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Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World
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About This Book
A sweeping account of the social and political world of the Roman emperors by "the world's most famous classicist" ( Guardian ). In her international bestseller SPQR , Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, such as the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained? She tracks down the emperor at home, at the races, on his travels, even on his way to heaven. She introduces his wives and lovers, rivals and slaves, court jesters and soldiers―and the ordinary people who pressed begging letters into his hands. Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before. 160 images; 16-page color insert
Reviews
"...an extraordinary investigation into the gulf between the experience and the narrative of Roman autocracy."
"But we are much closer to understanding what he was for."
"Bookshelves groan under the weight of accounts of Roman emperors, but when Beard decides to add another, readers should perk up ..."
"As is her wont, Beard reads the ancient sources ever so slightly against the grain and gets them to answer questions they were only obliquely addressing ..."
"An erudite and entertaining new book by the redoubtable classics scholar and feminist Mary Beard ..."
"It looks at the rulers of Rome through the prism of 10 separate themes, from "power dining" to imperial travel, as Ms."
"Beard knows how to introduce the lives and work of unfamiliar characters in a fashion that concisely provides both general historical background and intricate detail about their actions ..."
"She is an engaging writer and a valuable enthusiast for the classics."
"Beard treads this ground carefully, drawing on a rich plethora of literary and material evidence from both the center and the edges of the Roman world ..."
"For readers who want to see for themselves where these emperors held sway, Beard offers an itinerary of locations to visit as well as a comprehensive list of additional readings."
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