Lives of the Caesars Book Review

Lives of the Caesars is a great treat for those who already know the general outline of the history of the Roman Empire. It delves deeply into the reigns of 12 emperors in bite-sized (roughly 25 page) chapters. You can read Lives of the Caesars to sample 13 top scholars in the field, to read those scholars' unique interpretations, or to learn about the emperors and their times.

Lives of the Caesars, edited by Anthony A. Barrett, presents a couple of quickly answered puzzles. The first is what is the significance of the title. It is, indeed, an (unconscious) homage to Suetonius. The second puzzle is why the particular emperors were selected: for instance, why Hadrian rather than Trajan and how can the book blithely jump from Vespasian to Hadrian to Marcus Aurelius to Septimius Severus? The answer is that while the selected emperors are amply covered in their chapters, so are the intervening ones. Constantine (whose chapter covers Julian) marks the end of the era, with a blip two centuries later for the fascinating, but unlucky Byzantine emperor Justinian. To keep the list to 12, Lives of the Caesars omits later emperors involved in Rome's Fall.

Chapters on the early emperors include careful, balanced looks at the Julio-Claudians, and the transition from Republic to Empire. The Flavian chapter covers economic problems, Judaean rebellions, the possibility that Titus wasn't so great nor Domitian so bad. Next stop is Hadrian, shown as a puzzling, perfectionist emperor who codified Roman law. Next, Anthony Birley explains the curious path to Marcus Aurelius. The next emperor is probably the least familiar of the bunch, Septimius Severus, who continued the cabinet style of government of his predecessors. (Even after I read the chapter, he remained unfamiliar.) Simon Corcoran admirably explains the transition to tetrarchy in his chapter on Diocletian. Noel Lenski details Constantine's religious conversion. He also covers Constantine's building projects and touches on the messy succession. The final emperor is the 6th century Justinian. Plague and the Nika Riots limited his effectiveness, although he ranks with Augustus and Constanine in lasting contributions.

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