Customer Reviews

Trajan: Optimus Princeps

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Julian Bennett's biography of Trajan goes into great detail of how the early Principate worked. Trajan's famliy's rise to power is discussed in the first few chapters. Also, the reign of the tyrant Domitian is given a good overview.

Certainly Trajan is one of the most admired rulers of the early Empire. His exploits in Dacia and Parthia are the stuff of legend. Fortunately Julian Bennett gives these campaigns full attention, but goes well beyond that to look at the workings of the Imperial government. Be warned this book is not for the novice in Roman History. The financial policies of the Empire are discussed in detail, such how the Princeps would determine how much gold and silver to put into coins. Also well documented is how the Provinces, both 'Senatorial' and 'Imperial', were governed and how the Legions higher command structures were handled, what today we would call 'corp' or 'army' command level.

If you are looking for just a history of the Dacian and Parthian wars you probably won't like the detail given the more 'mundane' aspects of Roman Imperial Government. However, if you are familiar with Roman history and want to see how the Principate worked on a more detailed and personal level this book is with out a doubt on of the best.

The achievement of Julian Bennett cannot be overestimated. His book, the first in English, is the major source for information about Trajan. The author is long-winded at times and I found his brief examination of the evolution of the principate unnecessary but, overall, this is a book not to be missed.

Mr. Bennett's presenation of Domitian was not entirely convincing for me. He seems to accept many of the bad stories about the emperor but also mentions that his reputation was blackened during Trajan's reign. However, a good comparison is made between the two emperors in the final chapter. Trajan was a lot like Domitian in his approach to power.

I would have liked more about Nerva in the book and Trajan's relationship to his adoptive father. For me, there seems to be some friction between them. Was there a reason Trajan did not issue commemorative coins for Nerva's deification?

Mr. Bennett gives an excellent examination of Trajan's coinage and provides a perspective from an archaelogical point of view. He covers every aspect of Trajan's career. This is not lite reading but, for the most part, is absorbing and thought-provoking.

While a rather dry read at times, this book is simply unmatched in scope when it comes to describing the reign of Trajan from his rise to power to his death. The author does an excellent job at fine details such as with his discriptions of Hadrians campaigns and the financial situation of Rome.

This is an excellent book on the life and times of the emperor Trajan. Though this book is not recommended for those uninitiated in imperial roman history, for those who are the attention to detail will be appreciated. Furthermore, Bennett acknowledges the lack of specific information relating especially to the early life of the emperor but uses his vast yet detailed knowledge of history, politics, society, etc.. to synthesize any necessary sequence of events and give the reader an excellent perspective of the empire at its apogee.

Bennett did a great work, of a scarce materiel gives us an inside and comprehensive overview of the life -and times- of one of the better roman emperors. Definitevely I recommend it.

Neron. Mexico.

There is no excuse I can imagine for what Bennett has done here: he's made Trajan BORING. He's taken a life that's so sparsely documented and yet so temptingly exotic and grand, and he's shot it, stuffed it, and mounted it on a dusty back shelf in some dim-lit basement. This may be fine scholarship (in fact, to give the book its due, it IS fine scholarship), but it does no good service either to the non-specialist reader or to Trajan himself, who still awaits the biography he deserves.

This is the run-of-the-mill booktype on Ancient History that the English speaking academia produces. Mr. Bennett is obvious in love with his hero Trajan, and has painstakingly amassed all relevant materials (textual, archaeological, numismatic, etc.) in order to somehow produce a continuous account of his reign. However, onece we are done with that, what remains for us modern readers who do not love Trajan for his own sake? Nothing much, I fear, as there is not a definite issue (e.g. Trajan's policies of imperial expansion, or his _alimenta_ schemes) to which the author should offer a solution taking Trajan as a model case. As Moses Finley said in his last book, this "say everything you know about" approach only leaves the reader with an idea of wasted intellectual acumen, and begs the issue of the actual relevance of knowledge on the subject. Unfortunately,the book is throughly reasearched, but fails to be actually intersting.

I thought this was the guy who designed and built the Trajan Horse. Looks like I bought the wrong book. Anyhow, it makes a very good foot stool.