Download Augustus: The Life Of Romes First Emperor Portrayed By Anthony Everitt Released As Text

Everitt's biography of Gaius Octavian Augustus tells the story of his rise through Roman society by taking us through the major phases of his life, from his provincial childhood to his adoption by his greatuncle Julius Caesar.
The multidimensional personality of Augustus, his genius as an administrator and planner and his not so brave time in the battlefield is well depicted.
We witness his many marriages and friendships which helped him in becoming the most powerful man in Rome, The power struggle with Mark Antony and the invasion of Egypt almost reads like a thriller, The war ended with Augustus's recognition as the "first citizen" of Rome, He survived many illnesses during his lifetime to rule foryears and set up an exemplary empire which became the foundation of the western civilization.
The author also shows us the glimpses of early Roman life and customs, but where the book shines is in showing the realities of power politics of the early Roman period.
Everitt has done an enormous amount of research for bringing a lively history book into the hands of the reader.
The chronology and the maps in the beginning of the book are very helpful however, a glossary and an index of persons at the end would have made it an indispensable book.
A gripping biography of Augustus, With the exception of Tom Holland's Rubicon, this is perhaps my favorite Roman history book, Everitt does an excellent job not just of relating the major events and achievements of Augustus' life but also of providing detailed accounts of the Roman world he inhabited and was shaped by looked like.
I do not think I ever read a book on Roman history that I did not like and this book has not changed that.
Augustus is considered Rome's first Emperor due to the fact that he spent overyears as Emperor, He came to this position by being the nephew and then becoming Julius Caesar's adopted son, Caesar trained him, as a youngster, in the rudiments of Rome's military leadership training, However, when Caesar was assassinated in MarchofBC Caesar's most important soldier Mark Antony and Augustus led their armies and defeated Caesar's murderer's armies led by Brutus in the Battle of Philippi inBC.
Following Brutus's defeat Antony, Augustus and Lepidus divided the vast Roman Empire insections, Antony cleverly took the East including Egypt for that was the wealthiest region, Augustus took Rome which was in rebellion, Lepidus was given Trans Alpine Gaul,

Antony was a poor administer reveling in the wealth of Egypt and falling for Egypt's seductive Queen Cleopatra.
Augustus needed grain from Egypt to feed his constituents, Antony's slow response in providing the grain angered Augustus, In addition Antony's popularity faded in Rome due to his relationship with the non Roman Egyptian Queen, Augustus sensing a time to unify Rome under himself attacked Antony and defeated him in the Battle of ActiumSeptemberBC, on the Ionian Sea.


Augustus implemented two reforms in his long reign constitutional reform and imperial expansion under himself as the ruler.
He accomplished this as well as brought relative peace and prosperity to Rome, As a result, he is regarded as one of Rome's greatest Emperors, The most gripping part of the book is the first chapter, Its evocation of the last few days of Augustus' life is good narrative woven with solid historical research, Unfortunately, that is the last time you will see that sort of writing, From then on the prose is exceptionally dry and loses its hard focus on Augustus, Everitt's use of source material and analysis is brilliant but his own prose is just too dull, Part of this might not be his fault,

Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus
Divine Son of Caesar Supreme Commander Augustus

Sounds magnificent but looks may be deceiving.


Augustus was an inferior military general to his adoptive father Julius Caesar, his best friend Marcus Agrippa and his onetime partner and eventual rival Marc Antony.
He was an inferior writer and poet to contemporaries like Horace and Virgil, an inferior speaker to many of his fellow senators, and we can only imagine he was also an inferior historian to those of the day but we won't know because no source material remains.
In the health stakes he had seemingly worse health than almost every other Roman citizen alive Suetonius leads us to believe he had worse teeth than a modern day Brit.
Despite a promising rise through the ranks at a young age, Augustus then appeared to stumble his way to greatness with a talent for survival and choosing competent supporters.


He had one other talent which was definitely his greatest,

Politics.

