The Annals of Imperial Rome (Classics)

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As tyrants, both are equally dangerous to the state. It is unfortunate that not all of the Annals have survived, though large parts are intact. For those interested, it might be noted that Robert Graves' two novels, 'I, Claudius' and 'Claudius the God' were written to precisely cover the break in the Annals from Caligula to Claudius, ending where Tacitus picks up, again. As Tacitus himself laments, this period is not the most exciting from the point of view of the historian.

There are few great battles or civil wars, few admirable characters, and many vicissitudes, atrocities, tragedies, adulteries, murders, suicides, conspiracies, assassinations, and other mockeries of Rome's former nobility. Then again, some people might find that kind of thing intriguing. The work is certainly full of unusual stories of a type which are less commonly encountered than the heroism of battle or the benevolence of a good ruler. To anyone looking toward the bredth and scope of roman history, not merely its glories, the Annals are uncommon, if not unique.

The Annals of Imperial Rome

View all 13 comments. Nov 24, Lisa Harmonybites rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Recommended to Lisa Harmonybites by: A friend of mine who teaches Latin for a living says it was this book and Suetonius' The Twelves Caesars that led to her fascination with things Roman and a change in her concentration. I wasn't hugely enamored at first. As our initial conversation went: Well, so far this isn't five star love it, but not first star hate. It's good for you. Well, in the end it was more like a feast. This does have its dry patches--I considered dropping it a star because of th A friend of mine who teaches Latin for a living says it was this book and Suetonius' The Twelves Caesars that led to her fascination with things Roman and a change in her concentration.

This does have its dry patches--I considered dropping it a star because of that but decided it just had too much that was awesome. This is a year by year narrative of Imperial Roman history from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, from 14 to 66 AD. Tacitus at times gives accounts of trials of people who aren't exactly famous. It's as if 2, years later one is reading bulletins of trials of John Edwards and Rod Blagojevich. Military battles and mutinies are related in sometimes for me eye-glazing detail. But though the events described here happened largely before Tacitus was born, being high up in the state himself, he had access to first hand Senate records--and of course he must have known people who could give him first hand accounts.

Ancient Rome came vividly to life here. Reading, for instance, of all the suicides committed to anticipate arrest and execution or the real life instance of the origin of the word "decimate. But the narrative really came alive when it dealt with the doings of the emperors, their entourage and family: The doings of the emperors seemed an illustration of Acton's aphorism that "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I read--and did love--Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War , which has good claim to be the first real history--dealing with forces and people without attributing it to Gods. At first I thought Tacitus didn't compare well. But my goodness, I don't remember the Greeks being this colorful or Thucydides this gossipy. Note this passage about the Empress Messalina, Claudius' wife: Messalina meanwhile, more wildly profligate than ever, was celebrating in mid-autumn a representation of the vintage in her new home.

The presses were being trodden; the vats were overflowing; women girt with skins were dancing, as Bacchanals dance in their worship or their frenzy. Messalina with flowing hair shook the thyrsus, and Silius at her side, crowned with ivy and wearing the buskin, moved his head to some lascivious chorus. Something else was markably absent from Thucydides by the way very present in that quote--women.

I can't recall and from googling online can't find that Thucydides so much as mentions an individual woman in his acount of the Peloponnesian War. About the most famous passage even regarding women in Thucydides' history is in Pericles' Funeral Oration where he purportedly said the best women pass anonymously through history. Women on the other hand, are very present in the Annals.

I'm not saying Tacitus was some proto-feminist. There are plenty of misogynist remarks--but women are a vital part of this history: Livia, Agrippina, Messalina, Pompeia--and not just those married to or the mother of Emperors--but figures such as Boudicca, the Warrior Queen of Britain, make quite the impression. I felt reading this one could write many a novel just based on single paragraphs in the history. None really substitute for sustained reading of the real thing--from inside the head of a real Roman. So yes, whatever its faults, this was amazing. View all 18 comments.

Before there was George R. Martin, there was Tacitus. Though fragmentary and incomplete, the Annals have definitively captured the public imagination regarding the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roman Principate -- their sensationalist qualities and questionable historical accuracy notwithstanding. The surviving material covers the reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero.

