Marcus Agrippa

Marcus Agrippa personified the term right hand man As Emperor Augustus deputy, he waged wars, pacified provinces, beautified Rome, and played a crucial role in laying the foundations of the Pax Romana for the next two hundred years but he served always in the knowledge he would never rule in his own name Why he did so, and never grasped power exclusively for himself, has perplexed historians for centuries In his teens he formed a lifelong friendship with Julius Caesar s great nephew, Caius Octavius, which would change world history Following Caesar s assassination on the Ides of March 44 BC, Agrippa was instrumental in asserting his friend s rights as the dictator s heir He established a reputation as a bold admiral, defeating Sextus Pompeius at Mylae and Naulochus 36 BC , culminating in the epoch making Battle of Actium 31 BC , which eliminated Marcus Antonius and Queen Cleopatra as rivals He proved his genius for military command on land by ending bloody rebellions in the Cimmerian Bosporus, Gaul, Hispania and Illyricum.In Gaul Agrippa established the vital road network that helped turn Julius Caesar s conquests into viable provinces As a diplomat, he befriended Herod the Great of Judaea and stabilized the East As minister of works he overhauled Rome s drains and aqueducts, transformed public bathing in the city, created public parks with great artworks and built the original Pantheon.Agrippa became co ruler of the Roman Empire with Augustus and married his daughter Julia His three sons were adopted by his friend as potential heirs to the throne Agrippa s unexpected death in 12 BC left Augustus bereft, but his bloodline lived on in the imperial family, through Agrippina the Elder to his grandson Caligula and great grandson Nero MARCUS AGRIPPA is lucidly written by the author of the acclaimed biographies Eager for Glory and Germanicus Illustrated with color plates, figures and high quality maps, Lindsay Powell presents a penetrating new assessment of the life and achievements of the multifaceted man who put service to friend and country before himself.REVIEWS A gripping, thoroughly researched and hugely impressive biography of a key player in the transition from the Roman Republic to Augustus s Empire Saul David, University of Buckingham, author of WAR From Ancient Egypt to Iraq Augustus ascent and reign are unthinkable without Marcus Agrippa Surprisingly, there has been no biography of Agrippa in English for some eighty years Powell s book admirably fills this gap and will be indispensable for anyone with a serious interest in this crucial historical period Karl Galinsky, University of Texas at Austin, author of Augustus Introduction to the Life of an Emperor Marcus Agrippa was one of history s most intriguing right hand men Few played a greater role in the emperor Augustus success In vigorous prose, and with a fingertip feel for Roman politics and war, Lindsay Powell brings Agrippa to life Barry Strauss, Cornell University, author of Masters of Command Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar and the Genius of Leadership. Best Read Marcus Agrippa [ Author ] Lindsay Powell [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr This book starts slow and has many confusing names so that it can be difficult to read, however, after Agrippa becomes a loyal follower of Octavius as a young man, then it picks up There are excellent maps which explain the movements of both men as they fight together and separately as they try to achieve dominance for Octavian, called Caesar after his great uncle, Julius Caesar, who is assassinated in 44 B.C.From then on, the two young men are inseparable even though Octavian is frequently ill This book starts slow and has many confusing names so that it can be difficult to read, however, after Agrippa becomes a loyal follower of Octavius as a young man, then it picks up There are excellent maps which explain the movements of both men as they fight together and separately as they try to achieve dominance for Octavian, called Caesar after his great uncle, Julius Caesar, who is assassinated in 44 B.C.From then on, the two young men are inseparable even though Octavian is frequently ill, and marries twice Agrippa, despite his plebian birth, is an excellent soldier, skilled admiral, devotee of the arts and architecture, and able negotiator In short, he is someone that Caesar can count on absolutel...Octavian Augustus would probably not have been successful without his friend Marcus Agrippa They apparently met when they were teenagers and were together in Macedonia when word came of Julius Caesar s assassination and his adoption of Octavian They went to Rome against the advice of Octavian s mother and stepfather to collect the inheritance, meeting Marc Antony and Cicero, and getting involved in Roman politics Powell puts together ancient sources to tell the story of Agrippa s life It s Octavian Augustus would probably not have been successful without his friend Marcus Agrippa They apparently met when they were teenagers and were together in Macedonia when word came of Julius Caesar s assassination and his adoption of Octavian They went to Rome against the advice of Octavian s mother and stepfather to collect the inheritance, meeting Marc Antony and Cicero, and getting involved in Roman p...A fine book I have read quite a number of books that mention Marcus Agrippa But references to him tend to be brief and not very illuminating What I knew He did great deeds in war and in peace He was Augustus right hand man He had no ambition to supplant Augustus But precious little beyond these broad statements This book, although not perfect, is a major step forward for my understanding of Agrippa.There is a lot of speculation One common gambit the author notes some event and then me A fine book I have read quite a number of books that mention Marcus Agrippa But references to him tend to be brief and not very illuminating What I knew He did great deeds in war and in peace He was Augustus right hand man He had no ambition to supplant Augustus But precious little beyond these broad statements This book, although not perfect, is a major step forward for my understanding of Agrippa.There is a lot of speculation One common gambit the author notes some event and then mentions that Agrippa might have been there I