AD69 - Emperors, Armies and Anarchy - Hardcover

Fields, Nic

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781591881 ISBN 13: 9781781591888

Publisher: Pen and Sword Military, 2014

Synopsis

With the death of Nero by his own shaky hand, the ill-sorted, ill-starred Iulio-Claudian dynasty came to an ignominious end, and Rome was up for the taking. This was 9 June, AD 68. The following year, commonly known as the ‘Year of the Four Emperors’, was probably one of Rome’s worst.

Nero's death threw up a critical question for the Empire. How could a new man occupy the vacant throne in Rome and establish a new dynasty? This situation had never arisen before, since in all previous successions the new emperor had some relation to his predecessor, but the psychotic and paranoid Nero had done away with any eligible relatives. And how might a new emperor secure his legal position and authority with regards to the Senate and to the army, as well as to those who had a vested interest in the system, the Praetorian Guard? The result was that ambitious and unscrupulous generals of the empire fell into a bloody power struggle to decide who had the right to wear the imperial purple.

Tacitus, in his acid way, remarks that 'one of the secrets of ruling had been revealed: an emperor could be created outside Rome'. This was because imperial authority was ultimately based on control of the military. Thus, to retain power a player in the game of thrones had to gain an unshakable control over the legions, which were dotted along the fringes of the empire. Of course, this in turn meant that the soldiers themselves could impose their own choice. Indeed, it turned out that even if an emperor gained recognition in Rome, this counted for nothing in the face of opposition from the armies out in the frontier provinces. It was to take a tumultuous year of civil war and the death of three imperial candidates before a fourth candidate could come out on top, remain there, and establish for himself a new dynasty. Nic Fields narrates the twists and turns and the military events of this short but bloody period of Roman history.

About this title

About the Author:

DR NIC FIELDS started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines. Having left the military, he went back to university and completed his doctorate in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He was Assistant Director of the British School at Athens, then a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh. He is now a freelance author and researcher based in southwest France, specializing in ancient military history.

Review:

"Fields scholarship is solid." (Roman Times Blogspot)

About this edition

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1781591881
• ISBN 13: 9781781591888
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256