A lively and engaging account of the leading ladies of imperial Rome from the foundation of the Empire to the third century AD (and a postscript on the fourth century). It is illustrated by 416 Coin Photographs as well as a dozen striking portraits by the author, and will thus be an indispensable resource for historians, art historians and numismatists in addition to its wider appeal.

Drawing from a broad range of documentation this book vividly characterizes eleven royal women who are brought visually to life through photographs of over 300 ancient coins and through the author's own illustrations. Spanning the period from the death of Julius Caesar in 44BC to the third century AD, and with an epilogue surveying empresses of later eras, the author's compelling biographies reveal their remarkable contributions towards the legacy of Imperial Rome. Examining the wives, daughters, sisters and mothers of emperors, the study includes: a pregnant Roman princess who saves a Roman army through an act of personal heroism three third-century empresses who rule the most powerful state on Earth, presiding over unprecedented social and political reform an empress, though revered by her husband, is immortalized in history for infidelity and corruption by students of her greatest enemy. Jasper Burns paints portraits of these exceptional women that are colourful, sympathetic, and above all profoundly human. This book will be highly valuable to numismatists, students and scholars of Roman history or women’s studies.

A captivating popular history that shines a light on the notorious Julio-Claudian women who forged an empire​ Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero--these are the names history associates with the early Roman Empire. Yet, not a single one of these emperors was the blood son of his predecessor. In this captivating history, a prominent scholar of the era documents the Julio-Claudian women whose bloodline, ambition, and ruthlessness made it possible for the emperors' line to continue. Eminent scholar Guy de la Bédoyère, author of Praetorian, asserts that the women behind the scenes--including Livia, Octavia, and the elder and younger Agrippina--were the true backbone of the dynasty. De la Bédoyère draws on the accounts of ancient Roman historians to revisit a familiar time from a completely fresh vantage point. Anyone who enjoys I, Claudius will be fascinated by this study of dynastic power and gender interplay in ancient Rome.

Using all available sources, Boatwright explores the constraints and activities of the women of Rome's imperial families from 35 BCE to 235 CE. Livia, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Domna, and others feature in this richly illustrated investigation of change, continuity, historical contingency, and personal agency in imperial women's pursuits and representations.

They said she was a tyrant, a murderer and the most wicked woman in history. She kicked her way into the male spaces of politics and demanded to be recognised as an equal and a leader. For her audacity, she was murdered by her son and reviled by history. She was the sister, niece, wife and mother of emperors. She was an empress in her own right. And she was a nuanced, fearless trailblazer in the Roman world. The story of Agrippina – the first empress of Rome – is the story of an empire at its bloody, extravagant, chaotic, ruthless height.

A rich and accessible selection of Greek and Roman original sources all of which are in translation.

Rome as you’ve never seen it before – brazenly unconventional, badly behaved and ever so feminine. ‘Hugely entertaining and illuminating’ —Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023 Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes… We kick off with Romulus murdering his brother, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. After ‘Et tu, Brute?’, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally nodding to a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women won’t do as they’re told, until Constantine invents Christianity only for Attila the Hun to come and ruin everything. Let’s tear up this script. The history of Rome and its empire is so much more than these ‘Important Things’. In this alternative history, Emma Southon tells another story about the Romans, one that lives through Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, empresses and saints. Discover how entrepreneurial sex worker Hispala Faecenia uncovered a conspiracy of treason, human sacrifice and Bacchic orgies so wild they would make Donna Tartt blush, becoming one of Rome’s unlikeliest heroes. Book yourself a table the House of Julia Felix and get to know Pompeii’s savviest businesswoman and restauranteur. Indulge in an array of locally sourced delicacies as you take in the wonderful view of Mount Vesuvius… what could possibly go wrong? Join the inimitable Septimia Zenobia, who – after watching a series of incompetent, psychopathic and incompetently psychopathic emperors almost destroy the Empire – did what any of us would do. She declared herself Empress, took over half the Roman Empire and ran it herself.