Pliny The Elder: The Ancient Roman Empire

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To understand Roman society modern historians look at many pieces of evidence; surviving books, manuscripts, and written accounts are just a few of those used to explain how Romans lived. Pliny the Elder is responsible for much of what we know about the ancient Roman Empire. Throughout Pliny’s accomplished life, he served as a military commander and politician. During his career he was interested in naturalism and provided useful accounts of nature’s phenomena. Pliny the Elder died in 79 AD from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius but a record his actions remains, and is one of the primary accounts of the event. Pliny was born around 23 AD in the town of Como in modern day Italy, his father was of the equestrian rank. He lived a comfortable life;…show more content…
In other accounts Pliny the Younger likes to show that Pliny the Elder was a good Roman and did a good job following the customs established by earlier Romans. When Pliny turned 23 he joined the military and served in Germany. He was ambitious and soon rose to the rank of Cavalry Commander. Pliny never married, and he lived with his nephew and sister in a villa until his death in 79 AD Pliny the Elder had a long and successful career in the Roman military. After joining the army as a junior officer at age 23, which was the typical for equestrians. he rose quickly in rank. Prior to his service Pliny studied literature. This scholarly interest attracted the attention of higher-ranking officers, Pliny formed lasting friendships with these officers which helped him network his way through the military. Pliny was a skilled soldier was well and he became a praefectus…show more content…
His service in the army and navy led Pliny to many different parts of the Roman empire. Throughout his travels he recorded information related to nature, geography, and mineralogy. It is said he often had books on these topics read to him as he rested. He noted many facts to include in his encyclopedia. The encyclopedia, published in the latter years of his life, consisted of 37 volumes and was the result of years of work. Naturalis Historia is one of the few surviving works from classical times. In the book Pliny claims he brought together 20,000 facts from over 2000 works authored by over 200 different people. The book has some inaccuracies, but is mostly correct and gives valuable insight into classical Roman science. For example, Naturalis Historia correctly states facts like Venus, excluding the sun and moon, is the only extraterrestrial body that casts a visible shadow or that a bird egg can be made flexible by dissolving its hard outer shell with vinegar. Naturalis Historia gave us important information on Roman scientists and their discoveries; in fact the topic “Natural History” comes directly from Pliny the Elder’s famed work. Pliny’s life unfortunately came to an end on that fateful day in AD 79, when Mount Vesuvius underwent one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. An expert on Classical Rome and Pliny the Elder, Ronald Syme wrote about Pliny’s
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