The Julio-Claudian Dynasty: The History and Legacy of the First Family to Rule the Ancient Roman Empire
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Bill Caufield
()
About this audiobook
The importance of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (or as he was known from birth, Gaius Octavius “Octavian” Thurinus) to the course of Western history is hard to overstate. His life, his rise to power, his political, and his social and military achievements all laid the foundations for the creation of an empire which would endure for almost five centuries, and whose traditions, laws, architecture and art continue to influence much of Europe and the world today. Octavian was the first true Roman Emperor, and the first man since the Etruscan Tarquins five centuries earlier to establish a successful hereditary ruling dynasty in what had been a proud Republic for over half a millennium.
Tiberius’s life soon became caught up with Augustus’s as the emperor worked to found and establish a dynasty, but it is unclear if Tiberius ever really wanted to be part of Augustus’s plans or inherit imperial power - Tiberius was known as a man who schemed and planned, but he was also a scholar and showed a marked desire throughout his life to retreat and escape the demands of power.
All of Rome’s poor rulers pale in comparison to Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, a young man remembered by posterity as Caligula. Given how bad some of Rome’s emperors were, it’s a testament to just how insane and reviled Caligula was that he is still remembered nearly 2,000 years later as the epitome of everything that could be wrong with a tyrant.
What makes Claudius such a surprisingly effective emperor, aside from his strange route to power, was that he was considered physically and mentally incompetent for political life. At the same time, Claudius managed to take the throne against the will of the Senate thanks to the support of the Praetorian Guard.
Claudius’s successor, Nero, ranks among the very worst of the Caesars, alongside the likes of mad Caligula, slothful Commodus, and paranoid Domitian.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fermi Paradox: The History and Legacy of the Famous Debate over the Existence of Aliens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of the Dead: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Famous Funerary Texts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of the Pan-African Politician Who Became Congo's First Prime Minister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Somme: The History and Legacy of World War I’s Biggest Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStokely Carmichael: The Life and Legacy of the Civil Rights Activist Who Led the Black Power Movement Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Julio-Claudian Dynasty
Related audiobooks
The Roman Empire: The History and Legacy of the Ancient World’s Most Famous Empire from Julius Caesar to Its Collapse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe End of the Roman Republic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaesar: Life of a Colossus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty: The History and Legacy of the Emperors Who Ruled the Roman Empire at Its Peak Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Stop a Conspiracy: An Ancient Guide to Saving a Republic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roman Empire: The history of Rome and its Emperors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Restoration of Rome: The History of the Roman Empire during the Reigns of Diocletian and Constantine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pax Romana: A Captivating Guide to Ancient Rome during the Roman Peace Period Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaesars: From Republic To Empire: 4 In 1 Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius & Caligula Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Catiline Conspiracy and the Jugurthine War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fall of Rome: The History and Legacy of the Western Roman Empire’s Collapse in the 5th Century Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Antonine Plague: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Roman Empire’s Worst Pandemic Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Roman Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diadochi: The History of Alexander the Great’s Successors and the Wars that Divided His Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What if Alexander the Great Had Lived? An Alternative History of the Macedonian King and His Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Queens Who Fought Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrown and Country: A History of England through the Monarchy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Rome: The history of the Roman Empire and its Emperors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPompey the Great: The Life and Legacy of the Legendary Roman General Who Lost the Civil War to Julius Caesar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Ancient History For You
Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be: Life Lessons from the Early Greeks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chariots of the Gods Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Greece 101: Greek History, Myth, and Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing Jesus: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Epic of Gilgamesh Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hekate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5History Is Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Histories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Past Mistakes: How We Misinterpret History and Why it Matters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Eternal City: A History of Rome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alexander the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Mexico Their Thoughts about Life Death and the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greek Mythology: An Elaborate Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Harems, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Julio-Claudian Dynasty
0 ratings0 reviews