What do you think?
Rate this book
The Augustan Aristocracy
While the monarchy established by Caesar Augustus has attracted much scholarly attention, far less has been said about the reemergence of the old nobility at that time after years of civil war. One clear reason for this has been the lack of reliable evidence from the period. This book goes backward to the early years of the first century B.C. and forward to the reign of Nero in search of documentation of the Augustan aristocracy. Syme draws particularly on the Annals of Tacitus to cover 150 years in the history of Roman families, chronicling their splendor and success, as well as their subsequent fall within the embrace of the dynasty.
566 pages, Paperback
First published March 19, 1986
146 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 11, 2017
Probably not for the novice or those with only a casual interest in early Roman imperial history, but for those of us who have sat in a corner cursing the Romans' abiding love of homonymous and endlessly recycled names, this book is a lifeline to sanity. Ronald Symes (as usual) provides excellent academic breadcrumb trails through his research to show you how he arrived at his conclusions and isn't afraid to admit to the occasional defeat in the face of insurmountable historical lacunae, or illustrate where great minds might disagree. Just reading along as he textually untangles the stubborn knots caused by a society where everybody is named Gaius or Lucius, and a man might give all six of his daughters the exact same name is delightful.
December 20, 2010
another fantastic example of real history providing both record and player, in that some records force you to think different than one has had before. Very idiosyncratic writer here, dense and yet, lyrical.
The Augustan Aristocracy is both a chronicle of A's serial conscriptions and cullings among his peers and elders as well as those who were left standing into the common era, but a great deal of it's findings are found and shown in family lists. Hard to read, so extra rewarding.
The Augustan Aristocracy is both a chronicle of A's serial conscriptions and cullings among his peers and elders as well as those who were left standing into the common era, but a great deal of it's findings are found and shown in family lists. Hard to read, so extra rewarding.
February 17, 2019
What can I say - I tried to read this book cover to cover, but I gave up, which is unusual for me - and have used it purely as a reference for the family I’m researching. And frankly, as a reference, it’s quality is good, I cannot complain about that; though all of the information about the family I am looking into I had already discovered in the ancient sources. Once again, there is no replacing reading a good translation of Dio, Tacitus etc. but I guess if you wanted an epitome of the ancient sources with Munzer thrown in (a lot), this would serve.
The fact is, I really dislike Syme’s style, and I can’t ignore it. His authorial voice is so pompous, it grates on my nerves constantly. An example, right from the preface: ‘Much labour therefore and anxieties of selection for an author unable to emulate the easy people ‘who write without fear or research’.’ *grinds teeth* because you are the only historian who does their research, Ronald! I don’t think any historian just sits down all devil-may-care, and writes whatever they like. What a thing to say!
On the back cover of the library copy I have here, a reviewer has written ‘no general reader with the least enthusiasm for political history of any age could fail to find it compelling.’ That takes us to the heart of the second issue - no general reader can read a quarter of the text as it is interspersed liberally with Latin quotes. I could forgive his use of Latin in the 1940s, when he wrote his Roman Revolution (which I have almost finished); but the Augustan Aristocracy was published in 1986 - surely by then the general reader, reading in English, would have been lucky to have a grasp of Latin. In any case, this could have been rectified in reissue - but clearly, contrary to the review, Syme has no interest in the general reader. He is writing for an elite audience - why pretend otherwise?
As with all my reviews, this is just my opinion. His work is important, this book is referenced in almost everything by way of scholarly article I’ve read, and I don’t want to downplay its good qualities - but this is one book I just couldn’t deal with.
The fact is, I really dislike Syme’s style, and I can’t ignore it. His authorial voice is so pompous, it grates on my nerves constantly. An example, right from the preface: ‘Much labour therefore and anxieties of selection for an author unable to emulate the easy people ‘who write without fear or research’.’ *grinds teeth* because you are the only historian who does their research, Ronald! I don’t think any historian just sits down all devil-may-care, and writes whatever they like. What a thing to say!
On the back cover of the library copy I have here, a reviewer has written ‘no general reader with the least enthusiasm for political history of any age could fail to find it compelling.’ That takes us to the heart of the second issue - no general reader can read a quarter of the text as it is interspersed liberally with Latin quotes. I could forgive his use of Latin in the 1940s, when he wrote his Roman Revolution (which I have almost finished); but the Augustan Aristocracy was published in 1986 - surely by then the general reader, reading in English, would have been lucky to have a grasp of Latin. In any case, this could have been rectified in reissue - but clearly, contrary to the review, Syme has no interest in the general reader. He is writing for an elite audience - why pretend otherwise?
As with all my reviews, this is just my opinion. His work is important, this book is referenced in almost everything by way of scholarly article I’ve read, and I don’t want to downplay its good qualities - but this is one book I just couldn’t deal with.
March 5, 2025
Remembered as one of the world's greatest historians, Sir Ronald Syme certainly wrote to his audience of fellow historians in this one! This work is not for novices. Almost every sentence is packed with information, and to get any benefit from it, it has to be digested, sentence by sentence. It's not a slog, exactly, rather so much is being communicated that the reader needs to pay attention. For example, keeping track of the exasperating homonymous names as Sir Syme carefully breaks them down and figures out who is who and when. If it's hard work for me to keep up with Sir Syme, it was harder to get it all down and communicate it out!
There's a certain lyrical quality to how Sir Syme wrote, an air of authority and expectation that his readers will be able to keep up with him. I managed, especially because there are so many interesting riddles he has to reconstruct from such a variety of sources, but information overload is certain a threat.
This is absolutely a resource for experts, and if I can borrow a gaming term, a wake up boss. Incredibly helpful, as it gives insights into all the ways aristocracy becomes a tangled knot of interconnections. For those who consider themselves above amateur level in Roman history, read it!
There's a certain lyrical quality to how Sir Syme wrote, an air of authority and expectation that his readers will be able to keep up with him. I managed, especially because there are so many interesting riddles he has to reconstruct from such a variety of sources, but information overload is certain a threat.
This is absolutely a resource for experts, and if I can borrow a gaming term, a wake up boss. Incredibly helpful, as it gives insights into all the ways aristocracy becomes a tangled knot of interconnections. For those who consider themselves above amateur level in Roman history, read it!
August 7, 2022
Definitely a work written for fellow historians, and not one to be read cover to cover, but used to dip into for research.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews