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Roman History, Volume VIII: Books 61–70
Dio Cassius (Cassius Dio), ca. 150- 235 CE, was born at Nicaea in Bithynia in Asia Minor. On the death of his father (Roman governor of Cilicia) he went in 180 to Rome, entered the Senate, and under the emperor Commodus was an advocate. He held high offices, becoming a close friend of several emperors. He was made governor of Pergamum and Smyrna; consul in 220; proconsul of Africa; governor of Dalmatia and then of Pannonia; and consul again in 229.
Of the eighty books of Dio's great work "Roman History," covering the era from the legendary landing of Aeneas in Italy to the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235 CE), we possess Books 36-60 (36 and 55-60 have gaps), which cover the years 68 BCE-47 CE. The missing portions are partly supplied, for the earlier gaps by Zonaras, who relies closely on Dio, and for some later gaps (Book 35 onwards) by John Xiphilinus (of the eleventh century). There are also many excerpts. The facilities for research afforded by Dio's official duties and his own industry make him a very vital source for Roman history of the last years of the republic and the first four emperors.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Dio Cassius is in nine volumes.
Of the eighty books of Dio's great work "Roman History," covering the era from the legendary landing of Aeneas in Italy to the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235 CE), we possess Books 36-60 (36 and 55-60 have gaps), which cover the years 68 BCE-47 CE. The missing portions are partly supplied, for the earlier gaps by Zonaras, who relies closely on Dio, and for some later gaps (Book 35 onwards) by John Xiphilinus (of the eleventh century). There are also many excerpts. The facilities for research afforded by Dio's official duties and his own industry make him a very vital source for Roman history of the last years of the republic and the first four emperors.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Dio Cassius is in nine volumes.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 230
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About the author
Cassius Dio
396 books43 followersCassius Dio or Dio Cassius (c. 155 – c. 235) 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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 23, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2017
one of the main sources of Roman history for the first century and second century and sometimes a bit of an eyeopener, when you realise how close to the text some more modern biographers work.
July 30, 2024
An excellent review of Roman Emperors by a Roman citizen. Starts about 50 A.D. toward the end of Claudius' reign. Claudius finally accepts that his wife Messalina is a ho because he is shown indisputable proof and he has recently taken a great deal of interest in his hot niece, but mostly because he has recently taken a great deal of interest in his hot niece. Messalina gets offed and Claudius marries niece Agrippina. Agrippina takes over for Messalina telling Claudius what to do, including adopting her son Nero. He does and then conveniently dies from eating poisoned mushrooms.
Nero is about 17 and is not interested in government. He allows Agrippina to rule for him until she annoys him, then he lets Seneca and Brussus run the country. In the meantime he hangs out with lowlife Hollywood types. He sings, acts in plays, plays the lyre while Rome burns, spends tons of money, kills lots of people, and marries a eunuch. Much of this is probably not true, especially the part about fiddling while Rome burned, but there is so much of it that if even half is true then Nero was a bad dude. So bad that Galba is convinced to march on Rome. Nero goes into hiding, and when it looks like he is going to be found he kills himself. This starts the "Year of the Four Emperors."
Galba is made Emperor because he is so old that he served under Tiberius. He doesn't have a chance to do much before Otho bribes some men to kill him. Then Otho is Emperor. People don't like him because he paid for the assassination of the previous Emperor, plus he spends too much time with the old friends of Nero. So Vitellius marches on Rome. Vitellius had also served under Tiberius but was somewhat younger than Galba, and had spent many years in Germania doing mostly a good job of keeping the barbarians in check and getting hugely fat. The armies of Otho and Vitellius met in Gaul and Otho immediately lost his spirit. Saying he wanted no part in a Roman civil war he killed himself. Vitellius is Emperor and spends all his time eating.
Vespasian has been in Judea this entire time and just now hears about the death of Galba. He sends his army to attack Otho but they don't arrive until Vitellius is Emperor. They enter the city and kill him, making Vespasian Emperor. He waits about a bit in Egypt awaiting news that the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed and the Jews subjugated then goes to Rome. His reign is so orderly and without incident that Cassius Dio has little to say about it. He dies of old age and his son Titus takes over.
Titus tries to emulate his dad and keep order. He finishes building the Colosseum and visits Pompeii and Herculaneum when they are destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Then he dies. Cassius does not know how he died, but considering what his brother was like it probably wasn't from pink eye.
Titus' brother Domitian is Emperor. He emulates Nero, without the singing and cross dressing. He kills loads of people. He is paranoid and rarely spends two nights in the same house. He spends enormous amounts of money, and kills more people. Finally, his wife is convinced that he is going to kill her so she has his assassinated. Nerva takes over.
