Patricia Southern – författare

The first Emperor of Rome holds a perennial fascination for anyone with an interest in the Romans and their Empire. Augustus was a truly remarkable man who brought peace after many years of civil wars and laid the foundations of an Empire that lasted for nearly five centuries. Even today the Roman world still underpins modern society. This revised edition of Augustus incorporates new thinking on many aspects of his rule, and how he achieved such power. The image that he projected of himself and his achievements was benign, hopeful, and heroic, but behind this carefully orchestrated self-promotion he was subtle, clever, scheming and ruthless. He has been labelled as a saviour and as a mafia boss. This account of his life shows how he successfully combined the two extremes.

The third century of the Roman Empire is a confused and sparsely documented period, punctuated by wars, victorious conquests and ignominious losses, and a recurring cycle of rebellions that saw several Emperors created and eliminated by the Roman armies. In AD 260 the Empire almost collapsed, and yet by the end of the third century the Roman world was brought back together and survived for another two hundred years. In this new edition of The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Patricia Southern examines the anarchic era of the soldier Emperors that preceded the crisis of AD 260, and the reigns of underrated and sometimes maligned Emperors such as Gallienus, Probus and Aurelian, whose determination and hard work reunited and re-established the Empire. Their achievements laid the foundations for the absolutist, sacrosanct rule of Diocletian, honed to ruthless perfection by Constantine, whose reign transformed the pagan Empire into a Christian state. The successes and failures of the rulers of the Roman world of the third century, and the role of the armies and the civilians, are re-assessed in this revised and expanded edition of The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, which incorporates the latest thinking of modern scholars and has been extended to cover the reign of Constantine and the foundations he laid on which the Christian empire was built. This is a crucial volume for students of this fascinating period in Roman history, and provides invaluable background for anyone interested in the "fall of Rome", the adoption of Christianity, and the establishment of the Byzantine Empire.

The third century of the Roman Empire is a confused and sparsely documented period, punctuated by wars, victorious conquests and ignominious losses, and a recurring cycle of rebellions that saw several Emperors created and eliminated by the Roman armies. In AD 260 the Empire almost collapsed, and yet by the end of the third century the Roman world was brought back together and survived for another two hundred years. In this new edition of The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Patricia Southern examines the anarchic era of the soldier Emperors that preceded the crisis of AD 260, and the reigns of underrated and sometimes maligned Emperors such as Gallienus, Probus and Aurelian, whose determination and hard work reunited and re-established the Empire. Their achievements laid the foundations for the absolutist, sacrosanct rule of Diocletian, honed to ruthless perfection by Constantine, whose reign transformed the pagan Empire into a Christian state. The successes and failures of the rulers of the Roman world of the third century, and the role of the armies and the civilians, are re-assessed in this revised and expanded edition of The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, which incorporates the latest thinking of modern scholars and has been extended to cover the reign of Constantine and the foundations he laid on which the Christian empire was built. This is a crucial volume for students of this fascinating period in Roman history, and provides invaluable background for anyone interested in the "fall of Rome", the adoption of Christianity, and the establishment of the Byzantine Empire.

Shakepeare's "lass unparallel", the mistress of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, Cleopatra was born in 69 BC and died before she reached the age of forty, when Alexandria fell to Octavian-Augustus in 30 BC. She is portrayed as the supreme seductress, beautiful, unprincipled and licentious. These aspects of her character have been handed down to us through the centuries as a result of propaganda spread by her enemies in Rome. In reality Cleopatra was not beautiful in appearance, but it was her natural grace, intelligence and lively conversation that made her attractive. She was a wise judge of men and a shrewd and ambitious politician. She was charming, clever, courageous, cunning and chaste; despite her reputation for immorality. She had only two lovers, Caesar and Antony, the foremost Romans of their day, who helped her to keep her throne and her kingdom intact. The last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, she was the seventh queen to bear her name, but for most people there is only one Cleopatra.

The first Emperor of Rome holds a perennial fascination for anyone with an interest in the Romans and their Empire. Augustus was a truly remarkable man who brought peace after many years of civil wars and laid the foundations of an Empire that lasted for nearly five centuries. Even today the Roman world still underpins modern society. This revised edition of Augustus incorporates new thinking on many aspects of his rule, and how he achieved such power. The image that he projected of himself and his achievements was benign, hopeful, and heroic, but behind this carefully orchestrated self-promotion he was subtle, clever, scheming and ruthless. He has been labelled as a saviour and as a mafia boss. This account of his life shows how he successfully combined the two extremes.