Augustus was the greatest politician of his age and possibly even the two millennia he lived in.
His ability to maintain absolute power while living in a "democratic republic" puts modern despots to shame,

But Augustus had something modern dictators don't an understanding of his weaknesses, This paved the way for his political success, He knew when he needed help and he was not afraid to ask for it or in many cases command it.
Augustus also had a genius in recognising with a few tweaks that the existing structures of Rome would actually be the most effective form of government.
The senate could be turned into his legislative body, the army could be turned into a national army loyal only to him, rather than the various consuls and generals of the past.
Probably most impressive was his ability to harness art, patronising all the artists we know from the period to create memorable plays, poems, and sculptures that would serve only to strengthen the mythology he'd already wrapped himself in.
Augustus was possibly the greatest PR person that has ever existed, He sold Rome and the world the most convincing vision of a man who did everything for the city he loved.


This book also does a great job of exposing Augustus' austere and frugal manner while simultaneously lifting the curtain on what seems to be his voracious and insatiable sexual appetite.
Admittedly the book adheres more to the dusty scrooge in tone, The scope is very broad and we spend a lot of time with other personalities from Roman history, While this gives us an expansive view it often comes at the detriment of narrative flow and sometimes you find the book feeling more like a general Roman History book than one about Augustus.
As mentioned before, in some ways this echoes Augustus' own desire to let others show their strengths as long as it's in aid of his own agenda.


An interesting read but I will now turn to John Williams' novel in search of a more gripping narrative about this enigmatic ruler.
Excellent insight into the Roman era, Interesting book that was well written with explanations that extend to modern days, I recommend it highly! Throughout this somewhat short biography I was sufficiently entertained and gained a bit from reading it.
I can't say I usually learn anything particularly entirely new for this period of Roman history, but what sets this book apart is its authorship.
Again, I was quite entertained throughout Everitt's book on Augustus and was refreshed by some different perspectives on what could've been.


As for content, the book draws on the typical ancient sources, notes a couple of modern ones, and also takes care to read between the lines of Res Gestae.
Firstly, Everitt knows how to start a book, He sets it off on a heavy tone that draws the reader in and reveals how it all came to be similarly to his opening of Cicero.
However, chronologically, it starts with Julius Caesar as the very necessary starting place of Octavian's life and through the civil wars.
Thereafter, he speaks to major career points, personal living habits, and the scandals that occurred in Augustus's time, Throughout, the author ensured to bring into the fold how he affected empire, what his personality did for the state, and how it changed the future of Rome.


I don't think this book really made it to a list of all time favorites, but it definitely was a solid hitter.
One of my first choices in sending an amateur reader dipping into their first history of the princeps, Towards the end of his previous book, "Cicero", Everitt describes Cicero taking Julius Caesar's grandnephew, the young Gaius Octavius, under his wing and introducing him to the world of Roman politics.
In gratitude, the young Gaius winds up forming an alliance with Mark Antony and reluctantly agreeing to have Cicero killed although he forces Antony to murder his uncle in exchange.
Thus begins the rise to power of Rome's first emperor, later to call himself Augustus,

On one hand, Augustus could be reviled as a backstabbing, selfobsessed, powerhungry man who was ultimately responsible for killing the frail, aged granny that was the Roman Republic with a rabbit punch.
On the other hand, he was careful to at least preserve the facade of democracy and free speech, he secured the Empire's borders, streamlined bureaucracy and weeded out a number of intolerable fools.
The Bush family would never have flourished in ancient Rome,

As in "Cicero", Everitt does a generally impressive job of taking famous historical figures that we may be tangentially aware of Antony amp Cleopatra, Ovid, Horace, etc.
and really makes them seem like real people living in a world that is at once recognizable on some levels and horrifically different on others.
It was interesting reading this at the same time as keeping up to date with the machinations of the executive and legislative branches in the news the Scooter Libby scandal the questions about the extent of

executive privilege and also having just seen Oliver Stone's excellent interviews with Fidel Castro in his new documentary, "Comandante.
" The US is no Roman Empire and neither is Cuba, but all three have their similarities in terms of the limits people are prepared to go to gain and maintain power and the viciousness that can take hold in nominally "elected" government.
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