Crassus : The First Tycoon

Voted 0

ISBN: 9780300256604
Author : Peter Stothard
Published: 2022
Publisher: Yale University Press
Number of pages: 184
Language: English
Format: Hardback

Description

The story of Rome's richest man, who died a humiliating desert death in search of military glory

"A perfectly paced biography."-Tom Holland, Times Literary Supplement

Marcus Licinius Crassus (115-53 BCE) was a modern man in an ancient world, a pioneer disrupter of finance and politics, and the richest man of the last years of the Roman republic. Without his catastrophic ambition, this trailblazing tycoon might have quietly entered history as Rome's first modern political financier. Instead, Crassus and his son led an army on an unprovoked campaign against Parthia into what are now the borderlands of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, losing a battle at Carrhae which scarred Roman minds for generations.

After Crassus was killed, historians told many stories of his demise. Some said that his open mouth, shriveled by desert air, had been filled with molten gold as testament to his lifetime of greed. His story, skillfully told by Peter Stothard, poses both immediate and lasting questions about the intertwining of money, ambition, and power.

Reviews (0)

Write a review

Rate this item

Your name

Your e-mail

Your review

Comment

Selection

Description

Functionality (necessary) cookies

These cookies are essential to the functioning of the website and they cannot be disabled. They do not store any personally identifiable information and are deleted once you leave the website.

Performance Cookies

These cookies are used to measure the use of the website and traffic sources in order to gain information required to improve the functioning of the website. These cookies help us to determine which pages are the most popular and to learn about the users’ browsing habits. To this end we use the Google Analytics statistical engine. We do not disclose any information we have collected. All information gathered is completely anonymous and cannot identify you personally.

Marketing cookies

These third-party cookies are used to display ads personalized to your needs. We use cookies that help us to collect information on your web surfing behaviour and allow us to learn about your interests so that we could display only those ads that are relevant to you. Leave this box unchecked if you do not want us to show you any advertising.