The earliest known wall in Rome encircled the early settlement on the Palatine Hill. Archaeological evidence corroborates the traditional date of the city’s foundation in the eighth century BC. No new wall is known until the early sixth century BC, when King Servius Tullius built the defences named after him. The growth of the Empire and the erection of frontiers by the Emperor Hadrian obviated the need for walls around Rome until the third century AD, when invading tribes crossed the frontiers. Defensive walls were built around several Roman cities, and in AD 274 the Emperor Aurelian constructed a new wall round Rome itself. Most of the Aurelian wall, built of millions of bricks, still stands.During the civil wars of the early fourth century AD, the Emperors Severus II and Galerius besieged Rome but failed to gain entry. The wall was heightened in the early fifth century by the Emperor Honorius, the final version possessing ramparts, artillery platforms, and galleries with arrow slits. Neither frontiers nor walls can ever be impermeable, so Rome was famously taken but not held by Alaric in 410 and later by Totila, King of the Ostrogoths. After some neglect, from the seventh or eighth century AD onwards it was the Popes who kept the wall in repair, as attested by the many commemorative stones set in the brickwork. Repairs are ongoing, of course, to this vast ancient monument.

For nearly four centuries, from AD 43 to 410, Britain was a small province on the north-western edge of the vast Roman Empire. Though it was small, it was not insignificant. There were more Roman soldiers in Britain than there were in the provinces of North Africa, and the governors who were appointed by the Emperor were among the most prominent men of their day, at the peak of their careers. People from all classes of Roman Britain's multi-cultural and varied society can still speak to us, indirectly via the works of ancient historians, annalists and biographers, and directly from building inscriptions, religious dedications, gravestones, graffiti, leaden curse tablets, artefacts and coins. But perhaps the most vivid source is the corpus of letters from the fort at Vindolanda in Northumberland, where named individuals talk about birthday parties and complain about the terrible state of the roads. This book uses a variety of sources to document the military, political, and social history of Roman Britain, from Julius Caesar's brief invasions in the first century BC to the fifth century AD when Imperial government came to an end.

Hadrian’s Wall is a major World Heritage site, set in stunning countryside in Cumbria and Northumberland, where the Wall and its forts are the most visited Roman remains in Britain. It runs through the narrow gap across the Pennines between the Solway Estuary in the west to the appropriately named Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east. For much of its length it is still visible, especially in the central sector where it runs along the north-facing cliff known as Whin Sill.Building started around AD 122 after the Emperor Hadrian visited the north of Britain and inspected sites in person to mark out the line of his new frontier. Hundreds of Roman legionaries from Chester, Caerleon and York marched north to quarry the stone and build the Wall, which took several years to complete.This book tells the story of how the Wall was built and manned by Roman soldiers, what life was like on the frontier and what happened to it when the Romans left.

The Roman Empire was forged in war and defended by military might. It also endured because of the Romans’ ability to assimilate and pacify the different peoples and cultures within their provinces.In Rome’s early years it did not annexe territory but created alliances, first with the Italian tribes and then with the leaders of outlying states. Some territories were won without waging war, through rulers who had grown close to Rome. And Rome realised that it profited from these territories, with their agricultural produce, minerals, manpower for armies, slaves, and routes for trade.Government of the provinces was tailored to the character of the lands and people. Unfriendly peoples beyond Rome’s boundaries represented a threat that Rome could now tackle on behalf of those within its sphere. Warlords could be conquered, but they could also be bribed.Native gods were equated as far as possible with Roman ones. Many diverse languages, customs and religions continued under Roman rule. Provincials could rise in status and become full Roman citizens, while inhabitants of towns and cities governed themselves, under the army’s military umbrella. Only groups with such widespread influence that they challenged Rome’s authority were then, often ruthlessly, targeted. The Druids and the Christians were among them.The history of Rome’s Empire is therefore shown to be more complex and impressive than that of a military superpower imposing ‘Pax Romana’.

