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Rose Mary Sheldon
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Kill Caesar!: Assassination in the Early Roman Empire Kindle Edition

by Rose Mary Sheldon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars 1 rating
“Why were Rome’s first emperors—the good, the bad, and the ugly—so vulnerable to conspiracies and assassination? . . . an expert analysis . . . compelling.” —Adrienne Mayor, author of The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates and Rome’s Deadliest Enemy

Exploring the history of internal security under the first Roman dynasty, this groundbreaking book answers the enduring question: If there were 9,000 men guarding the emperor, how were three-quarters of Rome’s leaders assassinated? Rose Mary Sheldon traces the evolution of internal security mechanisms under the Julio-Claudians, evaluating the system that Augustus first developed to protect the imperial family and the stability of his dynasty. Yet in spite of the intensive precautions taken, there were multiple attempts on his life. 
 
Like all emperors, Augustus had a number of competing constituencies—the senate, the army, his extended family, the provincials, and the populace of Rome—but were they all equally threatening? Indeed, the biggest threat would come from those closest to the emperor—his family and the aristocracy. Even Roman imperial women were deeply involved in instigating regime change. By the fourth emperor, Caligula, the Praetorian Guards were already participating in assassinations, and the army too was becoming more politicized. 
 
Sheldon weighs the accuracy of ancient sources: Does the image of the emperor presented to us represent reality or what the people who killed him wanted us to think? Were Caligula and Nero really crazy, or did senatorial historians portray them that way to justify their murder? Was Claudius really the fool found drooling behind a curtain and made emperor, or was he in on the plot from the beginning? These and other fascinating questions are answered as Sheldon concludes that the repeated problem of “killing Caesar” reflected the empire’s larger dynamics and turmoil.
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  1. Print length
    385 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Stackpole Books
  4. Publication date
    June 14, 2023
  5. File size
    4.3 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

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Exploring the history of internal security under the first Roman dynasty, this groundbreaking book answers the enduring question: If there were 9,000 men guarding the emperor, how were three-quarters of Rome’s leaders assassinated? . . . Does the image of the emperor presented to us represent reality or what the people who killed him wanted us to think? Were Caligula and Nero really crazy, or did senatorial historians portray them that way to justify their murder? Was Claudius really the fool found drooling behind a curtain and made emperor, or was he in on the plot from the beginning? These and other fascinating questions are answered as Sheldon concludes that the repeated problem of ‘killing Caesar’ reflected the empire’s larger dynamics and turmoil.” ― Wordtrade.Com

Why were Rome’s first emperors—the good, the bad, and the ugly—so vulnerable to conspiracies and assassination? As the first historian to investigate this intriguing question of imperial (in)security, Rose Mary Sheldon has given us an expert analysis that is both compelling and eye-opening.

-- Adrienne Mayor, author of The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates and Rome’s Deadliest Enemy

Rose Mary Sheldon, one of the most important historians of the Roman age, provides a lucid and captivating investigation of the unlikely survival of the Roman Empire. She offers a new perspective on the remarkable number of emperors murdered as a result of palace conspiracies orchestrated by a part of the Senate. Sheldon brilliantly reconstructs the evolution of a new autocracy, that of the Principate, which has its roots in the assassination of Caesar, on the Ides of March, 44 BCE. -- Maria Federica Petraccia, Università degli studi di Genova

Why and how did the Romans resort to assassination to rid themselves of rulers? Sheldon . . . our foremost authority on ancient intelligence . . . explores the fate of Julius Caesar and his four immediate successors to explore what went horribly wrong in Rome—how security failures and seemingly endless family wrangles cost so many lives. . . . Her case studies show that the Roman Empire was a boiling cauldron of conspiracy, where even an emperor’s brothers or sons were not beyond suspicion. . . . Sheldon . . . converts her findings into smooth-flowing prose that brings her story to life. ― Washington Times

About the Author

Colonel Rose Mary Sheldon holds the Henry King Burgwyn, Jr., Chair in Military History at the Virginia Military Institute. Her books include Ambush! Surprise Attack in Ancient Greek Warfare, Rome’s Wars in Parthia: Blood in the Sand, Spies of the Bible, and Intelligence Activities in Ancient Rome: Trust in the Gods, but Verify.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07G9PYCVW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stackpole Books (June 14, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 14, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.3 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 385 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 out of 5 stars 1 rating

About the author

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Rose Mary Sheldon

Rose Mary Sheldon

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Prof. Rose Mary Sheldon received her Ph.D. in ancient history from the University of Michigan. Her dissertation, on intelligence gathering in ancient Rome, won a National Intelligence Book Award in 1987. She is a Professor Emerita of History at The Virginia Military Institute, where she held the Burgwyn Chair in Military History. She was made a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome in 1980. Dr. Sheldon has been on the Editorial boards of the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, The Journal of Military History, and Small Wars and Insurgencies. She has written seven books and more than three dozen articles on intelligence in the ancient world. Her books include Espionage in the Ancient World: An Annotated Bibliography (McFarland, 2003), Intelligence Activities in Ancient Rome. Trust in the Gods, but Verify. (London: Frank Cass, 2005); Rome’s Wars in Parthia: Blood in the Sand, (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2010); Operation Messiah: St. Paul and Roman Intelligence, with Thijs Voskuilen, (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2008); Spies of the Bible, (London: Greenhill Books, 2007); Ambush! Surprise Attack in Ancient Greek Warfare, (London: Frontline Books, 2012), and Kill Caesar! Assassination in the Early Roman Empire, (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Dr. R. H. Murray
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good history can be fun
    Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2020
    Spies, conspiracies,, secret intelligence, family feuds, murders, revenge - what’s not to like! Add in a gruesome title, a .gripping style and to top it all the impeccable scholarship of a noted military historian of the Roman Empire, mix well, and the result is an intriguing and remarkable book.

    You thought it was just Julius Caesar? No, the book reveals the truly amazing fact - did you know? me neither - that 75% of the early Roman emperors were assassinated, yes SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT ( not just emperors of course - think .that wordy rhetorician Cicero). When you read this fully documented and fascinating account you understand why, and even start to wonder how any of them survived. This can only increase the already high teputatiion of the first emperor, Augustus - long-surviving despite the threats - whom I’ve always admired for the way he established personal rule and a new political institution under the clever slogan of ‘restoring the [ancient] republic’ - modern dictators take note! there’s a lot to be learnt from ancient history...

    An important and beautifully written book. Unique and highly recommended

    Ruth Finnegan FBA
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