Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

in Italy. The volumes documented the subsequent

founding of Rome The tale of the founding of Rome is recounted in traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves as the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous o ...

(753 BC), the formation of the Republic (509 BC), and the creation of the Empire (27 BC), up until 229 AD. Written in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

over 22 years, Dio's work covers approximately 1,000 years of history. Many of his 80 books have survived intact, or as fragments, providing modern scholars with a detailed perspective on Roman history.

Biography

Lucius Cassius Dio was the son of Cassius Apronianus, a

Roman senator The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

and member of the

gens Cassia The gens Cassia was a Roman family of great antiquity. The earliest members of this gens appearing in history may have been patrician, but all those appearing in later times were plebeians. The first of the Cassii to obtain the consulship was S ...

, who was born and raised at

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

in Bithynia.

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

tradition maintains that Dio's mother was the daughter or sister of the Greek orator and philosopher,

Dio Chrysostom Dio Chrysostom (; el, Δίων Χρυσόστομος ''Dion Chrysostomos''), Dion of Prusa or Cocceianus Dio (c. 40 – c. 115 AD), was a Greek orator, writer, philosopher and historian of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Eighty of his ...

; however, this relationship has been disputed. Although Dio was a Roman citizen, he wrote in Greek. Dio always maintained a love for his hometown of Nicaea, calling it "his home", as opposed to his description of his villa in Italy ("my residence in Italy"). For the greater part of his life, Dio was a member of the

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

. He was a senator under Commodus and governor of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

following the death of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

; he became a suffect consul in approximately the year 205. Dio was also

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and Pannonia.

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

held Dio in the highest esteem and reappointed him to the position of consul, even though his caustic nature irritated the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

s, who demanded his life. Following his second consulship, while in his later years, Dio returned to his native country, where he eventually died. Dio was either the grandfather or great-grandfather of

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, consul in 291.

''Roman History''

Dio published a ''Roman History'' (, '), in 80 books, after twenty-two years of research and labour. The books cover a period of approximately 1,400 years, beginning with the tales from

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

of the arrival of the legendary

in Italy () and the founding of Rome by his descendant Romulus (753 BC); as well as the historic events of the

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and imperial eras through 229 AD. The work is one of only three written Roman sources that document the British revolt of 60–61 AD led by Boudica and the subsequent

defeat of Boudica The Boudican revolt was an armed uprising by native Celtic tribes against the Roman Empire. It took place c. 60–61 AD in the Roman province of Britain, and was led by Boudica, the Queen of the Iceni. The uprising was motivated by the Romans' ...

. Until the first century BC, Dio provides only a summary of events; after that period, his accounts become more detailed. From the time of Commodus (ruled 180–192 AD), Dio is very circumspect in his conveyance of the events that he witnessed. The version of Dio's work that survives today is quite composite since his history does not survive in its entirety. Dio's work has often been deprecated as unreliable and lacking any overall political aim. Recently, however, some scholars have re-evaluated his work and have highlighted his complexity and sophisticated political and historical interpretations.

Survey of surviving books and fragments

The first 21 books have been partially reconstructed based on fragments from other works, as well as the epitome of

Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...

who used Dio's ''Roman History'' as a main source. Scholarship on this part of Dio's work is scarce but the importance of the Early Republic and Regal period to Dio's overall work has recently been underlined. Books 22 through 35 are sparsely covered by fragments. The books that follow, Books 36 through 54, are nearly all complete; they cover the period from 65 BC to 12 BC, or from the eastern campaign of

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

and the death of Mithridates to the death of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Book 55 contains a considerable gap, while Books 56 through 60 (which cover the period from 9–54 AD) are complete and contain events from the defeat of Varus in Germany to the death of Claudius. Of the 20 subsequent books in the series, there remain only fragments and the meager abridgement of

John Xiphilinus Joannes Xiphilinus (also John Xiphilinus; el, Ἰωάννης Ξιφιλῖνος), epitomator of Dio Cassius, lived at Constantinople during the latter half of the 11th century AD. He was a monk and the nephew of Patriarch John VIII of Consta ...

, a monk from the 11th century. The abridgment of Xiphilinus, as now extant, commences with Book 35 and continues to the end of Book 80: it is a very indifferent performance and was made by order of the emperor

Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...

