The Twelve Caesars

As private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history.

The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome. It covers the time from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus, to the decline into depravity and civil war under Nero, then the recovery that came with his successors.

A masterpiece of observation, anecdote and detailed physical description, The Twelve Caesars presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn sketches.

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus was probably born in AD69. He practiced briefly at the bar, avoided political life, and became chief secretary to Hadrian (AD117-38). Suetonius seems to have lived to a good age and probably died around AD140.