Books About the Flavian Era

[David Atherton]

Since it seems we have a small Flavian community here at Forvm, I thought I would share a few of the book titles that I have acquired over the years which have been of immense help to me as a Flavian collector.

Primary Sources

Suetonius: The Flavian Emperors - Historical commentary and Translation by Brian Jones and Robert Milns
Tacitus The Histories - Translated by Kenneth Wellesley
Tacitus Agricola and Germany - Translated by A. R. Birley
Tacitus Agricola - Commentary by R. M. Ogilvie and I. A. Richmond
Pliny Natural History - Translated by H. Rackham (Loeb)
Juvenal The Sixteen satires - Translated by Peter Green
Martial Epigrams - Translated by D. R. Shackleton Bailey (Loeb)
Josephus The Jewish War - Translated by H. St. J. Thackeray (Loeb)
Josephus The Jewish War - Translated by Martin Hammond with commentary by Martin Goodman

The Emperors

The Year of the Four Emperors - Kenneth Wellesley
Vespasian - Barbara Levick
Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae - John Nicols
The Emperor Titus - Brian Jones
The Emperor Domitian - Brian Jones
Domitian: Tragic Tyrant - Pat Southern
From Tiberius to the Antonines - Albino Garzetti

The Jewish War and Flavius Josephus

A History of The Jewish War - Steve Mason
The Jews Against Rome - Susan Sorek
The Jewish Revolt Against Rome - Popovic (Ed.)
Apocalypse: The Great Jewish Revolt Against Rome 66-73 - Neil Faulkner
Jerusalem Under Siege - Jonathan J. Price
The Roman Siege of Jerusalem - Rupert Furneaux
Masada - Yigael Yadin
Masada - Jodi Magness
Rome and Jerusalem - Martin Goodman
Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome - Edited by Edmondson, Mason, & Rives
Josephus in Galilee and Rome - Shaye J. D. Cohen
Josephus - Tessa Rajak
Flavius Josephus Between Jerusalem and Rome - Per Bilde
Josephus: The man and the Historian - H. St. J. Thackeray
Jerusalem's Traitor - Desmond Seward
Flavius Josephus - Mireille Hadas-Lebel
A Jew Among Romans - Frederic Raphael
Josephus's The Jewish War: A Biography - Martin Goodman

Agricola

Agricola and the Conquest of the North - W. S. Hanson
Agricola and Roman Britain - A. R. Burn
A Battle Lost: Romans and Caledonians at Mons Graupius - Gordon Maxwell
The Roman Conquest of Scotland: The Battle of Mons Graupius AD 84 - James E. Fraser
Mons Graupius AD 83 - Duncan Campbell
Roman Scotland - David Breeze
The Romans in Scotland - Gordon Maxwell
Rome's First Frontier: The Flavian Occupation of Northern Scotland - D.J. Woolliscroft and B. Hoffmann

Pompeii and Herculaneum

The Natural History of Pompeii - Jashemski and Meyer
Herculaneum - Andrew Wallace-Hadrill
Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum - Andrew Wallace-Hadrill
The Complete Pompeii - Joanne Berry
Pompeii - L. Richardson, Jr.
Pompeii - Zanker
Pompeii - F. Coarelli
Pompeii AD 79 - R. Brilliant
Pompeii and the Roman Villa - C. Mattusch
The Fires of Vesuvius - Mary Beard
Vesuvius AD 79 - E. De Carolis and G. Patricelli
Romans on the Bay of Naples - John H. D' Arms
Ghosts of Vesuvius - Charles Pellegrino
Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure - Joseph Jay Deiss
Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum - Paul Roberts
Roman Pompeii: Space and Society - Ray Laurence
The World of Pompeii - Edited by John J. Dobbins and Pedar W. Foss
Pompeii: A Source book - Alison E. Cooley and M. G. L. Cooley
Pompeii - Alison E. Cooley
The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny - D. Dunn
Pliny and the Eruption of Vesuvius - P. W. Foss

The Colosseum

The Colosseum - Ada Gabucci, Editor
The Colosseum - K. Hopkins and M. Beard
Arena: The Story of the Colosseum - John Pearson
Colosseum - Peter Connolly
A Monument to Dynasty and Death - N. T. Elkins

