men (and women) who ruled both in name and in fact.

Well done

Accurate yea, but more: it turns the sequence of emperors (many more than the 10 of the title) into an engrossing narrative. Excellent judgement in balancing detail and story arc. Nothing is flawless but this is great. Great talent in the writing and great telling in the audio version. I wouldn’t hesitate to assign it to undergrads.

Well written and informative

The author does a good job making the material sound interesting. And the narrator does a good job. The problem is that the surviving source materials for these 10 Caesars is limited, and therefore they all start to sound like the same guy - dealing with problems on the frontier so they have to go on campaign, family members who want to usurp the throne, and power hungry members of the Senate. It becomes hard to distinguish between the 10, but that’s not the fault of this author.

Fascinating insights into ten pivotal Caesars

I have read a fair amount of Roman history, but this book gave me an overarching view of the effects of these ten pivotal Caesars on the total Roman empire and much of the world beyond and after it.

Good not great

Morey does a fantastic job with the reading.

Strauss is frustrating as a writer. He frequently asserts the absurd as fact. More importantly, he presents Constantine with Christian worship rather than a hard assessment of the man. Very frustrating at times.

Good for beginners

If you have a good understanding of the history of Rome, skip this book. Few new insights I haven’t read elsewhere. As 1 book covers 10+ emperors, it is understandably difficult to develop the bios much. But for a beginner it is a fine overview.

Comprehensive review or introduction

Arthur Morey has a noninvasive voice that makes listening pleasurable. Strauss has provided an easy introduction or review of, as the title states, ten Roman Caesars. The writing is clear and accessible, and the content is fulfilling. It is certainly a good way to familiarize with such characters and their times and actions that may incite one to further reading.