Product Description

"The Last Roman" is the only biography about Romulus Augustulus. It focuses on the personalities behind this powerful story and reveals the world into which Romulus was born - an empire that was about to die. Author Adrian Murdoch explores how Romulus's father Orestes, secretary to Attila the Hun, rose through the ranks to become kingmaker; how all was lost to another usurper in an Italy wracked with civil war; and how Romulus found peace at last, founding a monastery. This dramatic and poignant story of politics, decline and loss has inspired. Drawing on extensive new archaeological and historical research and using numerous contemporary sources, many translated for the first time since the nineteenth century, "The Last Roman" is the vivid story of an empire breathing its last.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117109 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

About the Author
Adrian Murdoch is a journalist specialising in history, business and geopolitical issues. His book The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World was published by Sutton in 2003 and in 2006 Sutton will publish his Rome's Greatest Defeat: Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest.

Customer Reviews

About time this book was written
The tale of Romulus Augustus has heretofore been a much-neglected one. I have struggled in vain for years to find anyone with anything of note to say about this dying of the light in the Roman west.

Journalist and "Bread and Circuses" blogger Adrian Murdoch does a very fine job of gathering together the limited extant sources to add context and texture to the murky happenings of 475/6. It's very well written, is highly accessible, and is also quite witty.

Brilliant and Highly Readable Biography
Adrian Murdoch has produced a number of brilliant books on the Later Roman Empire, including the fantastic 'The Last Pagan', a biography of Julian the Apostate.
This book is a look at the life of the last Roman Emperor of the West, the boy ruler called Romulus Augustulus. Writing a biography of this mysterious figure must have been daunting, as very little is known about him. The ancient scholars never recorded his date or place of death, or much else about him. So not only is this a biography, but it is also a detective story, as Murdoch attempts to reconstruct the Emperor's life from the fragments of history.

We also learn about the background events of Romulus's life, including the exploits of his father, Orestes, who was one of Attila the Hun's henchmen. Ironically, Attila's other henchman was a man named Edeco who would become the father of Odovacer, Romulus's overthrower.
Yet the main force of the book are the events surrounding the fall of the Western Empire, especially the last rulers from Petronius Maximus onwards. The years 475/476 are given a lot of attention, which gives you a detailed look at the Empire's dying moments.
The book then finishes with a look at different portrayls of Romulus Augustulus in popular culture, from novels, plays and film.

The book is wonderfully written, and its one of the most readable books I've come across in years. I read it all in one afternoon, and was thoroughly impressed with how Mr. Murdoch had handelled the limited historical and archaeological evidence. The book also contains a few pictures, from photographs of coins, diptychs, cameos; to scenes from Hollywood films and paintings.

As far as I know this is the only accessible biograpghy of Romulus Augustulus in print. If you have an interest in this fascinating figure, and the world of late Antiquity, then this book should be high on your reading list. Highly Recommended!

A Readable Popular History of the End of Rome
First off, this book's title is a bit of a misnomer. It makes it sound like a biography. Romulus Augustulus was the last Roman Emperor. He ruled for under a year and then he was deposed, and that's pretty much all that we know about him. Every scrap of information about him is included in this book and it isn't much. This book is essentially about the end of the Roman Empire, and the events that led to it. In other words, it is about Augustulus' world. It's a fairly brief book, but entertaining. If you're looking for a brief history of Rome's fall and you don't want to go into too much detail then this book is for you. It's well written in an entertaining manner, and it makes it's points very clear. I would not recommend this book for anyone looking for a more in depth look at these events. If you want more inforrmation I strongly recommend Peter Heather's The Fall of the Roman Empire. This one is really a pretty basic book designed for beginners. As such, it does what it aims to do perfectly.