From Republic to Empire: The Roman Civil War 44 B.C. - 27 B.C.

by W.W. Tarn, M.P. Charlesworth

Julius Caesar may have been the noblest Roman of them all, but it was in death, not in life, that he forged a new epoch. The Ides of March marked the end of the Republic; and the civil wars that followed it prepared the way for the Empire of Peace under Octavian (Caesar Augustus). This book is a reprint of the first four chapters of Volume X of the Cambridge Ancient History, published in 1934. It remains one of the most insightful studies of the period of unrest that broke out in Rome after the murder of Caesar and continued until the defeat and death of Antony 14 years later. A true collaboration, the chapters were written jointly by M.P. Charlesworth, who was responsible for the sections on Italy and the West, and Sir William Tarn, who dealt with the East. Filled with vivid portrayals, notably Charlesworth's study of Octavian and Tarn's depiction of Cleopatra, the book explains in a readable narrative style the sequence of events that led up to the formation of the Roman Empire.

Genres: History

167 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

William Woodthorpe Tarn

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, brief overview of the civil wars of the late republic and the Second Triumvirate. Tarn and Charlesworth's prose are found infrequently in much modern scholarly writing about the era. Their attention to ensuring the bias and propaganda against Antony and Cleopatra were carefully observed and negated is commendable, and the main problems with this specific work are its brevity and a perhaps overly active interest in the positioning of the legions (not uncommon in Charlesworth's writing). However, there is plenty of additional reading material to offset the limited scope of this book.

[Susanne Knudsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fint værk, som kort gennemgår begivenhederne. Man får et fint indblik i hvad der sker, men hvis man ønsker flere detaljer, så er dette nok ikke det rette værk. Godt i forhold til hurtigt overblik og de væsentligste begivenheder omkring konflikten mellem Octavian og Antonius og hvordan det hele ender.