Appian's Roman History in Four Volumes. I: Books 1-8.1
by Appian
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Appian (first-second century CE), a Greek from Antioch, offers a history of the rise of Rome but often shows us events from the point of view of the conquered peoples. Books on the Spanish, Hannibalic, Punic, Illyrian, Syrian, Mythridatic, and Civil wars are extant.Tags
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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 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 show more valuable records of military history.The Loeb Classical Library edition of Appian is in four volumes. show less
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102+ Works 1,205 Members
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. I: Books 1-8.1
- Original publication date
- 1912
- People/Characters
- Aeneas; Brennus; Pyrrhus, King of Epirus; Hamilcar Barca; Hasdrubal, son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca; Hannibal (show all 11); Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus; Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus; Viriathus, Iberian chieftain; Fabius Maximus; Masinissa of Numidia
- Important places
- Rome, Italy; Capua, Campania, Italy; Tarentum; Carthage
- Important events
- Punic Wars; First Punic War (264 BCE | 241 BCE); Second Punic War (218 BCE | 201 BCE); Battle of Cannae (216 BCE); Battle of Zama (202 BCE-10-19); Third Punic War (149 BCE | 146 BCE)
- First words
- INTRODUCTION -- The historian, Appian, was a native of Alexandria, Egypt. All that we know about him as an individual is gleaned from his own writings and from the letters of Fronto, the tutor of Marcus Aurelius.
APPIAN'S ROMAN HISTORY
PREFACE
1. Intending to write the history of the Romans, I have deemed it necessary to begin with the boundaries of the nations under their sway.
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 937 — History & geography History of ancient world (to ca. 499) Italian Peninsula to 476 and adjacent territories to 476
- LCC
- PA3873 .A2 — Language and Literature Greek language and literature. Latin language and literature Greek literature Individual authors
- BISAC
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- Members
- 108
- Popularity
- 299,028
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.20)
- Languages
- English, Greek (Ancient)
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 1
