Dio's Rome Vol. 5

by Cassius Dio

Dio's Rome V5 is a historical book written by Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, in the 3rd century AD. The book is the fifth volume of a larger work known as ""Roman History"" and covers the period of Roman history from 68-69 AD. It provides a detailed account of the civil war that occurred after the death of Emperor Nero and the rise of Emperor Vespasian. The book also includes information on the political and military events that took place during this period, including the siege of Jerusalem and the rebellion of the Batavi. Dio's Rome V5 is a valuable source of information for scholars and enthusiasts of Roman history who are interested in understanding the political and military landscape of the Roman Empire during this tumultuous period.Some other person, after the death of Commodus, dared to assert that he was Sextus and to undertake the recovery of his wealth and dignities. And he played the part well while many persons asked him numbers of when, however, Pertinax enquired of him something about Grecian affairs, with which the real Sextus had been well acquainted, he suffered the greatest embarrassment, not being able even to understand what was said.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Roman History, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 230

About the author

Cassius 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.

Reviews

[Jenn Phizacklea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grammar isn’t great. Why include text that has more lacunae than text?
Content is worth wading through these issues, especially when Dio starts writing in the first person, events that he witnessed personally.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a good read to me, but probably not to anyone who isn't an ardent fan of Roman history.
There are many interesting facts here, and Dio packs a lot of information about a lot of people and events in a fairly short span. Dio covers all the major events, focusing most on the personal character of the Emperors. He clearly shows his reverence for his favorites--Vespasian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius--and his disgust for those he loathes--Nero, Domitian, Commodus. He is also a solid action writer, and gives more life to battle scenes that other ancient writers I've read.
However, this isn't an easy read. A lot of this probably stems from the fact that this is a translation, and also that sections of these books are missing, but its true nevertheless. The prose didn't have much flow, and the chronology makes odd leaps. Dio also doesn't seem to import much style, either, just bland straightforwardness. While this works for a non-fiction book, it just doesn't have the same flavor as Suetonius's gossipy tone or Eusebius's Godly reverence.