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The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition 1st Edition

by Michael Grant (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
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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.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0415138140
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0415138147
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publication date
    June 16, 1996
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    6.1 x 0.57 x 9.1 inches
  7. Print length
    252 pages
  8. See all details
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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

From the Back Cover

The Antonines--Antoninus Pius, Marcus Auerlius, 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.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (June 16, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 252 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0415138140
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0415138147
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.57 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

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Michael Grant

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bruce A. Fichelson
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great one from M. Grant
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
If you are a fan of Michael Grant's work on the Roman Empire, then this is a "must have". Written well and a page-turner for history buffs.
2 people found this helpful
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Terry Jennrich
3.0 out of 5 stars The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2017
This book was published in 1994. It discussed the reigns of 4 emperors of Rome: Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (co emperors) and Commodus. But the histories are very brief and not what I hoped I would receive from this author. He makes a telling analogy to today's Europe when discussing Rome's failures. "Empires and grouping of nations collapse because they, or their leaders, have taken wrong decisions, have made mistakes, or have failed to deal with difficult or impossible situations." [pg 160] External invasions across the Danube and Euphrates was one of the main causes of the fall of the western roman empire in the 5th century. Immigration was another problem. Rome let in a lot of immigrants. Grant said Rome failed to deal with immigration which eventually debilitated and overwhelmed the Empire. He said Europe of the 20th century should take heed not to repeat that failure for their own sake. How appropo for both Europe and the U.S.A. for boarder control in the 21st century.
I gave this book a 3. It's OK to read, but you would need to read other sources to obtain the full picture of Roman history during the Antonines era of time.
3 people found this helpful
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doc peterson
4.0 out of 5 stars dense, deep and detailed
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2014
Michael Grant, a classicist, presents what is arguably the best recent scholarship on the "Good Emperors" (Antoninus Pius, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius) who ruled Rome at the zenith of its power. The book is richly detailed, with an incisive analysis considering the motives behind the actions of Antoninus Pius. His discussion of Mrcus Aurelius is fair, but critical - particularly for his selection of his son, Commodus, to succeed him. While interesting, I found Grant's political history a bit dry compared to his exploration of the art and literature of the period. A dense but well-written account of Rome's "Golden Age."
2 people found this helpful
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Jason Gacek
3.0 out of 5 stars Spread Too Thin
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2014
This book should have been called: 'The Antonine Era' or something like that. The biographical writings on Pius, Aurelius, Verus, and Commodus are so brief as to be not entirely useful. Grant then goes on to a brief overview of every single person to put pen to parchment during these years. Then we receive an equally brief summary of art and architecture. Followed by a pretty good closing chapter. Essentially, Grant tries to cover too much material in too few pages to do a good job with any of it. If you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about this period of Roman history then you might enjoy this introduction. Where Birley can be said to have too much depth in his biography of Hadrian, Grant's work is definitely a case of 'not enough depth'. Don't buy this book if you want strong biographical material on these 4 Emperors.
3 people found this helpful
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ilmk
4.0 out of 5 stars A good general history of the Antonines
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2003
`The Antonines' is a necessary work on the second century A.D. by a respected Roman historian.
Part One of this work by Michael Grant gives a brief presentation of the salient imperial powers of the time, Antonius Pius (138-161), Marcus Aurelius (161-180), Lucius Verus (161-169) and Commodus (180-192) in a concise manner. However, it is as it reads - a nicely presented synopsis of Roman imperial history from 138 to 192 A.D.
Part One's opening chapter provides the reader with details of Antonius Pius' actions, a diagnostic on his character to explain those actions - leaning heavily on the potential explanations for the Pius appellation - Aurelius' conservatism, Veres ineffectiveness and Commodus dramatic impact on the empire to a degree not seen since Nero. Moving swiftly onto Marcus Aurelius, Grant summarizes his reign as coping "with appalling problems with a conscientiousness that raised him to the top class of rulers." Touching on Aurelius' time spent on the Rhine frontier, his famous Meditations, conflict with Avidius Cassius, his wife Faustina and his state of health, Grant portrays Marcus Aurelius as a ruler who engendered a great deal of respect, a respect that swiftly disappears with the biography of Commodus.
After a brief note on the eternal critcism of Aurelius for having his son succeed him, (there is an insistence by the author on the idea of hereditary dynastic succession in Imperial Rome which doesn't bear much proof particularly as two pages later he states that "the senate, though conscious that the selection of the `best man' had ceased to have any reality..." thus implying there was no concept) Grant sweeps into his biography of Commodus. Grant's commentary on Commodus highlights him as a ruler who provided a strong and favourable impression in the first few years of his reign, but later biographies depict him as a drunkard, debauched from the earliest years, and focus on his unseemly gladiatorial enthusiasm all of which leads to serious administrative disaster for the empire. Eventually, as Grant states: his `wild self-indulgence and quasi-mystical autocratic religiosity' led to his murder.
Part Two deals with two themes of the Antonine Age: literature and art.
The first is split into three sections: Latin, Greek and Christian writings and is no more than a brief biography and synopis of the extant works of each. Moving from first rate (as the author terms it) authors such as Fronto, Lucian, Aurelius, Pausanias Justin to other authors including the Second Sophists, the Apologists, Gnostic writers Grant gives what is fundamentally a brief history, notable works and precis of the major writings of each in each section.
The second focuses on the art and architecture of the Antonine period, from busts and statues to theatres, expanded by many pictures and Grant concludes with a chapter on the Antonine Age.
The work comes through as a neat biographical history of the Antonine Emperors and the leading literay and artistic names of the period. As such this is an excellent starter book for anyone interested in the period and a useful reference book to students more familiar with the period.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Jason Gacek
3.0 out of 5 stars Spread Too Thin.
Reviewed in Canada on December 2, 2009
Verified Purchase
This book should have been called: 'The Antonine Era' or something like that. The biographical writings on Pius, Aurelius, Verus, and Commodus are so brief as to be not entirely useful. Grant then goes on to a brief overview of every single person to put pen to parchment during these years. Then we receive an equally brief summary of art and architecture. Followed by a pretty good closing chapter. Essentially, Grant tries to cover too much material in too few pages to do a good job with any of it. If you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about this period of Roman history then you might enjoy this introduction. Where Birley can be said to have too much depth in his biography of Hadrian, Grant's work is definitely a case of 'not enough depth'. Don't buy this book if you want strong biographical material on these 4 Emperors.
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