The Twelve Caesars, written by Michael Grant, is a classical book taught to students to express the twelve emperors of the Roman Empire. Grant explains the reign of each of the Roman emperors that succeeded after Julius Caesar. Grant summarizes the lives of each emperor, the struggles of being an emperor, the success of being an emperor, and the crazy ways that emperor’s die. The Twelve Caesars include: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. These emperors were similar in the ways they ruled, but differed in the way they handled certain situations. They all died, of course, but died in different ways. Evan M. Anderson stated, “the book does not delve into the lives …show more content…
Domitian had a hard life because Titus grew up with all the fame and fortune, while he sat around and watched; his parents did not give him as much attention. He was rumored to have poisoned Titus so he could get the throne. During his reign, he praised his brother for show, but deep down he was still mad about him ruling. Domitian wanted to be known as a conqueror rather than a normal emperor. He was typically worried about Rome’s finances and wanted to enact the taxes from Jews. Domitian was stabbed in the groin, which led to his death. Domitian is not considered a good or bad emperor because he did not allow anything bad to occur during his reign.
In conclusion, the novel The Twelve Caesars by Michael Grant was a novel that explained the twelve emperors of Rome during the Roman Empire. The twelve emperors were similar in different in many ways. I personally enjoyed this novel because I learned more details about each emperor. I enjoyed knowing what they accomplished and a part of their personal life. Each emperor played a role in the upcoming of Rome and I believe he all shaped Rome today. In the end, I believe more people should read this novel because Grant did an excellent job of explaining the lives of the