Summary Of Suetonius 'The Twelve Caesars'

The Roman Empire began around 27 BC, the same time the Julio-Claudian Dynasty began. The Julio-Claudian Dynasty one of the things Suetonius writes about in his book The Twelve Caesars. Suetonius wasn’t the only historian during this time that wrote about this dynasty. A historian named Tacitus wrote about the 12 emperors in his historiography. Tacitus wrote “But the successes and reverses of the old Roman people have been recorded by famous historians; and fine intellects were not wanting to describe the times of Augustus, till growing sycophancy scared them away. The histories of Tiberius, Caius, Claudius, and Nero, while they were in power, were falsified through terror, and after their death were written under the irritation of a recent
hatred.” Even though these emperors were seen as powerful and terrifying they have done as good as well.
The emperor Augustus, was the successor of Julius Caesar and founder of the dynasty, ruled from 27 BC until 14 AD. Augustus real name was Octavian but, his name was changed because the name Augustus is considered a religious title. During his time as emperor Augustus ended hundred years of civil war and achieved forty years of peace and prosperity. As well as nearly doubled the size of the empire, adding places like Spain, Egypt, Italy, England, and many more. He instituted the census and taxation across the empire. Augustus expanded the Roman network of roads doing so helped with safe trade under roman protection as well as the roman postal service which Augustus invented also. Augustus founded the praetorian guard as well as the police and fire department. Doing these things helped found the Pax Romania period of Rome.
Claudius was emperor from 41 AD until 54 AD, he was the successor to Caligula. Claudius was known to have a limp and slight deafness due to an illness he had when he was younger. Due to this excluded him and abused him, his disabilities saved his life in the end and helped him become emperor. During his reign Claudius proved to be an efficient leader as well as an ambitious builder. He built new roads, canals, and aqueducts across the empire. He also made many improvements to the judicial system, such as passing laws that protected sick slaves, extended citizenships, and giving women more privileges. Another success is that he conquered Britain, which had existed roman rule for over a century.