Overview

"The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination. Born in AD 126, Pertinax made a late career change from working as a grammar teacher to a position in the army. As he moved up the ranks and further along the aristocratic cursus honorum, he took on many of the most important postings in the Empire, from senior military roles in fractious Britain, the Marcomannic Wars on the Danube, to the Parthian Wars in the east. He held governorships in key provinces, and later consulships in Rome itself. When Emperor Commodus was assassinated, the Praetorian Guard alighted on Pertinax to become the new Emperor, expecting a pliable puppet. But Pertinax was nothing of the sort and when he then attempted to reform the Guard, he was assassinated. His death triggered the beginning of the ""Year of the Five Emperors"" from which Septimius Severus, Pertinax's former mentoree, became the ultimate victor. This previously untold story brings a fascinating and important figure out of the shadows. A self-made everyman, a man of principle and ambition, a role model respected by his contemporaries, Pertinax's remarkable story offers a unique and panoramic insight into the late 2nd century AD Principate Empire."

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Simon Elliott is an historian, archaeologist, and honorary research fellow at the University of Kent where he studied for his PhD in archaeology on the subject of the Roman military in Britain. He also has an MA in war studies from KCL and an MA in archaeology from UCL. For a day job he runs his own PR company, and is a former defense and aerospace journalist at titles including Jane's Defence Weekly and Flight International. He frequently gives talks on Roman themes and is codirector at a Roman villa excavation.

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