The African Emperor

A brilliant account of a great Emperor who brought a distinctive African insight to the continental Roman way of war. Severus exploited the advantages that flowed from command of the sea, critically so in his last campaign, when his brilliant use of naval power laid the foundations for a British sea empire, one that would follow in the footsteps of Carthage. * Andrew Lambert, author of The British Way of War *A seminal work. Elliott has produced not only the most comprehensive account of the life of one of Rome’s most important emperors, but critically, rather than just biographising Severus, he puts his reign into perspective with an exploration of race and society in second and third century Rome. A must-have biography for any student of ancient Rome. * Simon Turney, author of Agricola: Invader *Another corner of the Roman world illuminated by Elliott. As ever the detail and fresh perspective are awesome. * Dan Snow *

Simon Elliott is a historian, archaeologist, author and broadcaster based in Kent. He has worked with outlets as varied as History Hit and Channel 5 and has published several books exploring Roman history.