Emperor of Rome

May 1, 2023

Sweeping from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE), celebrated classicist Beard chronicles Rome's emperors not by repeating familiar stories but by asking astute questions. How much power did they really have? Were their reigns as bloody as we imagine? Who were their wives, lovers, servants, and soldiers? And why do we remain so fascinated with them? Prepub Alert.

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August 15, 2023
Bookshelves groan under the weight of accounts of Roman emperors, but when Beard decides to add another, readers should perk up. Ancient history specialist Beard, author of SPQR, Twelve Caesars, and other acclaimed books, ably conveys the difficulty of examining thousands of papyri as well as stone and bronze inscriptions dug out by archaeologists, many still unread. She emphasizes the empire's crippling weakness that was never corrected: succession. Later, European thrones passed to the eldest child, which assured stability if not competence, but this was never the Roman system. Rarely did a son follow his father; more often, an emperor legally adopted a designated successor. When this happened, leadership tended to pass smoothly, but many admired emperors owed their position to assassination, civil war, mass murder, and assorted skullduggery. Beard maintains that this answers an age-old puzzle: why Roman emperors are pronounced either "good" or "bad." In reality, emperors succeeded by their chosen candidate ended up with a broadly favorable reputation; no one dared offend the current ruler. Having covered the big picture in SPQR and not wanting to repeat herself, Beard focuses on the details of how emperors lived, governed, traveled, dined, and amused themselves, and the result is a mixed bag. Chapters on imperial dining rooms and imperial palaces reveal the impressive skill of archaeologists in resurrecting crumbling ruins, but they also contain more architectural minutiae than casual readers will want. An emperor's face appears on thousands of surviving sculptures and millions of coins and bric-a-brac, but few readers will be surprised to learn that none are accurate portraits. Beard is deft in her exploration of imperial bureaucracy, showing how it dealt with an avalanche of paperwork from distant officials, cities, military leaders, and individuals in an era with no postal service. Emperors' deaths, natural or otherwise, led to fascinating consequences. A sometimes-delightful Roman miscellany.

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Starred review from October 2, 2023
Cambridge University classicist Beard (SPQR) provides a captivating examination of the social lives of the Roman emperors, beginning with Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) and ending with Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Covering almost three centuries and close to 30 emperors, Beard explores the day-to-day practicalities and pastimes of imperial rule. She highlights the “fraught relations” between emperors and senators, who did not take well to Rome’s transformation from republic to autocratic empire; takes readers on a tour of the emperors’ public works (including the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum); and recreates their palaces and gardens, “from the service corridors to the ornamental lakes,” explaining how “Roman palaces were built for dining, with multiple entertainment suites.” Beard follows emperors on their travels (Hadrian managed to visit most of the empire), depicts them at chariot races, introduces their spouses and lovers, and describes the massive retinue of slaves, freedmen, soldiers, and secretaries who kept the imperial system going. Noting that the way emperors were remembered depended on the attitude of their successors (they were glorified after a peaceful succession, vilified as tyrants and perverts when violently replaced), Beard acknowledges how uncertain the modern picture of them remains, despite vast archival and archaeological evidence. Still, she manages to paint a nuanced and holistic portrait. This immersive account is a treat for history buffs.

Starred review from September 15, 2023
Following up on her much-lauded SPQR (2015), historian Beard progresses out of Rome's republican period and into the heyday of its emperors, culminating with Alexander Severus in the mid-third century BCE. Beard aims not only to relate the political history of these men but also to offer a portrait of their daily lives and the cultural milieu in which, via communications that could take several months, they administered the far-flung Roman Empire. Unlike rules of primogeniture that characterize modern royal houses, most emperors' succession arose out of a predecessor's assassination, political machinations, or from simply being the last one standing at the end of civil war. To bring some sense to the harrowingly complex interrelationships of the line of emperors, family trees graphically portray marriages, offspring, and adoptions. Since there are so many legends and exaggerations about the sumptuous banquets emperors held, Beard analyzes both textual and archaeological evidence to describe what actually took place at the table on the Palatine Hill or at one of the villas outside Rome itself. 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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