The absence of Caligula, perhaps the most notorious of all Roman emperors, is a notable disappointment; Before there was George R. The absence of Caligula, perhaps the most notorious of all Roman emperors, is a notable disappointment; but even in the surviving books, there is no shortage of drama. When reading the Annals , one stylistic trait of Tacitus's writing presents itself immediately, and this is his heavy usage of indirect quotations, wherein he sort of channels the thoughts of the characters he portrays without quoting them directly. He is certainly not as dry as Livy; he has a real flair for the dramatic and does not shy away from interjecting with some of his own thoughts.

The Annals of Imperial Rome (Penguin Classics)

He presents his history as an unfolding moral drama, with wars abroad, intrigue at home, and traditional Roman values being everywhere discarded. Tacitus is often painted as a cynic in the present-day sense of the word, not in reference to the philosophical school. If he is, then he also lives up to the old adage about cynics: In Book 3, he gives us a surprisingly Rousseauian account of human nature and the origins of law and government: Nor were rewards necessary, since the honourable was pursued because honourable.

Where no desires surpassed the norm, fear produced no prohibitions. But after equality was shed, and in place of restraint and shame ambition and violence arrived, out sprang despotisms. In many nations these were a permanent fixture. But some nations immediately, others, after kings proved irksome, preferred laws. At first, given the primitive state of humankind, these were simple Romulus' government was arbitrary, then Numa used religion's obligations and divine law as the people's shackles So when he details the scandals that rocked first-century Rome, he is not necessarily driven by hard-headed realism, but rather by an underlying conviction that the human race does not need to be the way it is.

If man was by nature a creature of corruption and power seeking, Tacitus may not have seen a need to chronicle the display of these traits in his own society. But the Annals are not merely a historical or political work. They are also a work of literature and high drama. He paints vivid portraits of moments and characters: View all 3 comments.

There is a section from The Rite of Spring befitting each of the emperor's reigns here, and the first one, to my mind, is Tiberius with "Spring Rounds". Unfortunately, the section on Caligula is missing, and then we have Claudius with "Ritual of Abduction"! We end with Nero and the terrifying "Ritual of the Rival Tribes"!

Tacitus is keenly aware, while documenting these reigns, of the influence of institutions on human behavior, and his assessment of everyone in the institutions of Rome is conse There is a section from The Rite of Spring befitting each of the emperor's reigns here, and the first one, to my mind, is Tiberius with "Spring Rounds". Tacitus is keenly aware, while documenting these reigns, of the influence of institutions on human behavior, and his assessment of everyone in the institutions of Rome is consequently realistic and cynical some would say dark and menacing, but I think this confuses the style for the subject.

This history is such an endless reel of horrors that Tacitus actually feels obligated to apologize to the reader about the repetitiveness of the evils recorded repetition and boredom are the parents of violence, coincidentally. Nowhere in ancient history is the banality of power so transparent as here; Tacitus does not romantically equivocate upon the relative necessity of state violence like Livy - it is forthrightly condemned, but it is a hopeless sounding condemnation as there was no retreat for realistic humanists like Tacitus.

The world around him collapsed into mysticism, but for moderns who wish to stay awake, Tacitus makes for exciting, relevant and insightful reading.

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Oct 06, Jeremy added it Shelves: It's pretty accessible for the same reasons that Livy is, a tight focus, with events juxtaposed so that they often seem to move organically into each other. I guess I never realized how Rome was so defined by the actions of just two or three extended families over the course of its early imperial history. At times it's kind of like an episode of 'days of our lives', but with orgies, and treason accusations, and suicide. Tacitus can be a surprisingly funny guy, and the humor actually translates r It's pretty accessible for the same reasons that Livy is, a tight focus, with events juxtaposed so that they often seem to move organically into each other.

Tacitus can be a surprisingly funny guy, and the humor actually translates really well. Which is good, because frankly, its bleak as hell, and it leaves you with no doubt in your mind whatsoever that this is a society that is essentially cannibalizing itself. Just make sure you keep a family tree next to you at all times when your reading it, the familial ties can be pretty damn byzantine. Jun 10, Hadrian rated it really liked it Shelves: Roman history, straight from the horse's mouth.

An account which is missing large gaps, but still portrays the Empire through some of its most tumultuous times. A state which tears itself apart. One of the best accounts of that era that we have - but it is still to be analyzed and read carefully, with an eye for bias, as with any history. It's like a soap opera but with swords. Aside from that it's good reading, just don't take everything Tacitus says to be true. In the year of the consulship of x and y, military events occurred, as did these notable moments of jurisprudence.

