Cassius Dio Cocceianus

author

Cassius Dio Cocceianus

A Roman senator who wrote one of the great surviving histories of ancient Rome, covering the city’s story from its legendary beginnings to his own lifetime. Writing in Greek but deeply involved in Roman public life, he offers a rare insider’s view of the empire at work.

6 Audiobooks

Dio's Rome, Volume 2 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

Dio's Rome, Volume 2 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

Dio's Rome, Volume 5 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During The Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

Dio's Rome, Volume 5 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During The Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

Dio's Rome, Volume 3 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During The Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

Dio's Rome, Volume 3 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During The Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

Dio's Rome, Volume 1 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek during the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

Dio's Rome, Volume 1 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek during the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

Dio's Rome, Volume 4 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

Dio's Rome, Volume 4 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

Dio's Rome, Volume 6 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

Dio's Rome, Volume 6 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form

by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

About the author

Born in Nicaea in Bithynia around the 2nd century CE, Cassius Dio was a Roman historian and senator of Greek origin. Ancient sources and modern reference works describe him as the son of Cassius Apronianus, and his career took him through major public offices, including the consulship.

He is best known for his Roman History, a massive work in 80 books tracing Rome from Aeneas and the city’s early legends through the Republic and into the imperial age. Although parts of the work survive only in fragments or later summaries, it remains one of the most important sources for the late Republic and the early Empire.

What makes Dio especially interesting is that he was not just a writer looking in from the outside. He had firsthand experience of imperial politics and administration, so his history blends literary ambition with the perspective of someone who knew Roman power from the inside.