Augustus: From Revolutionary to Emperor
Adrian Goldsworthy

Prima Porta Augustus, by Nick Thompson (http://bit.ly/1Hcyi91) used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

• Friday 12 June 2015, 6.00PM to 7.00pm
• Free admission
  Booking required
  Book tickets
• K/133, King's Manor, Exhibition Square (map)

No wheelchair access

Event details

Adrian Goldsworthy tells the story of how Augustus rose from an obscure teenager to become Rome's first and greatest emperor. In the year 44 BC, when his great uncle Julius Caesar was killed, Augustus was a mere teenager and only then learned that he was made his heir. His reaction to Caesar's death was to step forward and proclaim himself Caesar's son and successor. The Senate did not take him seriously, but over the following months he raised his own army and, after defeating Mark Antony in battle, became one of the three most powerful men in Rome. He was not yet 20 years old. Over the next ten years he consolidated his power in Rome, and finally overthrew the last of his rivals in 31 BC. From that moment on Rome became an empire, and Augustus its first emperor. This is the story of how one man rose to become the most powerful man in the world, and stabilised an empire that had been racked by decades of civil war. Augustus’s achievements, and his legacy, are almost unparalleled.

Speaker biography

Adrian Goldsworthy has a doctorate from Oxford University. His first book, The Roman Army at War, was recognised by John Keegan as an exceptionally impressive work, original in treatment and impressive in style. He has gone on to write several other books, which have sold more than a quarter of a million copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages. He regularly appears in many documentaries produced for the BBC, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and National Geographic, on various aspects of ancient history.

Additional links

Find more about work of Adrian Goldsworthy at his website.

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