The Coinage

The Roman Imperial Coinage II Part 1 - Carradice and Buttrey
Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum II - Mattingly
Monnaies de l'Empire Romain III - J.-B. Giard
Roman Silver Coins II - Seaby
Roman Provincial Coinage II - Burnett, Amandry, Carradice
Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian - Ian Carradice
The Metallurgy of Roman silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan - Butcher and Ponting
A Dictionary of Roman Coins - John Melville Jones

General works

Emperors and architecture: A Study of Flavian Rome - R. H. Darwall-smith
Flavian Rome - A. J. Boyle and W. J. Dominik
The Oxford Classical Dictionary - Hornblower and Spawforth
The Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World - Talbert
A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome - L. Richardson
Roman Passions - Ray Laurence
Popular Culture in Ancient Rome - Jerry Toner

[ancientdave]

Wow David, thank you for sharing this fantastic list, I will definately be using it as a guide in some of my future book purchases.

[David Atherton]

Wow David, thank you for sharing this fantastic list, I will definately be using it as a guide in some of my future book purchases.

You are quite welcome. I hope it can be of some use to folks wishing to know more about their coins and the context they were minted in.  Also, I would like that anyone who finds a book about the period interesting or useful will post it here. This could be a growing resource.

[David Atherton]

I just added John Nicols' "Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae" to the list. It's a superb analysis of Vespasian's rise to power and the people who supported him. Highly recommended!

[Mat]

Im currently reading The Year of the Four Emperors by Kenneth Wellesley, so far I am really enjoying it.

[David Atherton]

Im currently reading The Year of the Four Emperors by Kenneth Wellesley, so far I am really enjoying it.

I think it is one of the best treatments of the subject. Wellesley's narrative style is very engaging!

[Mat]

Yeah it doesnt get too scholarly which tends to put me off at times.

[Jay GT4]

I've read Martin Goodman's "Rome and Jerusalem"  twice, it's a great book.  He has another from 1993:

The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt against Rome, A.D. 66-70

Anyone read it?

[David Atherton]

I've read Martin Goodman's "Rome and Jerusalem"  twice, it's a great book.  He has another from 1993:

The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt against Rome, A.D. 66-70

Anyone read it?

I have the book read and really enjoyed it. This book goes into a bit more detail about the Judaean politics of the revolt. If you enjoyed "Rome and Jerusalem" you will certainly enjoy this one.

[David Atherton]

I have just added Per Bilde's Flavius Josephus Between Jerusalem and Rome to the list and have to say this is the best "scholarly" introduction to Josephus I've yet read. Unlike Seward's book on Josephus, Bilde's is not just a retelling of The Jewish War. It is a wonderful monograph that tells of Josephus' life, works, and importance. Highly recommended!

[Potator II]

That's exactly what every specialized collector should do in their domain (I've done that for the Dombes coinage, but who cares    )

Good job David
JC

[David Atherton]

That's exactly what every specialized collector should do in their domain (I've done that for the Dombes coinage, but who cares    )

Good job David
JC

I know how you feel! Not too many people get excited about a biography on Josephus ... which is a shame, considering there is so much there for Roman and classical enthusiasts to enjoy.

[David Atherton]

I recently received Ian Carradice's Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian and added it to the above list.

This book is a wonderful resource not just for the reign of Domitian but also for Flavian era coinage in general. It is footnoted quite often in the new RIC and after reading it I can see why. Mint operations are covered, as well as coinage output, hoards, types, ect. Denarii in particular are given the spotlight. IMHO, Essential.

[David Atherton]

I recently received Ian Carradice's Coinage and Finances in the Reign of Domitian and added it to the above list.

This book is a wonderful resource not just for the reign of Domitian but also for the Flavian era in general. It is footnoted quite often in the new RIC and after reading it I can see why. Mint operations are covered, as well as coinage output, hoards, types, ect. Denarii in particular are given the spotlight. IMHO, Essential.

A side note: this book is extremely rare, if you can't find it online for sale, most major universities have it. Please check it out.

[David Atherton]

Recently I have added Flavian Rome by A.J. Boyle and W.J. Dominik to my library. The book consists of various essays about the Flavian era by many leading classical scholars and is essential reading for understanding the period.

