Rafael Prestes’s Reviews > Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar > Status Update

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 The final section of Chapter 4 focuses on the last months and days of Tiberius, who had withdrawn from Rome.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.