There was the following scandal. Tacitus himself apologizes for the monotony of some of the stories in He's great at telling small scale tale In the year of the consulship of x and y, military events occurred, as did these notable moments of jurisprudence. He's great at telling small scale tales, particularly of Nero his discussion of Tiberius is a little dull, unfortunately. But it's hard to see the overall arc here. That might be because I didn't read it in Latin and give it my undivided attention, it might be because we're missing big chunks of the text, it might be because the annalistic organization doesn't really allow for overarching arc.

Or might be because there is no arc: Otherwise, I had to skim hefty portions of the text because I couldn't really be bothered to look up notes on every 'barbarian' tribesman, or every obscure Roman advocate.


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And I imagine that will go for anyone who's reading this but isn't a classics student or professor or obsessive. But the high i. The last great historian of Rome, Ammianus Marcellinus c. Here is the little we know about Cornelius Tacitus. He was a member of the Roman Senate and held various political offices, in the 80s and 90s CE, mainly under Domitian, an unstable emperor. He was considered a fine orator, and one of his surviving works is a discussion of the state of Latin oratory in the 1st c.

In addition to that work, he also composed two historical monographs, one a eulogy of his father-in-law, Agricola, and the other an ethnographic study of the German tribes, the Germania. He composed two major historical works. Both of his major works survive in only a few manuscripts and in fragmentary condition. This is his claim, but it is inaccurate. Livy admits that he has no guarantee that events happened as presented, but adds that Roman glory demands a glorious beginning.

For Tacitus, the emperors who followed Augustus were very much of a letdown. His tale is one of decline. Roman history relied a lot on hearsay. There were some histories and documentation Roman historians could consult, but they did not have anything approaching the documentation available now. It is believed that Tacitus, as a Roman senator, and one in the good graces of the Emperor Trajan emperor from CE , had access to senate and imperial records.

Besides, given the unsavory actions and plots of the Julio-Claudian emperors, one might wonder how much of their work was done in secret, with no record kept. In his Histories, Tacitus was largely recounting events through which he lived, and in which he participated as a senator and government official. The same cannot be said for the Annals.


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Why read the Annals? What those books lack, though, is the sense of drama that Tacitus provides. One word about translations of Tacitus. The translations currently available in the Kansas City Public Library, those of Church and Broadribb, and of Moore and Jackson, are good translations. They present Tacitus in a readable English style. Latin is given to brevity, and Tacitus takes that brevity even further.

Reading Tacitus in Latin is very difficult, but his brevity packs a lot into a little. Unfortunately, no English translation captures that hard-hitting brevity. The closest would be the recent translation by Cynthia Damon, who tries to capture that element, but who often admits failure. Covering the better part of the Julio-Claudian dynasty this starts off as a very interesting history but devolves into a catalog of executions and suicides and sexual improprieties and somehow makes them very boring. Still worth the price of admission but I wasn't sorry to be finished. View all 10 comments.

A very thorough and detailed account of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero. Meticulously researched and drawing on information from the imperial archives, Tacitus creates and vivid and rich narrative of the period. That being said, I would not recommend for those who don't already have a relatively firm footing in the subject already, as I can see the density of the work making it difficult for beginners to grasp fully. His writing is crisp and his narration rarely gets sidetracked away from the chronological recording.

The drama of the time was not so much in military conquests, but the political maneuverings of the Imperial court. Tacitus seems self-consciously aware of the mundane nature of his time. Much what I have related and shall have to relate, may perhaps, I am aware, seem petty trifles to record.

But no one must compare my annals with the writings of those who have described Rome in old days. They told of great wars, of the storming of cities, of the defeat and capture of kings, or whenever they turned by preference to home affairs, they related, with a free scope for digression, the strifes of consuls with tribunes, land and corn-laws, and the struggles between the commons and the aristocracy. My labours are circumscribed and inglorious; peace wholly unbroken or but slightly disturbed, dismal misery in the capital, an emperor careless about the enlargement of the empire, such is my theme.

Still it will not be useless to study those at first sight trifling events out of which the movements of vast changes often take their rise. Seemingly without exaggeration nor bolstering, he records. My biggest complaint rests with this particular edition rather than Tacitus. The Digireads edition uses the Church and Brodribb translation, but the lack of accompanying footnotes made for a summary reading. Many of the players in Rome come and go in a whirlwind of intrigue. Unless you have a thorough background in ancient Roman politics, finding an edition with supplementary references will probably make for a much more enjoyable, and informative, experience.

