What is Augustan History?

The Augustan History is a collection of Latin biographies of Roman emperors and key political figures from 117 to 284 CE. It is considered a literary work and part of the broader biographical tradition of imperial Rome.

Who wrote the Augustan History?

The work is traditionally attributed to several authors, including Aelius Spartianus, Trebellius Pollio, and Flavi0us Vopiscus, though modern scholars question these attributions due to the work's semi-legendary status.

What time period does it cover?

The Augustan History covers the period from 117 to 284 CE, focusing on emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs, and usurpers of the Roman Empire.

Is the content reliable?

Much of the content is regarded as fictional, especially in the context of the late Roman period, where historical accuracy is often questioned due to the inclusion of semi-legendary or invented narratives.

What is the purpose of the work?

The work serves as a literary and historical document of the imperial biographical tradition, focusing on the lives of emperors and their political context.

Why is it significant?

The Augustan History is significant for its role in the development of Latin biographical writing and its influence on later imperial historiography.

Augustan History

late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers of the period 117–284; much of its content is regarded as fictional

Creative Work Literary Work Q722678

Facts

11 properties

Instance of: literary work
Author: Flavius Vopiscus, Aelius Spartianus, Vulcacius Gallicanus, Julius Capitolinus, Aelius Lampridius, Trebellius Pollio, Scriptores Historiae Augustae^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]
Genre: biography^[8]
Language of work or name: Latin^[9]
Characters: Cornelius Capitolinus, Septiminus^[10]^[11]
Copyright status: public domain^[23]
Described by source: Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Desktop Encyclopedic Dictionary, Realʹnyj slovarʹ klassičeskih drevnostej po Lûbkeru, Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890), Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, Encyclopædia Britannica Ninth Edition, New International Encyclopedia, Pauly–Wissowa^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]
Has version, edition or translation: The Historia Augusta^[12]
Main subject: history of Rome^[13]
State of transmission: full^[24]
Title: Historia Augusta^[22]

🏷️ Also known as

en Historia Augusta en Augustan History ar هستوريا أوغوستا cs Gallicanus cs Volcatius Gallicanus cs Vulcatius Gallianus el Ιστορία των Αυγούστων fa تاریخ قیصرها fi Kolmekymmentä tyrannia fi Rooman kolmekymmentä tyrannia fi Scriptores Historiae Augustae fr Histoire Auguste fr Historia Augusta he היסטוריה אוגוסטה ja アエリウス・スパルティアヌス ja ヒストリア・アウグスタ ja ヒストリア・オーガスタ ja ローマ皇帝群像 ko 히스토리아 아우구스타 nl Scriptores Historiae Augustae

🔖 Identifiers · 34

VIAF cluster ID: 176191341
Library of Congress Authorities ID: n50004878
GND ID: 4025094-5
Image (Wikimedia Commons): Tesori BNCR 6 Sriptores Historiae Augustae 35.jpg ↗
BIBSYS ID: 90792144
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12302233z
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: historia-augusta
Canadiana Name Authority ID: ncf11943568
Clavis Historicorum Antiquitatis Posterioris work ID: 213
De Agostini ID: Historia+Augusta
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: topic/Augustan-History
Encyclopædia Universalis ID: histoire-auguste

Show all 34 identifiers +22

Freebase ID: /m/022_02
Hrvatska enciklopedija ID: 25758
IdRef ID: 031892310
J9U entity ID: 987007267817505171
Lex ID: Historia_Augusta
LibraryThing work ID: 4731681
Libris-URI: rp36d319324lb7h
Museum-digital tag ID: 94740
NE.se ID: historia-augusta
Namuwiki ID: 히스토리아 아우구스타
National Library of Spain SpMaBN ID: XX3670700
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 3912021
Open Library ID: OL16332647W
Oxford Classical Dictionary ID: 3132
PACTOLS thesaurus ID: pcrtpOea7ztkFo
Proleksis enciklopedija ID: 26672
Topic's main category: Category:Historia Augusta
Treccani ID: storia-augusta
Treccani's Dizionario di Storia ID: historia-augusta
Treccani's Enciclopedia Italiana ID: storia-augusta, storia-augusta-documenti
Vatican Library VcBA ID: 492/49234
Work available at URL: eto.box

