Appian's Roman History in Four Volumes. II: Books 8.2-12
by Appian
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Appian (Appianus) was a Greek official of Alexandria. He saw the Jewish rebellion of 116 CE, and later became a Roman citizen and advocate and received the rank of eques (knight). In his older years he held a procuratorship. He died during the reign of Antoninus Pius who was emperor 138-161 CE. Honest admirer of the Roman empire though ignorant of the institutions of the earlier Roman republic, he wrote, in the simple 'common' dialect, 24 books of 'Roman affairs', in fact conquests, from the show more beginnings to the times of Trajan (emperor 98-117 CE). Eleven have come down to us complete, or nearly so, namely those on the Spanish, Hannibalic, Punic, Illyrian, Syrian, and Mithridatic wars, and five books on the Civil Wars. They are valuable records of military history. The Loeb Classical Library edition of Appian is in four volumes. show lessTags
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Like volume I, a bit of a mixed bag, but when it’s good it’s really good.
The Illyrian Wars suffers from the same problems that his Spanish book does: disconnected and not quite a whole. I think Appian must have lacked the sources to pull everything together.
The Syrian and Mithridatic Wars: terrific. They read almost like novellas. Really focused on the narrative. If his history of Hannibal is anything to go by Appian has jettisoned any events that detract from from that. Time’s heavily telescoped. The character of Mithridates alone is worth the price of admission. Just the most astounding man.
I’m not sure that Appian is the best place to start with Roman history, at least not in this form. Appian’s not about to explain show more anything that would have been common knowledge in his day. I know a bit about the history of the region so was able to roughly orient myself, but there are no notes in these Loeb editions and I’m sure there’s a lot I’ve missed. Penguin has an edition of the Civil Wars equivalent to volumes II & IV and think I might switch to that. show less
The Illyrian Wars suffers from the same problems that his Spanish book does: disconnected and not quite a whole. I think Appian must have lacked the sources to pull everything together.
The Syrian and Mithridatic Wars: terrific. They read almost like novellas. Really focused on the narrative. If his history of Hannibal is anything to go by Appian has jettisoned any events that detract from from that. Time’s heavily telescoped. The character of Mithridates alone is worth the price of admission. Just the most astounding man.
I’m not sure that Appian is the best place to start with Roman history, at least not in this form. Appian’s not about to explain show more anything that would have been common knowledge in his day. I know a bit about the history of the region so was able to roughly orient myself, but there are no notes in these Loeb editions and I’m sure there’s a lot I’ve missed. Penguin has an edition of the Civil Wars equivalent to volumes II & IV and think I might switch to that. show less
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Born probably during the reign of Domitian (81--96), Appian was an Alexandrian Greek who rose to high imperial office under Antoninus Pius (137--61). He wrote a history of Rome's wars from the founding of Rome to the reign of Trajan, arranged ethnographically. Of the 24 original books, or papyrus rolls of standard length written in Greek, 16 have show more survived essentially complete. Appian was not an original historian but a derivative and pedestrian narrator who understood only imperfectly the institutions of the former Republic about which he wrote. However, he used sources for his work that made it valuable modern scholars. This is particularly true of his Civil Wars, describing the last convulsions of the Republic and the rise of Octavian. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Appian's Roman History in Four Volumes. II: Books 8.2-12
- Original publication date
- 1912
- People/Characters
- Philip V of Macedon; Perseus, King of Macedon; Julius Caesar; Antiochus III the Great (241? to 287 BC/BCE); Hannibal; Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (show all 11); Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus; Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC/BCE); Seleucus I; Mithridates VI, King of Pontus; Appian
- Important places
- Rome; Numidia; Macedon; Illyria; Pontus, Asia Minor
- Important events
- First Illyrian War (230 B.C.E.); Battle of Magnesia; Mithridatic Wars (88-66 BCE); Pompey's War against the Pirates
- First words
- APPIAN'S ROMAN HISTORY
BOOK VIII -- PART II
NUMIDIAN AFFAIRS
I. From the Vatican MSS. of Cardinal Mai
Bomilcar being under accusation fled before his trial, and with him Jugurtha, who uttered that famous saying ab... (show all)out bribetakers, that "the whole city of Rome could be bought if a purchaser could be found for it."
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- Reviews
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- Languages
- English, Greek (Ancient)
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 1