have read such phrases in biog...Lindsay Powell tells us in his introduction that one of the reasons why he decided to write a biography of Marcus Agrippa was because the last one to be written was nearly 100 years ago Even then, the total number of full biographies which survive can be counted on one hand This is poor representation for the man who wasn t just Augustus right hand man, but ended up being his legal equal Reading this biography, two things become very clear 1 Powell is right A modern biography is very mu Lindsay Powell tells us in his introduction that one of the reasons why he decided to write a biography of Marcus Agrippa was because the last one to be written was nearly 100 years ago Even then, the total number of full biographies which survive can be counted on one hand This is poor representation for the man who wasn t just Augustus right hand man, but ended up being his legal equal Reading this biography, two things become very clear 1 Powell is right A modern biography is very much needed for this very important man 2 There s a reason why no one has tackled it yet the source material available pales in comparison to other famous men.The difficulty with this biography is the same which plagued Powell in his biography on Drusus the Elder the source material is very limited, and so, a biography must become a Life Times t...A fantastic piece of work that manages to construct a pretty comprehensive overview of the life of Agrippa as well as his friendship and work with Augustus using a wide variety of historical sources.Positives I enjoyed learningabout Agrippa s role in the Augustus life Powell does a good job of adding color to man s life who history left us with very little to go on He did solid detective work I don t think he went beyond the bounds of the evidence but still was willing to make educated guesses Negatives I think it was a biography about Agrippa it would be much shorter I think Powell spent as much time talking about Augustus as he did Agrippa, maybeI can see why he did t Positives I enjoyed learningabout Agrippa s role in the Augustus life Powell does a good job of adding color to man s life who history left us with very little to go on He did solid detective work I don t think he went beyond the bounds of the evidence but still was willing to make educated guesses Negatives I think it was a biography about Agrippa it would be much shorter I think Powell spent as much time talking about Augustus as he did Agrippa, maybeI can see why he did this, but the reader should be aware, this is a biography that focuseson Agrippa within a larger context and has less about Agrippa then what happens around him Positives 2 On the other hand, Powell does a great job of explaining what Agrippa accomplished while Augustus ruled co ruled so don t take my negative as being pervasive throughout the whole book nota bene if you are not familiar with this era of history, I don t know if this would be a good book to jump into it I suggest read some othergeneral books on the time period before...It is hard to review this book I truly enjoyed it and felt the author did a wonderful job relating the history of Rome in the late 1st century BCE At the same time I think the book failed as a biography of Marcus Agrippa I don t blame the author for this There just isn t enough material to do this job However, the material he adds about Augustus and the transition of the Republic to the Principate may be the best description of what went on at this time that I have ever read I would also p It is hard to review this book I truly enjoyed it and felt the author did a wonderful job relating the history of Rome in the late 1st century BCE At the same time I think the book failed as a biography of Marcus Agrippa I don t blame the author for this There just isn t enough material to do this job However, the material he adds about Augustus and the transition of the Republic to the Principate may be the best description of what went on a...This is a fascinating historical perspective on one of the foundations of the successful Pax Augusta Marcus Agrippa, lifelong friend of Augustus Caesar and his commander in chief and loyal energetic help meet in designing the Roman peace It is a difficult book to put together as so little was written of Marcus Agrippa even though he was married to Julia, Augusta s only daughter His echoes are found on a multitude of buildings and traces of battles, both land and sea He died at age 51, havin This is a fascinating historical perspective on one of the foundations of the successful Pax Augusta Marcus Agrippa, lifelong friend of Augustus Caesar and his commander in chief and loyal energetic help meet in designing the Roman peace It is a difficult book to put together as so little was written of Marcus Agrippa even though he was married to Julia, Augusta s only daughter His echoes are found on a multitude of buildings and traces of battles, both land and sea He died at age 51, having travelled the Roman world from East to West and in every...Overall, a good biography Perhaps too laudatory Agrippa must have had a few faults But Agrippa really put himself out for Augustus and for Rome and its empire, so he should be better known as one of the greatest Romans.Caesar Augustus said I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble I suppose one could dispute that claim Neither he nor his right hand man Marcus Agrippa could turn the entire city into marble but Agrippa certainly made itlivable He built baths, aquadu Overall, a good biography Perhaps too laudatory Agrippa must have had a few faults But Agrippa really put himself out for Augustus and for Rome and its empire, so he should be better known as one of the greatest Romans.Caesar Augustus said I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble I suppose one could dispute that claim Neither he nor his right hand man Marcus Agrippa could turn the entire city into marble but Agrippa certainly made itlivable He built baths, aquaduct systems, amphitheaters, sporting venues, even what we would call public art galleries not just in Rome but throughout the empire, at his own expense He even repaired and upgraded Rome s sewers Yes Caesar was generous to hi...

• English
• 23 June 2017
Lindsay Powell
• Hardcover
• 384 pages
• 1848846177
• Lindsay Powell
• Marcus Agrippa