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Pertinax: The Son of a Slave Who Became Roman Emperor Hardcover – October 5, 2020

by Simon Elliott (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 62 ratings
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"The author vividly documents Pertinax’s last days and effectively captures the tenor of the era, a time awash in corruption and violence. Roman history enthusiasts will find new material to digest and general readers, useful context for the Roman way of life." ― Kirkus

The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination.

Born in AD 126, he made a late career change from working as a grammar teacher to a position in the army. As he moved up the ranks and further along the aristocratic cursus honorum, he took on many of the most important postings in the Empire, from senior military roles in fractious Britain, the Marcomannic Wars on the Danube, to the Parthian Wars in the east. He held governorships in key provinces, and later consulships in Rome itself. When Emperor Commodus was assassinated on New Year’s Eve AD 192/193, the Praetorian Guard alighted on Pertinax to become the new Emperor, expecting a pliable puppet who would favour them with great wealth. But Pertinax was nothing of the sort and when he then attempted to reform the Guard, he was assassinated. His death triggered the beginning of the ‘Year of the Five Emperors’ from which Septimius Severus, Pertinax’s former mentoree, became the ultimate victor and founder of the Severan Dynasty.

This previously untold story brings a fascinating and important figure out of the shadows. A self made everyman, a man of principle and ambition, a role model respected by his contemporaries who styled himself on his philosophizing predecessor and sometime champion Marcus Aurelius, Pertinax’s remarkable story offers a unique and panoramic insight into the late 2nd century AD Principate Empire.
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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Greenhill Books
  4. Publication date
    October 5, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1784385255
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1784385255
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An authoritative new history unearths the true story of a slave’s son who rose through the ranks to become the Roman Empire’s most powerful man…The author vividly documents Pertinax’s last days and effectively captures the tenor of the era, a time awash in corruption and violence. Roman history enthusiasts will find new material to digest and general readers, useful context for the Roman way of life."
Kirkus Reviews

“This is an excellent account of a very unusual character, which throws a good deal of light on the complexities of Roman institutions.”
The NYMAS Review

About the Author

Simon Elliott is an historian, archaeologist and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent where he studied for his PhD in Archaeology on the subject of the Roman military in Britain. He also has an MA in War Studies from KCL and an MA in Archaeology from UCL. For a day job he runs his own PR company, and is a former defense and aerospace journalist at titles including Jane's Defence Weekly and Flight International. He frequently gives talks on Roman themes and is co-Director at a Roman villa excavation.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenhill Books (October 5, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1784385255
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784385255
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 62 ratings

About the author

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Simon Elliott

Simon Elliott

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Dr Simon Elliott is an historian, archaeologist, broadcaster and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent where he studied for his PhD in Classics and Archaeology on the subject of the Roman military in Britain. He also has an MA in War Studies from KCL and an MA in Archaeology from UCL. For a day job he runs his own PR company, and is a former defence and aerospace journalist at titles including Jane's Defence Weekly and Flight International. He frequently appears on broadcast media as a presenter and expert, gives talks on Roman themes, Guide Lectures for Andante Travels and is co-Director at a Roman villa excavation. He is also a Trustee of the Council for British Archaeology. His website can be viewed at: http://simonelliott20.com/ (where you can also view his professional broadcast show reel).

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
62 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Doug Welch
5.0 out of 5 stars The last "Good Emperor"?
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2020
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Pertinax only reigned as Roman Emperor for less than three months, but in that short time made it clear that he wanted to rein in the army, get Rome's fiscal house in order and carry on ruling along the lines of Marcus Aurelius. A rioting Praetorian Guard surged into the Palatine and did him in for his efforts. But before reaching the throne, Pertinax was an extraordinary man in a time when Rome's Golden Age was transforming into an age of Iron and Rust. Simon Elliot has done great work here in picking out the most reliable parts of the three biggest accounts of his life. He also gives us tidbits outside of the literary evidence that has come to us from inscriptions and archaeology. Sadly the time of short reigns and Imperial assassinations would return at the end of the Severan dynasty and give Rome a half century of almost ceaseless military anarchy, plagues and economic collapse.
Elliot does a great job of putting the pieces together to show us an intriguing portrait of a man who rose from a very low position in Roman society (child of a slave) to its apex. In doing so, we also see a picture of several of his contemporaries who were thrust into power during Marcus Aurelius' Marcomannic Wars. This clique of meritorious generals and statesmen were supposed to educate Marcus' heir, Commodus, but that young Caesar had no patience for them and over the course of his 12 year reign, many were executed. Elliot does the reader a favor in pointing these men out and also does a lot in attempting to flesh out the plot that finally removed Commodus from power. The mystery of this plot does not stand totally solved, but is more understood than when Gibbon wrote about it. This book is probably more suitable for Classicists or those who have already read the primary sources (Dio, Herodian and the troublesome Historia Augusta) as well as those familiar with the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus, which might be a narrow audience, but for this reviewer, this book was a great addition to my growing library on the Roman Crisis of the Third Century. One can only wonder how things could have turned out better had Pertinax survived and had time to make things right.
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Hawkeye
4.0 out of 5 stars An Untold life of a Fascinating Man!
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2021
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This is a documentation of a common individual who, initially an educator, joined the Roman Army in the second century and rapidly ascended through Roman Society to ultimately become Emperor in 193 AD. I became aware of this book reading a very favorable review in Military History Magazine early this year. This book is more than what I bargained for it provides detailed information of the 800 year Roman period.

This work is very well written with intensely referenced (intra-texted) format without a formal reference section. It is further indexed and has a concise Table of Contents. The book is very well structured, clear in communication, and very insightful providing very good understanding of the Roman culture and period in which Pentinax lived. The addition of a glossary would be very helpful with Roman terms

Elliott's writing, his research, and passion for the subject is quite refreshing. He provides vast insight regarding people, places, and events as if he personally witnessed them during this period. I very much enjoyed reading his descriptions about the military which I have been fascinated over the years. Many of the geographical locations he describes which I have visited and studied are mentioned. Viewing the 2000 film “Gladiator,” while reading this book will assist the reader in understanding the locations, characters, and events that occurred in historical Rome during this period.

Although the book is a little pricey it affords the casual reader a unique opportunity to view into the second century Roman state and understand the on-goings of the time.
3 people found this helpful
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ShayMo29
2.0 out of 5 stars History buffs
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2022
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If you are a history buff and you like to get to the Roman era this is the book for you. If you are looking to read about the life and times of Emperor Pertinax this is also the book for you however your interest won’t be peaked until chapter four. The first three chapters talk about Roman era in regards to the military and political leadership. Chapter four gets into the actual life of the emperor. This book just didn’t meet my expectations.
2 people found this helpful
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Anthony1
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2021
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Not only is this book incredibly short, but more than half of the book isn't even about Pertinax. Instead, the author decides to give heaps of abridged background information about the Roman Empire. Very disappointing.
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Dave Joseph
5.0 out of 5 stars A good novel on a not as well-known emperor
Reviewed in Canada on January 21, 2023
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I enjoyed the read. It's one of the few books I've chosen to keep on my shelf instead of donating once read.
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Vladimiro Maccari
4.0 out of 5 stars Ben informato ma un po' pedante a tratti
Reviewed in Italy on October 31, 2021
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Mi è piaciuto, ma non mi ha entusiasmato come speravo. Rimane tuttavia un buonissimo libro, perciò partiamo dai difetti per chiudere in crescendo.

Come scrivere un libro di 200-300 pagine su un imperatore che regno tre mesi e di cui ci rimangono tre fonti storiche, pochi accenni, materiale epigrafico ed archeologico sparso per l'impero? Riempiendo ovviamente con inserti storici che, con la scusa di contestualizzare gli avvenimenti, riempiono pagine su pagine. Esempio: nel 187 o giù di lì Pertinace, dopo un lungo servizio in giro per l'impero, giunge finalmente a Roma come senatore. L'autore allora per qualche pagina ci riassume TUTTA la storia di Roma dalla fondazione (parlando addirittura dei due miti fondativi poi fusi in un solo racconto da Virgilio); ecco questi sono gli inserti veramente troppo troppo troppo riempitivi e che fanno venire voglia di chiudere il libro.

Altri sono molto più interessanti, per quanto sempre riempitivi: la panoramica geopolitca sull'impero (provincia per provincia) mi ha fatto conoscere cose che non sapevo; quella sull'esercito un po' troppo "accademica" e standard. Questo è il più grosso difetto del libro: pagine e pagine di riempitivi che, per chi già sa le cose come me, sono una noia mortale.

Passiamo ai pregi. Anzitutto, è l'unica biografia di Pertinace, che è una figura molto interessante della storia. Personaggi che furono più potenti e a lui contemporanei (nonché sovrani per più tempo), sono meno interessanti del nostro. Pertinace infatti era figlio di un liberto, cioè uno schiavo liberato, e fino a 35 anni faceva l'insegnante senza troppo successo; da lì, la svolta, entra nell'esercito e fa una lunga e onorata carriera.

L'autore ricostruisce con dovizia di dettagli. Lo sforzo da apprezzare è quello di aver riletto con grade cautela le fonti, compararle e offrire quindi una narrazione completa. Non siamo ai livelli di un Canfora, ovviamente, ma comunque sufficienti per imparare qualcosa (in particolare, l'esistenza di una perduta tradizione storica latina sul periodo che si contrappone a quella sopravvissuta, che è di lingua greca).
Ogni episodio della vita del nostro (ci sono parecchi punti interrogativi) è sviscerato con dovizia di dettaglia, e la narrazione del regno breve ma intenso è davvero dettaglia e avvincente.
Altro pregio è che il libro non ha note extratesto, ma i riferimenti necessari sono tutti nel testo. In questo caso, ho apprezzato la scelta.

In definitiva, lo consiglio se siete fortemente interessati al personaggio e al particolare periodo; lo consiglio anche se siete digiuni di storia e volete approcciarvi alla storia romana; non lo consiglio se siete esperti di storia romana e non fortemente interessati a Pertinace.
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Philippe Calpe
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro
Reviewed in Spain on June 6, 2021
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Buen libro!! Corto y conciso pero es increíble que se conserve tanta información sobre un emperador tan efímero!
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Andrew McFarlane
5.0 out of 5 stars You can learn a lot about a great, but forgotten man.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2021
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An English language biography of Pertinax was long overdue. His unusual career is fascinating reading. From his early career as a teacher to his elevation to emperor you have to remember that this is not fiction.
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