Dec 12, Tess rated it really liked it Shelves: There are so many things to say about dear Tacitus, but I'll be brief. That's why they call him "Tacitus," see. He's tacit in his telling of these epic stories. It is truly chilling to learn about the years leading up to the fall of Rome because it slowly starts to dawn on you that th There are so many things to say about dear Tacitus, but I'll be brief. These annals are like an episode of Jerry Springer, but with aristocrats instead of rednecks. Okay, so maybe more like TMZ. Corruption, backstabbing, depraved acts that defy the human imagination And a few noble acts that make the story even more painful to comprehend because of the potential that Rome had.

Something that I thought was really interesting was that back in those days, it was actually a worse punishment to be banished than killed, because Rome was just THAT important. To Romans, their city was just THE hub of life, and they would rather die than be banished. I'm all "Aw, banished to a beautiful island for the rest of my life?

Mar 13, Issabella rated it it was ok. Not the best historical writing, nor is it the most interesting. If you are looking for the basics of what happened and not entirely all of them or you have to read it for school it's definitely tolerable. However, I would recommend spending lots of time in it instead of having to breeze through, so if you are busy I wouldn't pick it up. Aug 13, Jeff Mcneill rated it it was amazing. Grand politics has not changed since Rome.

Read this and then we can talk Trying to construct the history of Imperial Rome from Tacitus is like trying to construct today's history using a few sparsely and randomly preserved copies of The Daily Mail. It almost defies belief that people do take him so seriously. He blatantly makes things up, he disclaims any interest in taking sides while transparently doing so, and he holds his nose over the misbehaviour of the emperors, condemning it while describing it in salacious and sensational detail.

Moreover, the Annals only su Trying to construct the history of Imperial Rome from Tacitus is like trying to construct today's history using a few sparsely and randomly preserved copies of The Daily Mail. Moreover, the Annals only survive through two incomplete and disjoint manuscripts dating from well over a millennium after they were actually written. Who knows how much they may have been corrupted in between. Since most people do think of Tacitus as a historian, I feel obliged to give him a low rating, because read as history, that is how much he is worth: And yet, what is it that makes him so compelling?

I will start with his Latin.

The Annals of Imperial Rome Penguin Classics

His style is daunting to newcomers, and quite untranslatably brilliant. Here is a taster: If you're not keeping up with the technical terms, here is an explanation: He said, 'I am studying Latin. He said that he was studying Latin. Subordinate clause within direct speech: He said, 'I am studying Latin, which will enable me to show off on the internet.

He said that he was studying Latin, which would enable him to show off on the internet. Besides, he [Nero] loved Poppaea more every day. While Agrippina lived, Poppaea saw no hope of his divorcing Octavia and marrying her. So she nagged and mocked him constantly.

He was under his guardian's thumb, she said - master neither of the empire nor of himself. I suppose my looks and victorious ancestors are not good enough. Or do you distrust my capacity to bear children? Or the sincerity of my love? I think you are afraid that, if we were married, I might tell you frankly how the senate is downtrodden and the public enraged by your mother's arrogance and greed.

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If Agrippina can only tolerate daughters-in-law who hate her son, let me be Otho's wife again! I will go anywhere in the world where I need only hear of the emperor's humiliations rather than see them - and see you in danger, like myself! Besides, he loved Poppaea more very day, who, seeing no hope, while Agrippina lived, of his divorcing Octavia and marrying her, nagged and mocked him constantly that he was under his guardian's thumb, saying he was master neither of the empire nor of himself, otherwise why these postponements of their marriage, or were her looks and victorious ancestors not good enough, or did he distrust her capacity to bear children, or the sincerity of her love, that, no, she thought he was afraid that, if they were married, she might tell him frankly how the senate was downtrodden and the public enraged by his mother's arrogance and greed, that if Agrippina could only tolerate daughters-in-law who hated her son, let her be Otho's wife again, and she would go anywhere in the world where she need only hear of the emperor's humiliations rather than see them - and him in danger like herself.

