Roman Emperors and their Illnesses (eBook)

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I finished this book and had to sit with it for a while. Not because I wanted to, but because I needed to, I mean, it is A LOT. The kind of a lot that lingers. Who knew so many emperors carried themselves as frail Victorian children, and bodies always on the verge of failing them? There is something almost unsettling in that, how power is housed in weakness, an empire resting on bones that could so easily break.
Roman Emperors and Their Illnesses by Nick Summerton is nearly 220 pages of relentless attention to detail. The author does not look away. He studies these men, their bodies, their suffering, their limits with a precision that feels almost obsessive (btw that’s the way I like my nonfiction books), and yet you can’t help but be impressed.
What stayed with me is not just the catalog of illness, but how medicine, imperfect and uncertain, shaped the course of history, how healers worked with what little they knew, how the fate of the Empire could hang in the balance because of a fever, gout, a random weakness, or a body that refused to cooperate.
It is not an easy read. But it is, undeniably, a necessary one for anyone curious about the fragile humanity behind imperial power.

NetGalley, Rina Di Raimo

"Nick Summerton has researched this subject in great depth and has made an important, scholarly contribution to the field of ancient history and medicine. The book is well written with an extensive bibliography, and provides insightful and fascinating information on the physical and mental illnesses that afflicted these ancient Roman leaders."

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Hektoen International - Dr Arpan K Banerjee MBBS( LOND) FRCP FRCR FBIR

This was an extremely informative novel about multiple Roman emperors and their illnesses. The author openly states that the information he is using could be wrong due to the historical sources being biased and other forms of incorrect information. Even with that state of mind, this book goes into immense depth about the different emperors and what illnesses they could have had. The book also takes into account that their major differences in what one of the emperors could be diagnosed with due to the environment they were in (political, geographical, etc.). Different emperors, like Augustus to Lucius Verus, are also discussed, using an interesting method of how the author would go about making a proper diagnosis. Overall, the author does a fascinating job of highlighting the different emperors and discussing what illnesses or injuries they have carried throughout their lives, while also stating that "do no harm" as a doctor's promise should be followed through, even in ancient times, as many struggled with illnesses and injuries.

NetGalley, Donna Robinson

Overall, Roman Emperors and Their Diseases succeeds because it resists easy answers. It respects both the limits of modern medicine and the complexities of the ancient world, offering a careful, well-researched exploration rather than speculative certainty. This is a rewarding read for those interested in medical history, Roman history, or the intersection of power, health, and mortality — provided they appreciate nuance over neat conclusions.

NetGalley, Kyle Wendy Skultety

Roman Emperors and their Illnesses by Nick Summerton is an informative look at the medical issues that several Roman emperors experienced. Summerton clearly did an intensive amount of research to write this book.

NetGalley, Jonathon Pinkard

The book starts with an overview of how medicine worked in Ancient Rome and it was quite fascinating. I’ve read a lot about this recently but it’s always interesting to read more about it. It then goes over several different Roman emperors, their bouts with illness, and what may have been the cause of them.

The book rightly points out that is incredibly difficult/problematic to assign modern day illnesses to the symptoms that the different emperors were said to have. There are a multitude of things (translation errors, personal reporting, minimization/overreporting of symptoms, disease evolution) standing in the way of this correlation. Still, it was interesting to read about these spells of illness and the attempts to figure out what indeed might have been wrong.

I found this book well researched and well written. Was very easy to read.

NetGalley, Pauline Stout

Roman Emperors and Their Illnesses is written by Nick Summerton, a physician who has carefully and thoughtfully researched this intriguing subject. He describes the danger of ascribing modern pathology and evidence to ancient supposition. He also explains the sociocultural implications and the types of information used in researching ancient symptoms and diagnoses. Using real-life examples of Roman emperors' illnesses and deaths, he details ancient mortality, therapeutics, medicine, healers such as Galen, the importance of mental wellness and sleep, and coming to terms with chronic illness. As a chronic illness sufferer, much of the information is very relatable.

Ancient Roman history has beguiled me since I was a young child. Many trips to Roman territories have made all-things Roman come alive for me and I was thrilled to get my hands on this book to learn more. It pulled me into the lives of several emperors but the story which always stands out to me as a mushroom forager is that of Claudius who was purportedly poisoned by his wife, Agrippina. But the symptoms do not make sense. It will always be a mystery but the author deduced by documented events Claudius' death was more likely a heart attack or stroke. Not quite as exciting as poisoning! Interesting nonetheless.

All in all, this was an informative and fetching read. I appreciate the addition of photographs.

NetGalley, Brenda Carleton

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I appreciated the care and effort the author put into explaining the methods used in researching illnesses from thousands of years ago! The author uses historical records from contemporaries (or near contemporaries) of the emperors themselves. It is apparent that the author is well-versed not only in medicine, but in ancient studies as well. I definitely recommend this book to any that are looking for a detailed account of the illnesses of the Roman Emperors specifically, but also for any interested in how medicine was practiced in ancient times.

NetGalley, Judith Babarsky

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I am a Roman history buff of sorts (four years of Latin may have helped). And, I particularly enjoy the period between Augustus and Nero - this could be from enjoying reading I, Claudius (Robert Graves, 1935), 1 Loved Tiberius (Elisabeth Dored, 1959) and watching the 1976 BBC series, I, Claudius. So this book intrigued me and I was thrilled to receive this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Pen & Sword.
I found the book a delightful read. Not being in the medical field, I enjoyed learning how medicine was conducted in this period of history, learning what Galen and other men of the time handled sickness and disease, and how religion played into the care for the sick and dying. The historical context of the Roman emperors studied in this book was particularly of interest as were the suppositions that many of these men did not die natural deaths but were poisoned. I was particularly intrigued by Caligula (who was the worst of the emperors studied) and by Suetonius's observation at Caligula's death: "a tyrant humbled, an executioner executed, and a would-be usurper of divinity exposed as a mere mortal." Very prescient even for our times.
I enjoyed this book for what I learned and for how it brought Roman life alive. It was well researched too.

NetGalley, Janine Skavnak