Mar 12 2017
Of all the places that I have visited, Istanbul almost certainly heads the list of those I would like to return to. Arriving in April of 1993, at the beginning of what I thought was six months of travel before going broke in Ireland, I was struck by how European the city was. This despite …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/03/12/istanbul-by-thomas-f-madden/
Nov 06 2014
The last fifteen books of Livy’s surviving history, covering Rome’s conquest of the Hellenistic world after the Punic Wars. Aside from a few interesting anecdotes and episodes, most of this history was tedious and unmemorable. The saga might have been livened up if Hannibal had come out of retirement, but with his defeat in the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/11/06/rome-and-the-mediterranean-by-livy/
Sep 27 2014
Livy is too patriotic to be completely trusted as a historian, but even he cannot help but convey a grudging admiration for the towering figure of Hannibal. He has nothing good to say about Carthage in general, and he works in some malicious gossip about Hannibal that is probably nothing more than just that, but …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/09/27/the-war-with-hannibal-by-livy/
Sep 11 2014
Mostly this is a record of Rome’s interminable wars with the Samnites. War is hardly a trivial event, but Rome fought so many wars during this period that reading about one battle after another becomes wearying. The most interesting and unusual thing that happened during this period was that a Vestal Virgin violated her vow …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/09/11/rome-and-italy-by-livy/
Aug 25 2014
Most later historians tend to dismiss Procopius’ account as grossly exaggerated, maintaining that Justinian and Theodora were just, able, and virtuous co-rulers. But if that is really the case, it is hard to see why he would have written this history, since it obviously posed great risk to himself. If Procopius can be believed, Justinian …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/08/25/the-secret-history-by-procopius/
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/08/19/the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-by-peter-heather/
Jul 30 2014
Although decline is the theme of this massive work, the Roman military machine shows itself still quite capable of defeating its enemies when competently led, and there is no shortage of outstanding emperors in this period. Special praise is reserved for Constantine, the great Christianizer and victorious general, and surprisingly, his antithesis, Julian the pagan …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/07/30/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire-volume-i-by-edward-gibbon/
Mar 03 2014
This is an outstanding work of historical scholarship. I am by now quite familiar with the history of the late republic and the ensuing Augustan Principate, but Syme’s meticulous analysis goes beyond anything I could ever attempt. Syme sees the the overthrow of the republic and the path to monarchy as a necessary evil, an …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2014/03/03/the-roman-revolution-by-ronald-syme/
Oct 16 2013
Tacitus is the greatest of the Roman historians. He is also the most prejudiced. Modern historians have called into question his portrayal of Tiberius as a cruel and depraved tyrant, and indeed Tacitus’ own narrative reveals him for the most part a capable ruler. Tacitus is always insinuating that while Tiberius said and did one …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/10/16/the-annals-of-imperial-rome-by-tacitus/
Dec 17 2009
Suetonius writes more like a gossip columnist than a historian. In this brief work we learn that Augustus was a compulsive gambler, Tiberius was a pervert, Nero was in love with his mother, Galba was a passive homosexual, and most of the emperors liked boys as well as women. From the introduction we learn that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2009/12/17/the-twelve-caesars-by-suetonius/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
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Sylvere Ap Leanan
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