Rafael Prestes > Recent Status Updates

End of Chapter 4. The final section of Chapter 4 focuses on the last months and days of Tiberius, who had withdrawn from Rome. He could no longer endure the city’s relentless realpolitik or the constant intrigues of its political life. As he retreated, rumours spread about his conduct and private behaviour. At the same time, he struggled to choose a clear and capable successor. He died alone in Capri.

Page 251 - Germanicus was most likely poisoned, and Piso was the chief suspect, whether acting for Tiberius or to please him. The plan backfired. As outrage spread in Rome, Tiberius distanced himself, leading to formal charges. Ignored by Tiberius in the Senate, Piso went home and cut his own throat. A stark illustration of how power worked in ancient Rome.

End of Chapter 3 - Augustus died and Tiberius assumed the title of "princeps". The author states that the first crime committed by Tiberius was ordering the murder of Augustus’s grandson, which cleared his path to assume the throne. This chapter was complicated, full of unnecessary language that made it difficult to understand the main point.

Página 172 - Convicta de ter pacificado a Germânia, Roma avançou confiante sob o comando de Varo. Guiadas por Armínio, as legiões penetraram em terreno hostil. Traídas, foram emboscadas no Desfiladeiro de Teutoburgo. Três legiões foram aniquiladas, destruindo o projeto romano além do Reno.

Page 163 – Tom explains how Ovid suffered when he was exiled to the Balkans. Tom also explains what drove the Romans to keep expanding their territory. Being in a state of war was in the Roman blood, and expansion went beyond the everyday awareness of the average Roman. It was something premeditated yet taken for granted. This was the natural state of things: endless expansion to achieve “Imperium sine fine”.

151 - Augustus is growing old and is increasingly facing practical problems in the city of Rome. A struggle over the succession is unfolding between the Juliani and the Claudiani. With Augustus’s direct descendants either exiled or dead, he has no choice but to appoint his stepson as heir to the throne of the urbs aeterna. The section ends with Augustus exiling Ovid, a poet known for his pronounced sexual appetite.

Page 133 - Julia’s marriage to Tiberius, imposed by Augustus, did not generate genuine affection. Tiberius, disciplined and rigid, saw his role primarily as an obligation for the sake of political stability and Augustus’s will. Julia, on the other hand, continued to display her independence of spirit and intelligence, challenging conventions and testing the limits that power and tradition sought to impose.

Page 119: After the chaos that led to the fall of the Republic, Rome found itself on a path of “straightening out,” Emperor Augustus as the central figure of this process. He became the beacon and guide for society, imposing strict behavioural laws, especially on the nobility. The Romans needed stability, and, indirectly, the Princeps served this role: leading the people of Rome towards a new standard of conduct.

End of chapter 2 explains how the Romans, shaped by political pressures, crafted a narrative of devotion to Augustus to justify his power and steady a city in chaos. He became the image of a conciliator, backed by the elite, and proved one of history’s most skilled politicians. He secured what he wanted by cultivating a peacemaker’s image and gaining support from many in society, patricians and plebeians.

Page 89 - Tom spends a few pages describing how Augustus behaviour shifted once he had secured everything he wanted. No longer reliant on violent or hostile tactics, he could present himself more calmly in his dealings with senators and those around him. Tom has said in interviews that Augustus had a very raucous sense of humour, which he suggests was also part of his strategy for managing his public conduct. 

Page 82 - After managing to hold power in his hands with several displays of bravado, Emperor Augustus succeeded in making his image become associated with the state itself. The honours, the victories, and the image of the Roman empire were all shaped around the figure of Octavius. A masterstroke!

Page 70 - Octavius had begun to realise that the days of the vicious thug were ending. He would have to embrace a new identity, one that represented the people of Rome as a whole, that is, the Senate and the People of Rome. The image of the tough conquering general had already achieved its purpose. Now he would have to become someone who embodied everyone and would lead Rome: “The mistress of the world”.

Page 60 – After defeating what remained of the Republic’s supporters at Philippi, Octavian attacked Lepidus. Now, his main concern was removing the last obstacle in his path: Mark Antony. His rival had made the mistake of allying himself with Cleopatra and had fallen completely in love with her. In doing so, he lost all sense of judgment. For Roman society, a new leader for their nation had already been chosen.

Page 53 – Tiberius Claudius and Livia Drusilla fled Rome after being conscripted by Antony and Octavian. Livia grew tired of Tiberius, and back in Rome she married Octavian. After Philippi, the new rulers redistributed land to veterans, transforming many Italian cities and erasing their old histories.

Tom begins chapter 2 by discussing the origins of the Claudian family, focusing specifically on Livia Drusilla, whose father was the Roman aristocrat Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus. Livius Drusus gave his daughter’s hand in marriage to Tiberius Nero, and together they had a son, also named Tiberius Nero. Livius Drusus died in battle in what is now known as the civil war that followed Caesar’s assassination.

End of chapter 1 - Tom explores Caesar’s determination to achieve infinite glory through his deeds in Gaul. However, he is opposed by Rome’s elite, who see in Caesar a threat to the freedom of their empire. Caesar uses his position as dictator for life as an excuse but fuels the hatred of the Roman patricians. The result? He is assassinated in the Senate in front of the bust of Pompey, his greatest enemy in life.

Tom begins the book by explaining how the history of Rome began. Two babies were nursed by a she-wolf, then the story moves to the founding of the city, the death of Remus, the rape of Lucretia, the fall of the monarchy, the establishment of the Republic, and how for the Romans nothing was more important than the maintenance of the res publica. No personal glory would be tolerated above public glory and the state.

This chapter was confusing, full of new names and information that I found unnecessary. Basically, Sulla returned from Greece and stepped into southern Italy, where he faced troops raised by the consuls. Sulla had several notable figures like Pompey on his side. His veteran troops confronted the consuls’ forces and won.

Page 216 - Gaius Marius died fourteen days after being elected for his seventh consulship. He’s regarded as the third founder of Rome who had climbed his way up the cursus honorum being a novus homo. His death is regarded by the author as one of the most “anticlimatic” deaths in history.

Page 212 - After marching his troops on Rome, Sulla left Rome and went to Greece. Cinna and Marius formed an alliance and marched on Rome, killing all their political opponents among the Optimates. A bloody massacre, and after five days of widespread killing, many of their political rivals were dead or had fled. Sulla’s family managed to escape to Athens, where they tell him of the events that had unfolded in Rome.

Chapter 10 - Gaius Marius and Sulla were bitter rivals. When Marius’ supporters stripped Sulla of command, he marched on Rome. Fighting broke out, forcing Marius and Sulpicius Rufus to flee. Sulpicius was captured and executed. Marius escaped Italy and reached the ruins of Carthage, a Roman colony. Expelled by the governor, he stood among the remains of Carthage watching the Republic collapse

Page 183 - The Social War is over, but it left Italy in economic devastation. Mike notes that the ancient figures for the dead were likely exaggerated, yet he believes that around 300,000 people perished. With the loss of so many workers, farmers suddenly found themselves short-handed, and famine struck the peninsula. Meanwhile, the government faced a debt crisis, as debtors were unable to repay their creditors.

Page 173 - Deep in the Social War. The Italian allies attacked Latim colonies, then seized control of the roads to cut off Rome’s ability to communicate outside their own sphere in Latium. The author says: ”it was a simple and effective strategy that caught the Romans with their togas down”.