This book covers a century and a half of the history of the Roman Empire from 117 to 284 g. n. e. : "golden age" of the empire, the reign of the Antonine dynasty (117-190 AD.) — Adrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius); rule of the dynasty of the North: Septimius, Caracallus, Heliogabalus, Alexander (19335 AD. ); and the so-called "crisis of the third century" (from Maximinus to Numerian, 235-284 AD. ). The story stops at the threshold of a new era of temporary strengthening of the empire - when the emperors Diocletian (284-305 AD). ) and Constantu (30637. ) managed to restore the relative unity of the power for another century. From several consecrations it follows that it was these emperors who commissioned six historians to write the biographies of their predecessors: Elius Spartanus, Julius Capitolinus, Vulcius Gallicanus, Elius Lampridius, Trebellius Pollion, and Flavius Vopiscus. We know nothing about them, they have not written anything else, and their names are not mentioned anywhere else. The manner of presentation and style are the same - they all write as one person . Therefore, in modern science, these authors are called scriptores historiae Augustae, "writers of the history of Augustus."