. The last book covers the period from 222 to 229 AD (the first half of the reign of

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

Collections of book fragments

The fragments of the first 36 books have been collected in four ways: ;''Fragmenta Valesiana'': Fragments that were dispersed throughout various writers, scholiasts, grammarians, and lexicographers, and were collected by

Henri Valois Henri Valois (September 10, 1603, in Paris – May 7, 1676, in Paris) or in classical circles, Henricus Valesius, was a philologist and a student of classical and ecclesiastical historians. He is the elder brother to Adrien Valois (1607–16 ...

;''Fragmenta Peiresciana'': Large extracts, found in the section entitled "Of Virtues and Vices", contained in the collection, or portative library, compiled by order of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The manuscript of this belonged to

Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1 December 1580 – 24 June 1637), often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name, Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scienti ...

. ;''Fragmenta Ursiniana'': The fragments of the first 34 books, preserved in the second section of the same work by Constantine, entitled “Of Embassies”. These are known under the name of ''Fragmenta Ursiniana'', as the manuscript in which they are contained was found in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Fulvio Orsini Fulvio Orsini (11 December 1529 – 18 May 1600) was an Italian humanist, historian, and archaeologist. He was a descendant of the Orsini family, one of the oldest, most illustrious, and for centuries most powerful of the Roman princely families ...

. ;''Excerpta Vaticana'': '' Excerpta Vaticana'' by

Angelo Mai Angelo Mai (''Latin'' Angelus Maius; 7 March 17828 September 1854) was an Italian Cardinal and philologist. He won a European reputation for publishing for the first time a series of previously unknown ancient texts. These he was able to discov ...

contains fragments of Books 1 to 35 and 61 to 80. Additionally, fragments of an unknown

continuator A continuator, in literature, is a writer who creates a new work based on someone else's prior text, such as a novel or novel fragment. The new work may complete the older work (as with the numerous continuations of Jane Austen's unfinished nove ...

of Dio (''Anonymus post Dionem''), generally identified with the 6th century CE historian Peter the Patrician, are included; these date from the time of

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

. Other fragments from Dio that are primarily associated with the first 34 books were found by Mai in two Vatican manuscripts; these contain a collection that was compiled by

Maximus Planudes Maximus Planudes ( grc-gre, Μάξιμος Πλανούδης, ''Máximos Planoúdēs''; ) was a Byzantine Greek monk, scholar, anthologist, translator, mathematician, grammarian and theologian at Constantinople. Through his translations from La ...

. The annals of Joannes Zonaras also contain numerous extracts from Dio.

Literary style

Dio attempted to emulate

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

in his writing style. His style, where there appears to be no corruption of the text, is generally clear though full of Latinisms. Dio's writing was underpinned by a set of personal circumstances whereby he was able to observe significant events of the Empire in the first person, or had direct contact with the key figures who were involved.

In popular culture

The first season of 2017 docu-drama mini-series '' Roman Empire: Reign of Blood'' includes Cassius Dio, portrayed by Edwin Wright. Dio is shown engaging in delicate political manipulation, playing a key role in the downfall of

Marcus Aurelius Cleander Marcus Aurelius Cleander ( gr, Μᾶρκος Αὐρήλιος Κλέανδρος; died 19 April 190), commonly known as Cleander, was a Roman freedman who gained extraordinary power as chamberlain and favourite of the emperor Commodus, rising ...

, trusted advisor to the Emperor Commodus, and ultimately in the murder of Commodus himself.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * *
Cassius Dio, ''Roman History''
(English translation on LacusCurtius)
Works by Cassius Dio at Perseus Digital Library

* Editio princeps
Dionis Romanarum historiarum libri XXIII, à XXXVI ad LVIII vsque (The Roman History)
, Greek text edited by Robert Estienne, Paris, 1548
Held
by the Corning Museum of Glass.
Editio princeps of Xiphilinus's Epitome (Robert Estienne, Paris, 1551)
at Google Books {{Authority control 150s births 230s deaths 3rd-century historians 2nd-century Greek people 3rd-century Greek people 2nd-century Romans 3rd-century Romans Dio Imperial Roman consuls Historians from Roman Anatolia People from Nicaea Roman-era Greek historians Roman governors of Africa Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain