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The Complete Roman Emperor: Imperial Life at Court and on Campaign
The most comprehensive and detailed book ever published on the Roman emperor and his world. The eighty-five emperors who ruled Rome for five centuries are among the most famous and notorious leaders in history. But what do we really know about how they ran the empire and their behind-the-scenes machinations? How did they manage relations with their wives, courtiers, and officials? How indeed did they rise to the purple in the first place?
Organized thematically, this intriguing and enlightening book covers everything from the establishment of the role of emperor by Augustus to imperial building projects in Rome and Constantinople and the emperors on campaign. A day in the life of an emperor reveals that Vespasian started work before dawn, while Constantine read the Bible. Morning audiences hearing petitioners’ pleas and lawsuits were followed perhaps by a modest lunch of bread, fish, cheese, and figs (Augustus), an afternoon spent on correspondence or with concubines (Vespasian), or a lavish evening dinner (Nero showered his guests with flowers and perfume).
Hardy emperors such as Trajan, who imagined himself as a new Alexander, or Septimius Severus, who marched huge distances on foot with the legions, are contrasted with dissolute rulers such as Nero, who was said never to travel without a retinue of one hundred coaches. Above all, the book charts the immense changes over time, from the original “emperor as first among equals” to the soldier emperors of the third century, the aloof superhuman figures of Constantine’s era, and the weak, passive rulers of Rome’s decline and fall.
SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE • Information boxes on subjects ranging from the Roman Triumph to the empress Julia Domna • An extensive reference section including biographies of all the emperors • 150 color and 50 black-and-white illustrations
Organized thematically, this intriguing and enlightening book covers everything from the establishment of the role of emperor by Augustus to imperial building projects in Rome and Constantinople and the emperors on campaign. A day in the life of an emperor reveals that Vespasian started work before dawn, while Constantine read the Bible. Morning audiences hearing petitioners’ pleas and lawsuits were followed perhaps by a modest lunch of bread, fish, cheese, and figs (Augustus), an afternoon spent on correspondence or with concubines (Vespasian), or a lavish evening dinner (Nero showered his guests with flowers and perfume).
Hardy emperors such as Trajan, who imagined himself as a new Alexander, or Septimius Severus, who marched huge distances on foot with the legions, are contrasted with dissolute rulers such as Nero, who was said never to travel without a retinue of one hundred coaches. Above all, the book charts the immense changes over time, from the original “emperor as first among equals” to the soldier emperors of the third century, the aloof superhuman figures of Constantine’s era, and the weak, passive rulers of Rome’s decline and fall.
SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE • Information boxes on subjects ranging from the Roman Triumph to the empress Julia Domna • An extensive reference section including biographies of all the emperors • 150 color and 50 black-and-white illustrations
- GenresNonfictionHistory
208 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 13, 2021
I agree with the following points made by Birgitta Hoffmann: “A book that is called "The Complete Roman Emperor. Imperial Life at Court and on Campaign" can be expected to deal with the topic. I expected to read a book on how the Roman Imperial court functioned and how the emperor dealt with his mailbag and with crisis.” https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
However, there are some helpful aspects that cause me to rate the book more generously. For example a lovely section on “free time”: “If the emperor was lucky, he had a few spare moments in the afternoon. Augustus used to have a siesta, but only briefly, fully dressed and in sandals. So did Claudius, Domitian, Trajan and Severus Alexander. Others preferred some athletic activity. According to Suetonius, Vespasian took time for:
‘A nap, lying with one of his concubines, of whom he had taken several after the death of Caenis. After his siesta he went to the bath and the dining room; and it is said that at not time was he more good-natured or indulgent, so that the members of his household eagerly watched for these opportunities of making requests.’
“Some emperors looked after state affairs in the afternoon, received their counsellors, attended to their correspondence or went for a walk having conversations with their friends or staff. The later afternoon was then usually reserved for a second bath.
“Then, before sunset, it was time for dinner (cena). This was normally a formal occasion. To host a dinner party (convivium) gave a wealthy man the opportunity to see his friends, to confirm social ties and to reciprocate favours (beneficia). In Roman high society, relations were extremely formalized. ‘Friendship’ (amicitia) was a bond of mutual solidarity that was regularly underpinned by the exchange of material or symbolic beneficia. An invitation to a dinner party could repay a beneficium or anticipate a future one. On the other hand, failure to invite a friend could cause serious offence."
Helpful and well stated, this is, at its best, what Sommer can offer.
However, there are some helpful aspects that cause me to rate the book more generously. For example a lovely section on “free time”: “If the emperor was lucky, he had a few spare moments in the afternoon. Augustus used to have a siesta, but only briefly, fully dressed and in sandals. So did Claudius, Domitian, Trajan and Severus Alexander. Others preferred some athletic activity. According to Suetonius, Vespasian took time for:
‘A nap, lying with one of his concubines, of whom he had taken several after the death of Caenis. After his siesta he went to the bath and the dining room; and it is said that at not time was he more good-natured or indulgent, so that the members of his household eagerly watched for these opportunities of making requests.’
“Some emperors looked after state affairs in the afternoon, received their counsellors, attended to their correspondence or went for a walk having conversations with their friends or staff. The later afternoon was then usually reserved for a second bath.