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🔗 Connections

Author 6

Aelius Lampridius, Flavius Vopiscus, Trebellius Pollio, Aelius Spartianus, Julius Capitolinus, Vulcacius Gallicanus

Created notable works 6

Aelius Lampridius, Flavius Vopiscus, Trebellius Pollio, Aelius Spartianus, Julius Capitolinus, Vulcacius Gallicanus

Described by source 4

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, New International Encyclopedia, Pauly–Wissowa

public domain

Genre 1

biography

Instance of 1

literary work

Language of work or name 1

Latin

Main subject 1

history of Rome

← Based on 1

The Roses of Heliogabalus

← Described by source 1

Tigidius Perennis

← Field of work 1

André Chastagnol

← Present in work 1

Thirty Tyrants

← Published in 1

Animula vagula blandula

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References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[1] ↑ Augustan History — author (P50): Flavius Vopiscus. wikidata.org.
[2] ↑ Augustan History — author (P50): Aelius Spartianus. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Augustan History — author (P50): Vulcacius Gallicanus. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Augustan History — author (P50): Julius Capitolinus. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Augustan History — author (P50): Aelius Lampridius. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Augustan History — author (P50): Trebellius Pollio. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Augustan History — author (P50): Scriptores Historiae Augustae. Clavis Historicorum Antiquitatis Posterioris. Retrieved 2023-09-08. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Augustan History — genre (P136): biography. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Augustan History — language of work or name (P407): Latin. Clavis Historicorum Antiquitatis Posterioris. Retrieved 2023-09-08. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Augustan History — characters (P674): Cornelius Capitolinus. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Augustan History — characters (P674): Septiminus. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Augustan History — has version, edition or translation (P747): The Historia Augusta. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Augustan History — main subject (P921): history of Rome. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): Desktop Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): Russian translation of Lübker's Antiquity Lexicon. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890). wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): Encyclopædia Britannica Ninth Edition. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): New International Encyclopedia. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Augustan History — described by source (P1343): Pauly–Wissowa. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Augustan History — title (P1476): Historia Augusta. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Augustan History — copyright status (P6216): public domain. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Augustan History — state of transmission (P12020): full. Clavis Historicorum Antiquitatis Posterioris. Retrieved 2023-09-08. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA

4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Augustan History. Retrieved November 13, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/augustan-history

MLA “Augustan History.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 13 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/augustan-history.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_augustan-history_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Augustan History}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/augustan-history}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-13}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Augustan History — https://4ort.xyz/entity/augustan-history (retrieved 2026-11-13)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/augustan-history · Last refreshed: November 13, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

1d ago · Luistxo · 2026-11-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Image → Tesori BNCR 6 Sriptores Historiae Augustae 35.jpg

"Changed claim: Image: Tesori BNCR 6 Sriptores Historiae Augustae 35.jpg"
2d ago · Luistxo · 2026-11-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Commons category → Scriptores historiae Augustae

"Created claim: Commons category: Scriptores historiae Augustae"
2d ago · Luistxo · 2026-11-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Commons category → Scriptores historiae Augustae

"Removed claim: Commons category: Scriptores historiae Augustae"
2d ago · Luistxo · 2026-11-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Commons category → Scriptores historiae Augustae

"Created claim: Commons category: Scriptores historiae Augustae"
11w ago · Filesdotcomgigs · 2026-08-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Work available at URL → https://eto.box/book/9907be9f20a35d24fe8adaff4c95670f

"Created claim: Work available at URL: https://eto.box/book/9907be9f20a35d24fe8adaff4c95670f, Add full-text availability link (P953) to a public-domain work"
27w ago · KaleemBot bot · 2026-05-09 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Has version, edition or translation → The Historia Augusta

Author → Flavius Vopiscus, Aelius Spartianus, Vulcacius Gallicanus +1

Characters → Cornelius Capitolinus, Septiminus

Topic's main category → Category:Historia Augusta

+ 7 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)

"Changed the item: Added ur:ہسٹوریا اگسٹا"

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