Julius Caesar is part historical figure and part legend. He was a complex individual, a brilliant politician, a successful general, an accomplished psychologist. He grew up in a world where political and military careers were inextricably intertwined, and he excelled at both. In his youth he was considered vain and a little foppish, but showed nerves of steel when he defied the Dictator Sulla - and survived. Bending to someone’s will was not in Caesar’s make-up. He came late to a position of supreme power, and though his policies embraced pragmatic, sensible measures designed to solve the problems that beset the Republic, it was his dictatorial methods rather than his ideas which caused resentment.Unfortunately, when his assassins killed him, hoping to liberate the state from what they saw as his tyranny, they had formulated no plans for the government of the Roman world. By murdering Caesar, the assassins provoked a prolonged series of civil wars, and the rise of Augustus, the all-powerful first Emperor, who took up where Caesar left off. In this new appraisal of his life, Patricia Southern sheds light on the man behind the legend.

Cleopatra is one of the most famous and interesting women in history. This book details the Queen''s actions, the effect she had on others and the possible ambitions she may have had.'

This long-overdue study of Pompey reveals his achievements as military commander, politician, international statesman and as a noted patron of literary men and the arts.

The immortal lovers of novels, plays and films, Antony and Cleopatra were reviled by contemporary Romans, but history has transformed them into tragic heroes. Their blending of politics and sex led to the ruin of both, since their main rival Octavian-Augustus was able to portray Cleopatra as the arch enemy of Rome and Antony as her consort.

THE BIOGRAPHY OF ROME'S GREATEST LEADER AND ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MEN IN WORLD HISTORY.Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC and grew up in a turbulent period of corruption and violence in Ancient Rome. After an unspectacular beginning he was elected consul in 59 BC, when the Romans suddenly realised that this rising politician harboured sweeping ambitions that would ultimately transform the state.For ten years Caesar's plans were put on hold while he conquered the whole of Gaul, laying the foundations of his military reputation. After the civil wars with Pompey the Great and his sons, Caesar turned his attention to the government, and it became clear that he entertained grandiose schemes for reform. He worked rapidly to put these schemes into effect, sweeping aside conventional procedures and senatorial debate. It was his methods rather than his political programme that made men turn against him, and strike him down on the Ides of March 44 BC. The conspirators planned nothing beyond the assassination, and in the civil wars that followed, Caesar's great nephew Octavian took up where Caesar left off, and turned the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

The immortal lovers of novels, plays and films, Antony and Cleopatra were reviled by contemporary Romans, but history has transformed them into tragic heroes. Somewhere between their vilification by Augustus and the judgement of a later age there were two vibrant people whose destinies were entwined after the assassination of Julius Caesar in March 44 BC. Mark Antony's reputation for recklessness, hard drinking, and womanising overshadowed his talents for leadership and astute administration. Cleopatra was determined to reconstitute the ancient empire of the Ptolemies, and Antony as legally appointed ruler of the east gave her much, but not all, of what she desired. This blending of politics and sex led to the ultimate ruin of both; when all was lost they committed suicide, and were buried side-by-side in Alexandria.

When the Romans built the bath-and-temple complex of Bath in the late first century AD, they called the place Aquae Sulis, the waters of Sulis, a British deity who was equated with the Roman goddess Minerva. It was unlike any other town in Roman Britain, and it had no specific town status, compared to nearby Cirencester, which was a chartered town set up as a tribal administrative centre. All classes of people came to Aquae Sulis, to visit the temple of Sulis Minerva, the hot springs and the Great Bath. Soldiers on sick leave came to convalesce; Romans, Britons and slaves recorded their visits on various inscriptions since discovered during archaeological excavations. Gaius Calpurnius Receptus, a priest, was commemorated by his widow; Priscus, a stonemason from Chartres in Gaul, may have repaired some of the buildings; Vettius Romulus and his wife mourned the loss of their three-year-old daughter, Successa Petronia.Following the Romans’ departure, from the fifth and sixth centuries the rise of Christianity ultimately caused the decline of pagan worship, and as the old gods were neglected, so were the buildings of Aquae Sulis, which disappeared under an accumulation of silt and mud. The baths and the temple of Sulis Minerva were rediscovered in the eighteenth century and the Roman baths that we see today were rebuilt by the Victorians. Patricia Southern’s history charts the rise and fall of Roman Bath and examines the baths as they are today, part of a major World Heritage Site.