Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome (Chronicles)

For any non-expert wanting a concise, readable and comprehensive guide to the emperors, I don't see how this could be bettered. It does exactly what its title promises.Having watched the recent TV re-run of "I Claudius", I decided I needed the real facts, as opposed to what was, after all, a novel adapted for TV. Having scanned Amazon's many offerings, I went for this book and also Suetonius "12 Caesars".Tip - if you are a non-expert wanting the facts (as far as we can know them), choose Scarre. Suetonius is great as a classic work, and you should read it, but for an unbiased modern view, and a beautiful book to look at as well, Scarre's book is a winner.Particularly good is the explanation of the Emperors' titles, and the many special features on various buildings, military campaigns, etc.A beautiful and informative book, which you will refer to again & again after your first read.

Easy to read and full of detail and photos

Great book for learning more on this era!

Well written and very informative book helped with background of Caesars in my study of Biblical history of ancient Hebrews and Christians.Some of the details though, were "too much information" I really didnt need to know. But gives some understanding perhaps of why they were the way they were.

What a great book! Well-written and lavishly illustrated, with contemporary physical descriptions of the emperors along with portraits of each, the author's style is direct, elegant and not without humor. He has a gift for bringing to life these long-dead ladies and men who helmed the greatest ancient empire, in terms of lands conquered and people subjugated. The brutality is shocking at times- more than one emperor murdered his family to ensure his position- but the various excesses are set out in unsensational fashion and are never a lurid read. I'm very interested in Ancient Roman history, but never expected to be swept away. Truth is, I couldn't put this book down. Many thanks to the author for bringing history to life. Wish he'd been around when I was a schoolgirl!

Been wanting a book that would have a chronical of all thre roman emperors for as long as I can remember but could never find one. Tried local shop and even my local libraries but nothing till I came across this. Brilliant

Great reference book

Good introduction but more information on some than others...

A high quality academic book on the lives of the Roman emperors

Very informative book!

Eccellente pubblicazione, utile per lettura, consultazione e studio. Autori attenti alle fonti e limpidi nella rendicontazione. Uno strumento prezioso, consigliato a chiunque abbia interesse per la storia.

Naturally it is not going too deep, but this work provides a very good overview, timeline and summary of the history of the Roman Emperors. Good look and feel, reading in this book is fun. Definitely a recommendation!

本作は、ローマ帝国初代皇帝アウグストゥスからテオドシウス帝まで、そして帝国の東西分裂後は西ローマ帝国の歴代皇帝を最後の皇帝ロムルス・アウグストゥスまでの全皇帝を採り上げ、各皇帝の治世・事業（特に建築・軍事）・個性・素顔（彫像の写真を多く収録）を、エピソードを交えて１冊で紹介します。日本語版であるローマ皇帝歴代誌の原著が本作で、日本語版と比べるとかなり大型本です。塩野七生氏の「ローマ人の物語」第６巻以降を１冊に凝縮し、それでいて各皇帝の事績の紹介が雑になっていない点が立派（もっともコンスタンティヌス帝の後はかなり駆け足になりますが）。その「ローマ人の物語」とは記述が異なる箇所も散見されますが（例えばコモドゥス帝は死の直前に何を企んでいたか等）、古代史の解釈は人によって違うのも当然。塩野氏とは異なる角度でローマ帝国史を通覧できます。そして、「ローマ人の物語」シリーズが頭に入っている人は、是非英語でこの本を読み通してみて下さい。知らない単語が出てきても、ああこれは背教者だな、といった具合に検討がつくので、それほど読みづらさを感じないと思います。ケンブリッジ大学のローマ史の泰斗である著者の格調の高い英文を味わって下さい。地図等カラー印刷の多い図版の豊富さも圧倒的。訳に一部問題もありますが、上記日本語版も英語で読み進む参考になるでしょう。