Nerva is an old man that everyone likes. He tries to get the economy in order, promises to kill no senators, and outlaws castration, incest, and antisemitism. He names Trajan his heir and dies peacefully. Trajan was the first Emperor neither born in Italy nor of Italian descent. He was from Hispania. Trajan did not murder overly many people, kept order in the Empire, and enjoyed military campaigns. He fought the Dacians among others, and eventually led his Legions across Mesopotamia through Babylon all the way to the Persian Gulf. During this time the Jews rose up again and started eating people. Then Trajan got sick, and on his deathbed named Hadrian his successor. We know this is absolutely true because Trajan's wife Plotina produced a document after his death stating this as fact, which was mighty convenient since she and Hadrian were very close friends. Very close.
Hadrian killed some Senators right off then set to ruling. He ruled well but was a busybody with his nose in everybody's business. No detail was too small. He traveled everywhere looking into everything. Every employee's nightmare, the nosy boss. He rules well but is not well liked. He gets something like tuberculosis and takes a long time to die. He does adopt Antoninus Pius as his heir before he dies.
The next two books of Cassius Dio are missing which is sad. Not to so much for Antoninus Pius, but for his successor Marcus Aurelius. It would have been nice to know if Dio had considered Aurelius one of the great emperors as he is commonly depicted.
Really one of the seminal works on Roman history.
Nero is about 17 and is not interested in government. He allows Agrippina to rule for him until she annoys him, then he lets Seneca and Brussus run the country. In the meantime he hangs out with lowlife Hollywood types. He sings, acts in plays, plays the lyre while Rome burns, spends tons of money, kills lots of people, and marries a eunuch. Much of this is probably not true, especially the part about fiddling while Rome burned, but there is so much of it that if even half is true then Nero was a bad dude. So bad that Galba is convinced to march on Rome. Nero goes into hiding, and when it looks like he is going to be found he kills himself. This starts the "Year of the Four Emperors."
Galba is made Emperor because he is so old that he served under Tiberius. He doesn't have a chance to do much before Otho bribes some men to kill him. Then Otho is Emperor. People don't like him because he paid for the assassination of the previous Emperor, plus he spends too much time with the old friends of Nero. So Vitellius marches on Rome. Vitellius had also served under Tiberius but was somewhat younger than Galba, and had spent many years in Germania doing mostly a good job of keeping the barbarians in check and getting hugely fat. The armies of Otho and Vitellius met in Gaul and Otho immediately lost his spirit. Saying he wanted no part in a Roman civil war he killed himself. Vitellius is Emperor and spends all his time eating.
Vespasian has been in Judea this entire time and just now hears about the death of Galba. He sends his army to attack Otho but they don't arrive until Vitellius is Emperor. They enter the city and kill him, making Vespasian Emperor. He waits about a bit in Egypt awaiting news that the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed and the Jews subjugated then goes to Rome. His reign is so orderly and without incident that Cassius Dio has little to say about it. He dies of old age and his son Titus takes over.
Titus tries to emulate his dad and keep order. He finishes building the Colosseum and visits Pompeii and Herculaneum when they are destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Then he dies. Cassius does not know how he died, but considering what his brother was like it probably wasn't from pink eye.
Titus' brother Domitian is Emperor. He emulates Nero, without the singing and cross dressing. He kills loads of people. He is paranoid and rarely spends two nights in the same house. He spends enormous amounts of money, and kills more people. Finally, his wife is convinced that he is going to kill her so she has his assassinated. Nerva takes over.
Nerva is an old man that everyone likes. He tries to get the economy in order, promises to kill no senators, and outlaws castration, incest, and antisemitism. He names Trajan his heir and dies peacefully. Trajan was the first Emperor neither born in Italy nor of Italian descent. He was from Hispania. Trajan did not murder overly many people, kept order in the Empire, and enjoyed military campaigns. He fought the Dacians among others, and eventually led his Legions across Mesopotamia through Babylon all the way to the Persian Gulf. During this time the Jews rose up again and started eating people. Then Trajan got sick, and on his deathbed named Hadrian his successor. We know this is absolutely true because Trajan's wife Plotina produced a document after his death stating this as fact, which was mighty convenient since she and Hadrian were very close friends. Very close.
Hadrian killed some Senators right off then set to ruling. He ruled well but was a busybody with his nose in everybody's business. No detail was too small. He traveled everywhere looking into everything. Every employee's nightmare, the nosy boss. He rules well but is not well liked. He gets something like tuberculosis and takes a long time to die. He does adopt Antoninus Pius as his heir before he dies.
The next two books of Cassius Dio are missing which is sad. Not to so much for Antoninus Pius, but for his successor Marcus Aurelius. It would have been nice to know if Dio had considered Aurelius one of the great emperors as he is commonly depicted.
Really one of the seminal works on Roman history.
July 21, 2025
Los epitomes son breves pero van al grano. Bastante bien.
January 20, 2013
An astounding achievement. Clear, concise, and epic. Hampered by the vicissitudes of time, of course (much of the work is lost) but a must-read for anyone interested in ancient history and willing to make the commitment in time and concentration.
June 27, 2014
Great work on Roman History.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews