Description
Book SynopsisThe emperor Gaius ('Caligula') was assassinated in January A.D.41. Since he was the last of the Julii, and he left no heir, it seemed that the dynasty of Caesar and Augustus was finished. Accordingly, the Republic was restored, but then a coup d'etat by the Praetorian Guard put Claudius in power . . . the dramatic events of these few days are a crucial turning-point in Roman history - the moment when the military basis of the Principate was first made explicit. Tacitus' account has not survived, and Suetonius and Dio Cassisu offer no adequate substitute. Fortunately, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus chose to insert into his 'Jewish Antiquities' - as an example of the providence of God - a detailed narrative of the assassination plot and its aftermath taken from contemporary and well-informed Roman sources. This new edition of T.P. Wiseman’s acclaimed Death of an Emperor (his translation and commentary of Josephus’ account of Caligula’s assassination) includes an updated bibliography, revised introduction, translation and commentary. Appendix 1 on the Augustan Palatine has been completely revised to take account of recent archaeological information.
Trade ReviewReviews'A guide to this significant material has long been needed and this gap has now been filled by Wiseman's admirable book. He offers a translation that is free and idiomatic - a good decision, since Jospehus' anacoloutha and corruptions made a literal rendering almost unreadable, even where the general drift is clear. [ . . .] This is a useful book, by someone who knows his topic well. It should go a long way towards making senior students recognise the historical interest of a chapter of Roman history that they might have tended to regard only as lurid and sensational.'
Anthony A. Barrett,
Classical Review, Vol. XLII No. 2
'In a concise and readable way, W. walks through the early imperial development of the [Augustan Palatine] in light of recent archaeology, locating the original houses of Augustus and Tiberius to recreate the scene at the time of Gaius. This may not be indispensable for the foregoing study, but it is a welcome bonus in the new edition...W.’s book remains as valuable as it always was. Students of ancient history in all subdisciplines should be pleased that it is available again, and with a particularly useful update in the new appendix.'
Steve Mason, Histos 10
Table of Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Abbreviations and Select Bibliography
- Flavius Josephus, Antiquitates Iudaicae XIX 1-273
- I Preface
- II The Conspiracy
- III The Assassination
- IV Panic on the Palatine
- V The Republic Restored
- VI Obituary
- VII The Claudius Coup
- Note on the Text
- Commentary
- Appendices:
- 1 The Augustan Palatine
- 2 Cluvius Rufus
- Index of Names
