From the Gracchi to Nero

Over the course of more than a year, I read this excellent Roman history one chunk at a time. It was well worth it. For good reason this is Scullard's most well known work. It is thorough, interesting and covers that important transition period of Roman history. He begins with the agrarian struggle which leads to the tottering and dysfunctional late Republic. This eventually settles into the successful constitutional settlement of Augustus and a well managed empire. Eventually, though Tiberius and Claudius were worthy successors of Augustus, Caligula and Nero bring about the moral and political collapse of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Scullard's chronology ends with the chaotic "Year of the Four Emperors". Chapters on literature, show more society, religion and the arts were enlightening though inescapably superficial surveys of the times. Like many ancient histories, Scullard extrapolates from outside of the covered time periods to supplement his generalizations. My heart longs to read this book again because there are so many fascinating characters in there. Knowing how long it took me to get through this once and how many other books distracted me from staying on task, I'm going to leave it alone and wait for the right moment and allow Scullard to distract me from some other book I'm trying to plow through. show less

One of the clearest, most balanced accounting of the Roman Republican period I have read. Scullard was able to summarize the scholarship and give fair treatment to various interpretations without seeming to have an axe to grind. Witty, engaging prose, and the footnotes are almost as good as the text. Although there is no general bibliography, the footnotes are immensely helpful.

This is a standard text for undergrads for a reason—Scullard's text provides a magisterial overview of two of the most critical centuries of Roman history, and actually helped me to grasp some of the ways in which economics impacted on contemporary political developments. It has to be read with caveats, however: its scholarship is almost three decades old now and has been superseded in several areas. A good starting point, but you'll always have to supplement it.

Books like Scullard are essential for anyone who wants to engage with history. Where do you go after being intrigued by History Channel programs about the "mysteries" of the ancient world? You could hinge on colour photo exposes of Rome from the local discount bookstore. And photos and images are very important. But to increase your insight and understanding of a period of history, overview histories by reputable historians such as this are essential.

Scullard was one of the postwar doyens of British classical scholarship. Sure this book is dated, last revised in 1982 and largely reflecting the concerns of the 1950s-1970s. But it is excellent as a readable introduction to the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. Most modern show more readers will struggle with some brief lines of untranslated Latin, but Scullard himself acknowledged this as an issue. Nowadays you can study ancient history without knowing Greek or Latin. Scullard's generation learnt it at school.

Once you have injested this introduction you will be well-equipped to read more deeply. show less

2267 From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to 68 A.D., by H. H. Scullard (read 14 Feb 1990) This is an excellent book. The author is a British scholar born in 1903. The book starts with the Gracchi, covers Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Caesar, and Octavian-- who turned into Augustus,--Tiberius Gaius. Caliglia, and Nero. It is an enthralling book. (As an aside Nero competed in the Greek festivals and returned with 1808 first prizes. He fell out of his 10-horse chariot but was put back in and got first all the same.) The story is an amazing one. The book ends: "But the blood of the martyrs proved the seed of the Church. Few who witnessed their sufferings under Nero would have believed that in 250 years Christianity would have show more triumphed, that the Roman empire would have accepted it as an official religion, and that a Christian emperor, Constantine, would be sitting on the throne of the Caesars." There is so much interesting reading to be done in this area--one could spend a lifetime doing it. show less

Solid prose, great breadth, impeccable footnoting.

My professor at the start of the course on Roman History from 60BC to 14AD praised this book for its conciseness and its suitability for undergraduates and lay readers entering upon a study of this fascinating time, but he lamented that some of it wa badly in need of an update. So good for beginners, read the footnotes for advice on where to look for a deeper examination of the issues.