The Twelve Caesars is an excellent history book that reads more like a gossip column. It was written by the Roman Suetonius sometime between 96 and 130 A.D.
The book has a short biography for each of twelve Roman emperors. Each chapter has the same structure: early life, military campaigns and political actions, quirks of personality and anecdotes, then premonitions of doom and manner of death. There is plenty of scandalous gossip about the imperial perversions.
The Twelve Caesars are:
- Julius Caesar
- Augustus
- Tiberius, 47 BC - 32 AD
- Gaius (Caligula), 12 AD - 41 AD
- Claudius, 10 BC - 54 AD
- Nero, 37 - 68 AD
- Infamously crazy and extravagant
- Famous for his artistic pretensions
- Galba, 3 BC - 69 AD
- Governor of Spain; rebelled against Nero
- Ruled for 7 months
- Otho, 32 - 69 AD
- Former governor of Lusitania
- Ruled for only 3 months
- Vitellius, 15 - 69 AD
- Vespasian
- Titus
- Domitian