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Timeline

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I have been reading quite a bit the last year on Greece and primarily Rome but am having some problems filling in the gaps timeline wise. This is what I have read so far:

 

The Histories- Herodotus

History of the Peloponessian War- Thucydides

A History of My Times- Xenophon

The Campaigns of Alexander- Arrian

The Rise of the Roman Republic- Livy

Rome And Italy- Livy

The War with Hannibal- Livy

The Rise of the Roman Empire- Polybius

The Dawn of the Roman Empire- Livy

 

My problem is, I don't really know where to go from here. I had gaps before but am hoping that there is something which can span the 70 some years between the last Livy book and Sallust's Jugurthine War (which is next on my list) since this is when Rome really begins to start its shift away from Republicanism. Any help would be appreciated. :)

 

P.S.- I am looking for classical texts only. I plan on delving into modern books on the subject after I've filled my head with what they will probably use as references.

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I do believe that Appian will help fill some of the gaps you are looking to fill.

 

Agreed, Appian is an appropriate choice. Cassius Dio can also fill in some blanks with his lengthy narrative ranging from the foundation through the Severans. Also, some individual Lives by Plutarch may help (scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page for the list).

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Thanks for the replies. I do have Appian's Civil War and Plutarch's lives (which I have been reading as I first discover the individuals in their settings in other texts). I will definetly check into Dio as I've seen him mentioned during my lurking here quite often.

 

Another question, I have both Tacticus' Annals and Histories and Suetonius' twelve Caesars. They both seem to revolve around the same period more or less, any suggestions on which I should read first when I get there?

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If you're going to read Plutarch, then you might as well read Tacitus first to avoid overlap. But what's your goal here anyway? If you're trying to construct a mental timeline, there's no way to do it by casually reading the ancient sources. This is just what secondary sources are designed to do.

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If you're going to read Plutarch, then you might as well read Tacitus first to avoid overlap. But what's your goal here anyway? If you're trying to construct a mental timeline, there's no way to do it by casually reading the ancient sources. This is just what secondary sources are designed to do.

 

Mainly just entertainment and to get a broad understanding. I considered becoming an ancient history major, as ancient history has always been my supreme interest, but instead am going for International Relations as to have something a bit more pratical considering the current state of the fields. So it's mostly just a hobby. :P And I have every intention of picking up the secondary sources, I know from reading the foot/endnotes that what I'm reading is flawed in one way or another but I like reading the voices of the times. What we would consider superstition presented as fact, etc...makes for quite an enjoyable read.

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If you're going to read Plutarch, then you might as well read Tacitus first to avoid overlap. But what's your goal here anyway?

Mainly just entertainment and to get a broad understanding.

 

I see. For pure entertainment, the Romans themselves could be quite gripping in their story-telling. Livy particularly is hard to beat on the early history of Rome, but you might want to check out Lays of Ancient Rome by Macaulay for some 'modern' stiff competition to Livy's mantle. Horatius is deservedly famous:

 

XXIX

 

 

Edited by M. Porcius Cato

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Another question, I have both Tacticus' Annals and Histories and Suetonius' twelve Caesars. They both seem to revolve around the same period more or less, any suggestions on which I should read first when I get there?

 

If you are looking purely for entertainment, I suggest reading Suetonius first. Although the Annals are also entertaining in its right, one has to trawl through many contextual settings to get to the juicy bits.

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I agree with WW. Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars was one of the first primary sources I read, and it remains one of my favourite works; although Tacitus is very interesting in his own right. I enjoyed his Agricola and Germania.

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Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll go with Suetonius first then.

 

M. Porcius Cato, I'm liking it! :rolleyes: Going to pick that up ASAP. Thanks again everyone.

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