Cassius Dio Cocceianus

author

Cassius Dio Cocceianus

A Roman senator and historian writing in Greek, he created one of the most important surviving histories of ancient Rome. His sweeping work covers Rome from its legendary beginnings to the turmoil of the imperial age.

6 Audiobooks

About the author

Born in Nicaea in Bithynia around the mid-2nd century CE, Cassius Dio came from a prominent family and also built a political career of his own. He served as a senator and held high office under several emperors, giving him firsthand experience of Roman government as well as a historian’s eye for power.

He is best known for his Roman History, a vast work in 80 books that traced Rome’s story from Aeneas and the founding legends through the Republic and into the Empire. Although parts of it survive only in fragments or later summaries, it remains a major source for the late Republic and early imperial period.

What makes his writing especially valuable is the mix of long perspective and personal experience: he was not just collecting old stories, but describing a world he had partly lived in. For listeners interested in Rome’s politics, emperors, and intrigues, his work still feels remarkably direct and vivid.