The book is huge and quite expensive, but well worth tracking down.

[David Atherton]

Added Susan Sorek's The Jews Against Rome, a wonderful, scholarly look at the war and its causes.

Many of the books written about the Jewish War are popular accounts (Desmond Seward's Jerusalem's Traitor comes to mind) which slavishly retell Josephus' version without much critical analysis (not necessarily a bad thing if it is told in a lively way as Seward has done). Sorek's is one of the few narrative, academic treatments of the subject I know of. Well worth tracking down!

I also recently added The Jewish Revolt Against Rome, a collection of academic essays concerning the conflict. If you ever wanted to know about what cookware the Roman army used at Masada this is the book for you!

[helvetica]

For those who read German, in Zeitschrift für Numismatik XIV, Pick wrote an excellent article about the coinage  of the Flavians entitled "Zur Titulatur der Flavier".

[David Atherton]

I recently added to my library R. H. Darwall-Smith's excellent book Emperors and Architecture: A Study of Flavian Rome, a fundamental work on what exactly the Flavians built and how the Rome we see today is in large part due to them. Also, from a coin collectors perspective the coinage is cited quite extensively.

Hard to track down and very expensive, but well worth the effort!

[David Atherton]

Added and finally finished Gordon Maxwell's The Romans in Scotland. A fantastic breakdown of Roman activity in Scotland during the Flavian through Severan eras. I came away with a better understanding of how the frontiers were created and maintained. Coins are mentioned periodically for the dating of various marching camps and forts.

[David Atherton]

Another addition, Rome's First Frontier: The Flavian Occupation of Northern Scotland - D.J. Woolliscroft and B. Hoffmann.

This is a very impressive read! The Flavian 'limes' system in Scotland, especially the Gask Frontier, is given a sound archaeological treatment. The picture presented here of Roman Scotland is quite revolutionary. Written in a breezy easy to understand style too.

[David Atherton]

I recently acquired The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan by Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting. This book is a must for any serious first century collector!

Skip a coin and purchase this book, it's that important.

[David Atherton]

Added Steve Mason's A History of The Jewish War, a fantastic critical analysis of the Jewish War and the events surrounding it. After reading it you will come away with the realisation that politics has not changed very much in the intervening 2000 years. Highly recommended if only for the chapter on Masada.

[gallienus1]

Oops just goes to show you should check your posting when your tired, sorry I put in a book about the Severan period when the thread is Flavian!

Ignore the picture of the book Syrian Princesses, (still a good book).

Thankfully the rest of my post is still- sort of- relevant.
 
Now I hope you will forgive me for pushing the envelope a little but I thought some members would like to know about a popular literary take on the Flavian era- the works of Lindsey Davis.

Delightful to read, her Falco series is concerned with character of Marcus Didius Falco who as a literary invention is to the Flavian period what Patrick O’brian’s character Jack Aubrey is to the Napoleonic period. I have yet to meet a person who is knowledgeable about the Royal Navy in the time of Nelson who does not have a deep affection for O’brian’s engaging character.
  
Likewise all my friends who are interested in Roman history and who have read Lindsey Davis have a great affection for Falco.
 
I read my first Falco story the Silver Pigs over 25 years ago while I was in still the Army. I was astounded how Davis, at the time a woman working in the civil service, could describe the military male character with such accuracy.    

Now I know historical fiction can be a beguiling fantasy that sometimes leads to a less solid understanding of the past than an academic history can. But if you know your period well, and the author has researched the period meticulously, then partaking in the fictional story  of a character from that period can be a deeply satisfying experience.

Davis has also done a more seriously ‘deep’ Flavian historical novel, The Course of Honour which is about Vespasian and his lover Caenis. If you want literature that moves the soul I believe it rivals Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian.


Best Regards,
Steve  
 

[Parthicus Maximus]

It seems that a new book about Domitian will be published soon.  It is related to a major exhibition about Domitian in the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, The Netherlands. The book will contain a group of articles that focus on various aspects of Domitian.
The info with the book looks promising.

Book: https://www.sidestone.com/books/god-on-earth-emperor-domitian

Exhibition: https://www.rmo.nl/en/exhibitions/temporary-exhibitions/emperor-domitian/

[Jay GT4]

Thanks!