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Ancient Rome's Worst Emperors
Ancient Rome's Worst Emperors | L J Trafford
1 post | 1 read
Between 27 BCE and 476 CE a series of men became Roman Emperor, ruling a domain that stretched across Europe, North Africa and the Near East. Some of them did this rather well, expanding Rome's territories further, installing just laws and maintaining order within the city. Others, however, were distinctly less successful at the job. Ancient Rome's Worst Emperors takes an engaging and amusing look at the mad, the bad and the catastrophically incompetent of Rome's rulers. From the sadistically cruel Caligula to the hopelessly weak Valentinian II, there were many who failed dismally at the top job for a variety of reasons. But what qualifies someone as a worst emperor? What evidence is there to support it? And should we believe any of it? Join us on a tour of the very worst leadership ancient Rome has to offer as we delve into sadistic acts of cruelty, paranoia run rampant, poor decision-making skills and the danger of being the wrong man at the wrong time.
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A light-hearted look at the Empire's 'worst' emperors. As the author notes, categorising someone as the worst can be rather subjective & some of the more notorious emperors you'd expect to feature, i.e. Nero do not make the cut. Of those that do, there were quite a number I knew next to nothing about & the commentary about them here is a delight to read. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf For me, this book for me is akin to an adult's version of 'Horrible Histories' & I mean that as a compliment.

There's lots of information conveyed in a tongue-in-cheek way - I could imagine Frankie Howerd narrating this had it been released when he was alive (RIP). Not sure how this writing style will fare more widely but, having been born & raised in the UK with our national sense of humour
5mo
OutsmartYourShelf (half sarcastic self-deprecation, half sexual innuendo), I loved it. Will definitely check out more of the author's work. 4🌟

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pen & Sword History, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5985930136
Read 23rd-28th Nov 2023

#NonfictionNovember
5mo
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