The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition [Paperback]

Michael Grant (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415138140 | ISBN-13: 978-0415138147 | Publication Date: June 16, 1996 | Edition: New edition

The Antonines - Antonius, Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus and Commodus - played a crucial part in the development of the Roman Empire, controlling its huge machine for half a century of its most testing period.
Theirs was a period when art and literature were flourishing. It was also a time of social and political change, and there are still many unanswered questions: did the Antonines' rule contain the seeds of later decay? How did the Christians fare? Was Commodus as bad as he was made out to be? Michael Grant examines these issues with clarity and skill.
The importance of the Antonines is manifold, but it mainly lies in the fact that they represented an `age of transition'. They were playing gigantic parts in the massive historical drama that was unfolding, a drama which was destined to transform the Roman Empire from its ancient mould and bring it into the Middle Ages.
Michael Grant is one of the world's greatest writers on ancient history. He has had a distinguished academic career, most recently as Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast, and has published over fifty books.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`The author writes brilliantly, clearly and with fascinating detail. Most exciting of all is the way that he ties the concerns of ancient history, especially here the maintenance of Empires (be they Soviet or Roman) into the concerns of our own time.' - Oxbow Books

About the Author

Michael Grant, one of the few eminent writers on ancient history, most recently has served as the Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (June 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415138140
• ISBN-13: 978-0415138147
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,883,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dry, and lacking in detail, June 6, 2007

By 

Lori Reeser "Major Reader" (Sunnyvale, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition (Paperback)

I was sadly disappointed by this book, the first (and probably last) I have read by Michael Grant.

The writing seems to deliberately remove all specific details. I suspect this is because the author wants to present an `objective' view of what the emperors did, instead of the gossip and innuendo that is, like it or not, a major source of information for Roman history. This sanitization goes to such extreme length that important information is not given. For example we are told Antoninus Pius did certain things to try to dispel the reputation he had of being stingy, but we are not told how we know he had this reputation, or whether it was deserved.

Another more blatant example comes from the start of the chapter on Marcus Aurelias. The author tries to demonstrate how Marcus Aurelias increased the strength of the upper classes. The example is a dispute between the farmers of a small town along the route that cattle took between their winter and summer pastures and the owners of these cattle (apparently the emperor). The farmers complained directly to the emperor. `The emperor passed the decision to the praetorian prefects, Marcus Bassaeus Rufus and Marcus Macrinus Avitus Catonius Vindex, and their ruling gave the [farmers] no satisfaction whatsoever.' So we learn the names of two prefects but we don't know exactly what the dispute or resolution was nor how this is an example of increasing the upper classes strength.

Although I certainly agree that authors should declare their opinions, I expect that they will give me enough information so that I can decide whether I agree with them.

I don't think I will finish this book, it irritates me so. I recommend Colin Wells `The Roman Empire'. It covers a longer period, and has almost as much detail (if not more) about both the political and social history of this era.
The Roman Empire: Second Edition

If you want a bare bones history, and are willing to accept the author's opinions without question, then this book is adequate.