Barbara Levick

From a pre-eminent biographer in the field, this volume examines the life and times of the emperor Vespasian and challenges the validity of his perennial good reputation and universally acknowledged achievements. Levick examines how this plebeian and uncharismatic Emperor restored peace and confidence to Rome and ensured a smooth succession, how he coped with the military, political and economic problems of his reign, and his evaluation of the solutions to these problems, before she finally examines his posthumous reputation. Now updated to take account of the past 15 years of scholarship, and with a new chapter on literature under the Flavians, Vespasian is a fascinating study for students of Roman history and the general classical enthusiast alike.

Claudius became emperor after the assassination of Caligula, and was deified by his successor Nero in AD 54. Opinions of him have varied greatly over succeeding centuries, but he has mostly been caricatured as a reluctant emperor, hampered by a speech impediment, who preferred reading to ruling.Barbara Levick's authoritative study reassesses the reign of Claudius, examining his political objectives and activities within the constitutional, political, social and economic development of Rome. Out of Levick's critical scrutiny of the literary, archaeological and epigraphic sources emerges a different Claudius - an intelligent politician, ruthlessly determined to secure his position as ruler.Now updated to take account of recent scholarship, Claudius remains essential reading for students and historians of the early Roman Empire.

From a pre-eminent biographer in the field, this volume examines the life and times of the emperor Vespasian and challenges the validity of his perennial good reputation and universally acknowledged achievements. Levick examines how this plebeian and uncharismatic Emperor restored peace and confidence to Rome and ensured a smooth succession, how he coped with the military, political and economic problems of his reign, and his evaluation of the solutions to these problems, before she finally examines his posthumous reputation. Now updated to take account of the past 15 years of scholarship, and with a new chapter on literature under the Flavians, Vespasian is a fascinating study for students of Roman history and the general classical enthusiast alike.

Tiberius has always been one of the most enigmatic of the Roman emperors. At the same time, his career is uniquely important for the understanding of the Empire's development on the foundations laid by Augustus.Barbara Levick offers a comprehensive and engaging portrait of the life and times of Tiberius, including an exploration of his ancestry and his education, an analysis of his provincial and foreign policy and an examination of his debauched final years and his posthumous reputation.This new edition of Tiberius the Politician contains a new preface and a revised bibliography.

Claudius became emperor after the assassination of Caligula, and was deified by his successor Nero in AD 54. Opinions of him have varied greatly over succeeding centuries, but he has mostly been caricatured as a reluctant emperor, hampered by a speech impediment, who preferred reading to ruling.Barbara Levick's authoritative study reassesses the reign of Claudius, examining his political objectives and activities within the constitutional, political, social and economic development of Rome. Out of Levick's critical scrutiny of the literary, archaeological and epigraphic sources emerges a different Claudius - an intelligent politician, ruthlessly determined to secure his position as ruler.Now updated to take account of recent scholarship, Claudius remains essential reading for students and historians of the early Roman Empire.

Like Guy Fawkes in early 17th-century Britain, L. Sergius Catilina was a threat to the constitution imposed on Rome by Sulla in the mid-1st century BC. His aim at first was to reach the consulship, the summit of power at Rome, by conventional means, but he lacked the money and support to win his way to the top, unlike two contemporaries of greater means and talent: the orator Cicero and the military man Pompey the Great. Defeated for the third time, Catiline took to revolution with a substantial following: destitute farmers, impoverished landowners, discontented Italians and debtors of all kinds. But they could not stand up to the forces of law and order and the rebellion was quashed. For the controversy that still surrounds it, the personalities involved, the distinction of the writers such as Cicero and Sallust, who are our main sources of information for it, this episode remains one of the most significant in late Republican history.This volume gives an energetic and appealing overview of the events, their sources, and the arguments of modern historians looking back at this controversial period. Accessible for students, but useful also for more experienced scholars, this is the perfect introduction not only to a specific historical episode, but also to the problems of tackling ancient sources as evidence.

This book covers Julia’s life, and charts her travels throughout the Empire from Aswan to York during a period of profound upheaval, and seeks the truth about this woman who inspired such extreme and contrasting views, exposing the instability of our sources about her, and characterizing a sympathetic, courageous, intelligent, and important woman.This book contains a fresh re-assessment of the one of the most significant figures of her time and questions:• Was Julia more powerful than earlier empresses? • Did she really promote despotism? • How seriously is her literary circle to be taken? As part of a dynasty which used force and violence to preserve its rule, she was distrusted by its subjects; as a Syrian, she was the object of prejudice; as a woman with power, she was resented. On the other hand, Domna was the centre of a literary circle considered highly significant by nineteenth-century admirers.

This book covers Julia’s life, and charts her travels throughout the Empire from Aswan to York during a period of profound upheaval, and seeks the truth about this woman who inspired such extreme and contrasting views, exposing the instability of our sources about her, and characterizing a sympathetic, courageous, intelligent, and important woman.This book contains a fresh re-assessment of the one of the most significant figures of her time and questions:• Was Julia more powerful than earlier empresses? • Did she really promote despotism? • How seriously is her literary circle to be taken? As part of a dynasty which used force and violence to preserve its rule, she was distrusted by its subjects; as a Syrian, she was the object of prejudice; as a woman with power, she was resented. On the other hand, Domna was the centre of a literary circle considered highly significant by nineteenth-century admirers.

This book reveals how an empire that stretched from Glasgow to Aswan in Egypt could be ruled from a single city and still survive more than a thousand years. The Government of the Roman Empire is the only sourcebook to concentrate on the administration of the empire, using the evidence of contemporary writers and historians.Specifically designed for students, with extensive cross-referencing, bibliographies and introductions and explanations for each item, this new edition brings the book right up-to-date, and makes it the ideal resource for students of the subject.

This book reveals how an empire that stretched from Glasgow to Aswan in Egypt could be ruled from a single city and still survive more than a thousand years. The Government of the Roman Empire is the only sourcebook to concentrate on the administration of the empire, using the evidence of contemporary writers and historians.Specifically designed for students, with extensive cross-referencing, bibliographies and introductions and explanations for each item, this new edition brings the book right up-to-date, and makes it the ideal resource for students of the subject.

Tiberius has always been one of the most enigmatic of the Roman emperors. At the same time, his career is uniquely important for the understanding of the Empire's development on the foundations laid by Augustus.Barbara Levick offers a comprehensive and engaging portrait of the life and times of Tiberius, including an exploration of his ancestry and his education, an analysis of his provincial and foreign policy and an examination of his debauched final years and his posthumous reputation.This new edition of Tiberius the Politician contains a new preface and a revised bibliography.