Ronald Mellor - Böcker

Tacitus' Annals is the central historical source for first-century C.E. Rome. It is prized by historians since it provides the best narrative material for the reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero, as well as a probing analysis of the imperial system of government. But the Annals should be seen as far more than an historical source, a mere mine for the reconstruction of the facts of Roman history. While the Annals is a superb work of history, it has also become a central text in the western literary, political, and even philosophical traditions - from the Renaissance to the French and American revolutions, and beyond. This volume attempts to enhance the reader's understanding of how this book of history could have such a profound effect. Chapters will address the purpose, form, and method of Roman historical writing, the ethnic biases of Tacitus, and his use of sources. Since Tacitus has been regarded as one of the first analysts of the psychopathology of political life, the book will examine the emperors, the women of the court, and the ambitious entourage of freedmen and intellectuals who surround every Roman ruler. The final chapter will examine the impact of Tacitus' Annals since their rediscovery by Boccaccio in the 14th century.

Tacitus' Annals is the central historical source for first-century C.E. Rome. It is prized by historians since it provides the best narrative material for the reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero, as well as a probing analysis of the imperial system of government. But the Annals should be seen as far more than an historical source, a mere mine for the reconstruction of the facts of Roman history. While the Annals is a superb work of history, it has also become a central text in the western literary, political, and even philosophical traditions - from the Renaissance to the French and American revolutions, and beyond. This volume attempts to enhance the reader's understanding of how this book of history could have such a profound effect. Chapters will address the purpose, form, and method of Roman historical writing, the ethnic biases of Tacitus, and his use of sources. Since Tacitus has been regarded as one of the first analysts of the psychopathology of political life, the book will examine the emperors, the women of the court, and the ambitious entourage of freedmen and intellectuals who surround every Roman ruler. The final chapter will examine the impact of Tacitus' Annals since their rediscovery by Boccaccio in the 14th century.

The Romans' devotion to their past pervades almost every aspect of their culture. But the clearest image of how the Romans wished to interpret their past is found in their historical writings. This book examines in detail the major Roman historians:* Sallust* Livy* Tacitus* Ammianusas well as the biographies written by:* Nepos* Tacitus* Suetonius* the Augustan History* the autobiographies of Julius Caesar and the Emperor Augustus.Ronald Mellor demonstrates that Roman historical writing was regarded by its authors as a literary not a scholarly exercise, and how it must be evaluated in that context. He shows that history writing reflected the political structures of ancient Rome under the different regimes.

The Romans' devotion to their past pervades almost every aspect of their culture. But the clearest image of how the Romans wished to interpret their past is found in their historical writings. This book examines in detail the major Roman historians:* Sallust* Livy* Tacitus* Ammianusas well as the biographies written by:* Nepos* Tacitus* Suetonius* the Augustan History* the autobiographies of Julius Caesar and the Emperor Augustus.Ronald Mellor demonstrates that Roman historical writing was regarded by its authors as a literary not a scholarly exercise, and how it must be evaluated in that context. He shows that history writing reflected the political structures of ancient Rome under the different regimes.

The Historians of Ancient Rome is the most comprehensive collection of ancient sources for Roman history available in a single English volume. After a general introduction on Roman historical writing, extensive passages from more than a dozen Greek and Roman historians and biographers trace the history of Rome over more than a thousand years: from the city’s foundation by Romulus in 753 B.C.E. (Livy) to Constantine’s edict of toleration for Christianity (313 C.E.)Selections include many of the high points of Rome’s climb to world domination: the defeat of Hannibal; the conquest of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean; the defeat of the Catilinarian conspirators; Caesar’s conquest of Gaul; Antony and Cleopatra; the establishment of the Empire by Caesar Augustus; and the "Roman Peace" under Hadrian and long excepts from Tacitus record the horrors of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero.The book is intended both for undergraduate courses in Roman history and for the general reader interested in approaching the Romans through the original historical sources. Hence, excerpts of Polybius, Livy, and Tacitus are extensive enough to be read with pleasure as an exciting narrative. Now in its third edition, changes to this thoroughly revised volume include a new timeline, translations of several key inscriptions such as the Twelve Tables, and additional readings. This is a book which no student of Roman history should be without.