Yes, that is all one sentence. Even editions of the Latin break it up with judicious punctuation marks - but punctuation marks had not been invented in Tacitus' day, or even spaces between words, so they miss the immediacy and winding, rolling flow of Tacitus' prose. What is the point of all this? Only that the reason we read Tacitus is that he is a brilliant writer.

After all, when you think of Tiberius, do you think of the practical and competent, if surly, monarch of history, or the depraved dictator of the Annals? Tacitus has stolen the real man from the pages and made him his own living and breathing character, just as, one day, Shakespeare would do with Henry V. Moreover his wit is palpable, and his sarcasm is delicious. His finest moment - the murder of Agrippina - is literary genius, tension gently stoked and relieved, careful irony and rhetorical flair.

As a writer of historical fiction, he is a master of his genre. Sep 07, Erik Graff rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Never being able to intentionally memorize much of anything, my exposures to German, Spanish and French at elementary schools were increasingly unnerving. They started us in second grade with German. When the German teacher left to marry, it being a small, rural school, we switched to Spanish. Those weren't so bad as the teaching was directed towards conversationaly facility.

Unfortunately, however, the family moved while I had just started fifth grade, taking me from the Spanish- to a French-or Never being able to intentionally memorize much of anything, my exposures to German, Spanish and French at elementary schools were increasingly unnerving. Unfortunately, however, the family moved while I had just started fifth grade, taking me from the Spanish- to a French-oriented system in medias res.

To make matters worse, the instruction in the new district was oriented towards reading. This meant having to remember not only vocabulary, but also grammatical rules. When given a chance to pick a language in high school I switched to Latin, thinking that at least I'd learn the Latinate roots of the little Spanish and French vocabulary I'd retained. That was in fact the case. As ever, my ability to remember cases, conjunctions and declensions was insufficient to see me through more than a couple of hours: I'd cram for a quiz, manage pass it, then rapidly forget what had been so briefly retained.

Only my "derivative notebooks" a generally successful exercise in getting us to note and remember roots and my interest in and growing knowledge of ancient history saw me through the years of Latin with charitably passing grades. Other than learning Latin roots, the years of study had introduced me to some Roman authors, at least by references and extracts from their works.


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    4. One of them was Tacitus. Upon graduation, with a summer before college, I had the time to read some of them, Tacitus included. After all these years I get Tacitus and Suetonius confused, having read one after the other, but do recall that the former was a bit more balanced than the latter, his histories being more "historical" in the modern sense and less given to portents, omens and other apparent nonsense.

    Consequently, in later years, while getting into the history of Britannia, I went on to read his Agricola as well. Dec 08, Alcyone rated it really liked it Shelves: It is ironic that Tacitus means "silent" because this book is the loud voice of soap opera society of early Rome. Tacitus is a difficult read, but this book is chock-a-block with interesting facts and insights. Suetonius The Twelve Caesars is an easier read, but more sensational and less detailed.

    Tacitus includes a lot of information on the "barbarian" tribes and the Parthians--which at times I found hard to follow but is a valuable resource. The translation by Prof. She is honest an Tacitus is a difficult read, but this book is chock-a-block with interesting facts and insights. She is honest and scrupulous over textual emendations there was only one manuscript. The notes are very detailed and would help in a deep study of the persons mentioned.

    One tiny quibble; some notes on the first mention of a person often reveals that person's untimely end spoiler alert! The biggest disappointment is that the work as it was passed down to us is not complete--the downfall of Sejanus, the reign of Caligula, and the end of Nero are missing. Aug 04, Garrett Shelburne rated it liked it. Indisputably of immense historic and literary value. But is it fun to read? A good portion of it fascinating and even suspenseful--especially those parts involving the imperial families directly. Other sections frontier skirmishes, fates of minor politicians, etc.

    If you can deal with constant vacillation between fun and tedious, then definitely give it a shot. Sep 29, Stuart Aken rated it really liked it. There have been many translations of this classic; the one I read was the Penguin Classics edition, translated by Michael Grant.

    Hardly typical holiday reading, I nevertheless read most of the book whilst lounging beside the pool on a comfortable sunbed under a hot sun. I can see why they hold the odd views they often do, if Tacitus is any guide to the content of their learning. The book concentrates on certain aspects of Roman life that other historians have largely neglected, it seems.

    He is obsessed with legal cases, court actions and some fairly minor infringements of Roman law. Of course, there are accounts of battles, opinions on the various Emperors and tyrants usually synonymous who ruled the empire during the time he chronicles.

