Favorite Original Source for Roman History

What's some of your favorite works of Roman-era historians? My personal favorite is Ammianus Marcellinus' work focusing on the years 353-378 A.D. This book, the Res Gestae, started with the reign of Nerva but all portions prior to 353 are lost to history. The description of Julian's rise to power and campaign against the Persians is quite riveting. Fortunately it is available for free online:

http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/index.htm#Ammianus_Marcellinus

Please share your favorite historians and why you like them!

 

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My two most-read are The Letters of the Younger Pliny and Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars. I like Pliny's letters because some of them include replies from the emperor Trajan, and because it's fascinating to also read the less formal letters to his friends. I like Suetonius's book on the emperors because he includes physical descriptions and habits and that sort of more personal information.

 

Cassius Dio Roman History. It is just sad that almost half of his collection of books have been lost....

 

I enjoy Livy. I especially enjoy reading about the earliest times which are mostly shrouded in legend.

 

In my life I have probably read Suetonius more than any other book except The Bible. While I know that many of the stories Suetonius tells are probably embellished, I also believe his position gave him access to resources that would not have been available to writers outside the Imperial Palace, making him an important primary source that should be taken seriously.

I also enjoy Marcus Aurelius' Meditations as it is (aside from a few fragments) our only opportunity to get inside the head of a Roman Emperor by reading something he wrote.

 

I also greatly enjoy the Meditations. Another one I like is Herodian for his accounts of the third century. He is one of the only sources for the reigns of Maximinus Thrax, Gordian I and II, and Balbinus and Pupienus.

 

I have greatly enjoyed Suetonius and Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, but my other sources have all been secondary so far. I'm currently working through Gibbon, but I am probably going to either go with Dio or Livy next.

 

I agree with most of the works cited above, but for me Flavius Josephus is highly overlooked by both Greek and Roman historians. It's a shame his work seems to be relegated to the confines of biblical scholarship. Josephus, a Roman Jew living in the First century, wrote in Greek about the (Roman) history of his times - the Jewish War, the Year of the Four emperors, Masada, etc. He is a wealth of information for Roman historians and biblical scholars alike. There are not too many surviving texts the depict Roman warfare in such detail!

Fortunately, Josephus' rehabilitation as a source for classical scholarship has begun: see Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome by Edmondson, Mason, and Rives as a recent example.

 

I read Josephus' works in college and I still have a copy of the book. I agree that it is very informative and we can see the legacy of his writings in the JVDAEA CAPTA coins of Vespasian. It also was a favorite work of my prof. Erich Gruen at Berkeley.

 

I should add that I have greatly enjoyed reading Cicero and Seneca for their cultural history, although rarely addressing the grand narrative that we would usually consider history.

 

Livy - History of Rome from Its Foundation

I particularly enjoy:

The War with Hannibal, Titus Livius Livy


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Hannibal promised the Capuan Magistrates that should he destroy Rome, that Capua would become the capital of Italia.

 

Just beginning Arrian’s “The Campaigns of Alexander now. Although written hundreds of years after the events described... Arrian had access to good source information. Its a great read so far!

*Just noticed this thread is asking about ROMAN history... Well Oops. Arrian was a Roman Consul if that helps make up for my error.

 

I highly enjoy reading Arrian. One of the other Greeks who covered Alexander was Callisthenes, who unfortunately met his demise under the ruler because he and a few other members of his retinue complained too much about Alexander's adopting Persian customs such as proskynesis and his ceaseless desire to keep conquering territories in the East, which created friction with his troops who were tired of constant campaigning and wanted to go back to Macedon to see their wives and children.

 

In third year Latin we translated Livy, quite enjoyable.

 

I have never taken Latin, but I enjoy learning what I can of the language. When I first read the War with Hannbal, (modern translation), I was amazed at how well it was written, and how REAL it felt.

 

Agreed. I enjoyed Arrian also. Part of my coursework at University in the 70's.

 

Well you start with the simple things, go on to Caesar, and then the other writers later on.

 

I have read Caesars Commentaries a couple times.