The Historians of Ancient Rome is the most comprehensive collection of ancient sources for Roman history available in a single English volume. After a general introduction on Roman historical writing, extensive passages from more than a dozen Greek and Roman historians and biographers trace the history of Rome over more than a thousand years: from the city’s foundation by Romulus in 753 B.C.E. (Livy) to Constantine’s edict of toleration for Christianity (313 C.E.)Selections include many of the high points of Rome’s climb to world domination: the defeat of Hannibal; the conquest of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean; the defeat of the Catilinarian conspirators; Caesar’s conquest of Gaul; Antony and Cleopatra; the establishment of the Empire by Caesar Augustus; and the "Roman Peace" under Hadrian and long excepts from Tacitus record the horrors of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero.The book is intended both for undergraduate courses in Roman history and for the general reader interested in approaching the Romans through the original historical sources. Hence, excerpts of Polybius, Livy, and Tacitus are extensive enough to be read with pleasure as an exciting narrative. Now in its third edition, changes to this thoroughly revised volume include a new timeline, translations of several key inscriptions such as the Twelve Tables, and additional readings. This is a book which no student of Roman history should be without.

The histories of Roman senator Cornelius Tacitus constitute the most influential examination of tyranny, political behavior and public morality from the classical age. For centuries these portraits of courageous martyrs to freedom, of paranoid tyrants, and of sycophantic flatteres and informers shaped modern political attitudes. Ronald Mellor provides a compelling analysis of the ideas of the greatest historian of evil in the western intellectual tradition.In Tacitus, Ronald Mellor passionately argues for reclaiming this ironic genius whose cynical world view is particularly well-suited to an analysis of the tyranny and brutality in our own century.Tacitus is presented as a moralist, psychologist, political analyst and literary artist. Tacitus' greatest impact has never been on historians. Rather, his political vision and dramatic images left their mark on painters, poets and thinkers.

The Historians of Ancient Rome is the most comprehensive collection of ancient sources for Roman history available in a single English volume, tracing the history of Rome from the city’s foundation by Romulus in 753 BCE to the rise of Christianity as the religion of the Roman emperors in the fourth century CE. After a general introduction on Roman historical writing, extensive passages from more than a dozen Greek and Roman historians and biographers as well as coins, images, and inscriptions explore over 1000 years of Rome’s history. Readers will engage with how the Romans wrote about Rome’s climb to world domination and the challenges it faced in the late empire: the defeat of Hannibal; the conquest of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean; the defeat of the Catilinarian conspiracy; Caesar’s conquest of Gaul; Antony and Cleopatra; the establishment of the Empire by Caesar Augustus; the horrors of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero; the “Roman Peace” under Hadrian; and the political turmoil, disintegration, and consolidation in the third and fourth centuries CE. The fourth edition has been revised to include maps, coins, new inscriptions, images, and additional readings, providing a rich anthology that makes visible both the textual and material worlds by which Roman society represented, controlled, and experienced the past.The Historians of Ancient Rome is intended both for undergraduate courses in Roman history and for the general reader interested in approaching the Romans through the original historical sources. This is a book that no student of Roman history should be without.

The Historians of Ancient Rome is the most comprehensive collection of ancient sources for Roman history available in a single English volume, tracing the history of Rome from the city’s foundation by Romulus in 753 BCE to the rise of Christianity as the religion of the Roman emperors in the fourth century CE. After a general introduction on Roman historical writing, extensive passages from more than a dozen Greek and Roman historians and biographers as well as coins, images, and inscriptions explore over 1000 years of Rome’s history. Readers will engage with how the Romans wrote about Rome’s climb to world domination and the challenges it faced in the late empire: the defeat of Hannibal; the conquest of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean; the defeat of the Catilinarian conspiracy; Caesar’s conquest of Gaul; Antony and Cleopatra; the establishment of the Empire by Caesar Augustus; the horrors of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero; the “Roman Peace” under Hadrian; and the political turmoil, disintegration, and consolidation in the third and fourth centuries CE. The fourth edition has been revised to include maps, coins, new inscriptions, images, and additional readings, providing a rich anthology that makes visible both the textual and material worlds by which Roman society represented, controlled, and experienced the past.The Historians of Ancient Rome is intended both for undergraduate courses in Roman history and for the general reader interested in approaching the Romans through the original historical sources. This is a book that no student of Roman history should be without.