    Read reviews that mention michael grant roman history tiberius claudius imperial rome roman empire claudius and nero company commander times better ancient rome tacitus annals enjoyable to read book painful translation say reign of nero grant gives a scholarly translation style of tacitus book by tacitus emperors historian latin. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. What is there to say that hasnt been said for the last couple millennia Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

    This book is a masterpiece. It begins with a battle in what is now Germany. The description of the rugged Roman Legions is shocking and informative. There were often insurrections for more pay. These were usually put down harshly, a method Tacitus agrees will help keep order. In describing the city of Rome and its upper class citizens, I was amazed at the backbiting, lies, executions, and barbarous behavior shown by almost everyone.

    It is a bitter book and shows how power corrupts absolutely. I admit to having to read it in small doses for the terrain covered is very bleak. Great translation by Michael Grant. Superior to other translations out there, in my opinion. The Penguin Classics could do their readers a favor, however, and publish their books in a bit larger font. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful.

    Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. He tells the story well. One person found this helpful.

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    Tacitus, the Annals, are first rate. If you love ancient Roman history, this is the book for you. It is interesting till the translator tries to update the organization of the Roman army. It is distracting in that that organization was different from current armies and should be treated as such.

    The job of translators is to render the subject as it was written and not to change it as the see fit. The book begins with the last year of Augustus and the assumption of power by the new emperor Tiberius and concludes with the final years of Nero. While certainly not the fault of either Tacitus or the contemporary editor, it is unfortunate that the book is missing vital chapters that have been lost over the centuries. This is particularly galling because the gaps come in vital transitional years. Thus, the loss of the chapters covering 30 and 31 AD leaves us without a description of the fall of Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guard under Tiberius.

    It gets worse, with the nine years of AD also missing. This excludes the entire reign of Caligula and the first six years of Claudius' reign. Finally, the last chapter is missing the years AD which cover the fall of Nero and the beginning of civil war. These missing years make the book painful to read because just as a particular section is reaching a climax, the main even is deleted.

    Thus what remains of the history is mostly the middle years of Tiberius, Claudius and Nero. There is no doubt that Tacitus is a biased historian, despite his claims to impartiality. According to him, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero were all pretty poor emperors, marred by gross personal and moral flaws. This is far too simplistic, particularly given that nowhere does Tacitus espouse pro-Republican or anti-oligarchical opinions.

    Claudius in particular comes off worse than most readers would expect, after a generally favorable modern image due to Robert Graves' I Claudius. Tiberius is a highly controversial figure due to his aloof personality, but the portrait of him as a paranoid sex-obsessed maniac is more hostile than objective.

    Tacitus fails to mention that the last century of the Roman Republic was marred by violence that affected most if not all of Roman society. One man rule had given rulers the ability to eliminate most opposition but it had also centralized violence. The beginning of the Pax Romana - the greatest gift of the principate to World history - is not apparent to Tacitus.

    The book does have interesting chapters on Germanicus' retribution campaign in Germany, a cohort that is decimated for cowardice in Africa and the revolt of Queen Boudicca in Britain. When the British are defeated in 60 AD and 80, are slaughtered, Tacitus proudly notes that, "the Romans did not spare even the women. Baggage animals too, transfixed with weapons, added to the heaps of dead.

    It was a glorious victory Nero liked to disguise himself and go out with a gang of thugs into the city of Rome at night and harass or assault people at random. After several incidents where he himself was roughed up by his intended victims, Nero began taking gladiators along as bodyguards. There is also a brief mention of Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate, the only Roman mention of this trial. However the book tends to drag down in places, like the treason trials of Tiberius and the purges of Nero. As far as this translation by Michael Grant, the translator has taken far too many liberties.

    Readers familiar with the Roman Empire will be annoyed by Grant's clumsy use of "brigade" instead of "legion", "battalion" instead of "cohort" and "company commander" instead of "centurion". Grant drifts further from the true meaning by referring to a legion plus its auxiliaries as a "division" and there are a number of other substitute terms.

    These substitutions add nothing to reading clarity and it gets confusing when he refers to brigades and divisions simultaneously. On the plus side, the maps at the end of the book and the appendices were quite useful. See all 58 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published 6 days ago. Published 1 month ago. Published 2 months ago. Published 9 months ago. Published 1 year ago. The CaesarsJulius and Augustus. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.

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