Augustus: First Emperor of Rome

“Superb....Augustus is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand.” (Washington Post)

Caesar Augustus created the Roman Empire and forever associated the name Caesar with power. Heir to Julius Caesar, he thrust himself into the middle of Roman politics at its most violent period, facing off against Brutus, and eventually Antony and Cleopatra. He was a military dictator who schemed and killed his way to power and then brought the Romans peace and prosperity after all the chaos, laying the foundations of the famous Pax Romana.

In this definitive and critically acclaimed biography, eminent historian Adrian Goldsworthy illuminates the political and private lives of Rome’s first emperor in more depth than ever before. Weaving together tales of military victories, political marriages, and senatorial power struggles, Goldsworthy portrays Augustus as he really was—at once noble and manipulative, giving and tyrannical, clever and cruel.

Meticulously researched and approachably written, Augustus is the most detailed extant biography of Caesar Augustus, a man whose legacy continues on today. 

 

Adrian Goldsworthy received his DPhil in ancient history from Oxford and has taught at Cardiff University, King’s College, and the University of Notre Dame in London. The author of numerous books, including Rome and Persia, Philip and Alexander, Pax Romana, and Caesar, he lives in South Wales, UK.