“Then, before sunset, it was time for dinner (cena). This was normally a formal occasion. To host a dinner party (convivium) gave a wealthy man the opportunity to see his friends, to confirm social ties and to reciprocate favours (beneficia). In Roman high society, relations were extremely formalized. ‘Friendship’ (amicitia) was a bond of mutual solidarity that was regularly underpinned by the exchange of material or symbolic beneficia. An invitation to a dinner party could repay a beneficium or anticipate a future one. On the other hand, failure to invite a friend could cause serious offence."
Helpful and well stated, this is, at its best, what Sommer can offer.
April 10, 2017
A book that is called "The Complete Roman Emperor. Imperial Life at Court and on Campaign" can be expected to deal with the topic. I expected to read a book on how the Roman Imperial court functioned and how the emperor dealt with his mailbag and with crisis.
What I found was a beginners book for the Roman emperor. The level was pitched at the person, who had just watched a programme on Nero on the Discovery channel....or perhaps more accurately at the person who missed that programme and wanted to catch up.
Yes, it is a beautifully illustrated volume and if you have a 10-year old that has just declared his or her undying love for the Roman empire, this is a great read for them. But don't expect anything more critical than this - and don't get it for somebody who is seriously intending to study the Ancient World
What I found was a beginners book for the Roman emperor. The level was pitched at the person, who had just watched a programme on Nero on the Discovery channel....or perhaps more accurately at the person who missed that programme and wanted to catch up.
Yes, it is a beautifully illustrated volume and if you have a 10-year old that has just declared his or her undying love for the Roman empire, this is a great read for them. But don't expect anything more critical than this - and don't get it for somebody who is seriously intending to study the Ancient World
March 3, 2019
3 1/2 stars.
A handy book to read immediately after, or together with (if you're into literary polygamy) Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Imagine Gibbon's masterpiece with bullet points, but without the former's beautiful prose and musings, and you get this. And I mean that as a compliment.
Michael Sommer did a great job gathering all this information and presenting these randomly, yet cohesively, such as lists of the emperors' architectural accomplishments, pictures of imperial Rome's landscape, excavated ruins and artwork, and busts and statues of the emperors. I especially like how he supplies the reader with trivia this reader may have missed in spite of already having read quite a number of books on the subject. Such as:
- Rome had 85 emperors. The last one ironically named after Rome's founding fathers: Romulus Augustus. Deposed August 31, 476 (which the author claims officially caps the end of the Roman empire.
- In its 500-year history, Roman expansionism was at its height under the rule of Trajan.
- Trajan's successor Hadrian was for containment. He was the most widely-traveled emperor.
- Marcus Aurelius is widely considered the epitome of the ideal emperor, and was the last of the 5 Good Emperors, the Antonines (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius), who ruled over a generally peaceful Rome for almost a century, starting from the late 2nd to the late 3rd century. (If I were a Roman of imperial Rome, and given the chance to choose the era I'd like to live in, I would choose the peaceful, productive years when Rome was ruled by Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius.)
- Marcus Aurelius's son Commodus was the first emperor to be born into the purple. And look how he turned out--insisted on being a gladiator.
- Diocletian, who pioneered the initially successful tetrarchy (power sharing among 4 individuals), is the only emperor to have voluntarily retired from the purple!
The last part of the book lists down the names and short biographies of all the Roman emperors. I'd say 90% of them were murdered, usually by their own praetorian guards, or the military. The consistency is indisputable, so what propelled these men to still want to be emperor?
A handy book to read immediately after, or together with (if you're into literary polygamy) Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Imagine Gibbon's masterpiece with bullet points, but without the former's beautiful prose and musings, and you get this. And I mean that as a compliment.
Michael Sommer did a great job gathering all this information and presenting these randomly, yet cohesively, such as lists of the emperors' architectural accomplishments, pictures of imperial Rome's landscape, excavated ruins and artwork, and busts and statues of the emperors. I especially like how he supplies the reader with trivia this reader may have missed in spite of already having read quite a number of books on the subject. Such as:
- Rome had 85 emperors. The last one ironically named after Rome's founding fathers: Romulus Augustus. Deposed August 31, 476 (which the author claims officially caps the end of the Roman empire.
- In its 500-year history, Roman expansionism was at its height under the rule of Trajan.
- Trajan's successor Hadrian was for containment. He was the most widely-traveled emperor.
- Marcus Aurelius is widely considered the epitome of the ideal emperor, and was the last of the 5 Good Emperors, the Antonines (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius), who ruled over a generally peaceful Rome for almost a century, starting from the late 2nd to the late 3rd century. (If I were a Roman of imperial Rome, and given the chance to choose the era I'd like to live in, I would choose the peaceful, productive years when Rome was ruled by Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius.)
- Marcus Aurelius's son Commodus was the first emperor to be born into the purple. And look how he turned out--insisted on being a gladiator.
- Diocletian, who pioneered the initially successful tetrarchy (power sharing among 4 individuals), is the only emperor to have voluntarily retired from the purple!
The last part of the book lists down the names and short biographies of all the Roman emperors. I'd say 90% of them were murdered, usually by their own praetorian guards, or the military. The consistency is indisputable, so what propelled these men to still want to be emperor?
August 28, 2024
A really good reference book that can serve well along side other books on the Roman Empire.
May 10, 2020
Mere forvirrende end hjælpsom, desværre, - der skulle bladres frem og tilbage ad flere omgange for at finde hoved og hale i systemet. Informativ nok, hvis man kan finde ud af, hvad der hører til hvad, men den røde tråd mangler, og er man ikke på forhånd relativt godt med i forhold til Romerrigets historie, er det meget uoverskueligt at gå i gang med denne her..
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews