Pax War and peace in Rome's Golden Age

Historian Holland (Dominion) provides a comprehensive chronicle of the latter half of the Pax Romana, a common shorthand for a long period of stability in the Western world from 27 BCE to 180 CE, when the Roman Empire ruled over a quarter of the world's population. Beginning with the death of Nero and the tumultuous year 69 CE when four different emperors ruled in succession, Holland demonstrates how "the very quality that had originally won them their empire" and enabled ancient Romans to ensure the stability of the Pax--that is, "their aptitude for killing"--also threatened to be the empire's undoing. Vespasian (the final of the four emperors) rebuilt Rome after it was damaged in the civil conflict of 69 CE. His successor Titus quelled the Judean uprising. The reign of the megalomanic Domitian, Titus's successor, was rife with military conflicts across the empire, especially in Britain and the Balkans. Several years of struggle ensued until Trajan became emperor, ushering in nearly two decades of military conquest in the modern-day Middle East. His successor, Hadrian, toured the Roman world, settling numerous conflicts in the far reaches of the empire. Throughout his meticulous narrative, Holland demonstrates how the stability of the so-called peace was maintained through martial violence both in Rome and abroad. Roman history buffs will want to take a look. (Sept.)

The third in the author's series about the Roman world, following Rubicon and Dynasty. That the two centuries before Emperor Marcus Aurelius' death in 180 C.E. represented a golden age is not a unanimous opinion among scholars, but it continues to produce histories of this age. This is a fine addition, although Holland confines the narrative to the era's second half. The author opens in 68 C.E., the last year of Nero's reign. Nearly a century had passed since Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, had won a brutal civil war, renamed himself Augustus, and began his long reign. Most popular historians classify Rome's emperors as either good or bad, with Nero among the bad. Holland delivers a vivid account of his grotesqueries but emphasizes that he was the last of the Augustine dynasty and had not named a successor. Accustomed to a well-ordered government, citizens were shocked at events over the following catastrophic "year of the four emperors," during which a bloody civil war produced three who died after ruling for a few months, although the winner, Vespasian, turned out well. His son, Titus, died after only two years, but Titus' younger brother, Domitian, reigned for 15 before being murdered in 96 C.E. Although once dubbed a bad emperor, modern scholars have reconsidered, and Holland presents a mildly approving portrait. More significantly, his successors were the five hallowed "good" emperors who ruled for more than 80 years. Edward Gibbon famously described this time as "the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous." After the obligatory account of Vesuvius' destruction of Pompeii, Holland takes up the story of the good emperors. It's a tale with no shortage of bloodshed, but it was largely confined to the frontiers except for the stubborn Judean uprising. The author includes a helpful timeline and a 10-page dramatis personae. A capably rendered history of Rome's more-or-less golden age. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.