The War That Made the Roman Empire

The War That Made the Roman Empire

Author: Barry Strauss

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2022-03-22

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1982116692

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A “splendid” (The Wall Street Journal) account of one of history’s most important and yet little-known wars, the campaign culminating in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, whose outcome determined the future of the Roman Empire. Following Caesar’s assassination and Mark Antony’s defeat of the conspirators who killed Caesar, two powerful men remained in Rome—Antony and Caesar’s chosen heir, young Octavian, the future Augustus. When Antony fell in love with the most powerful woman in the world, Egypt’s ruler Cleopatra, and thwarted Octavian’s ambition to rule the empire, another civil war broke out. In 31 BC one of the largest naval battles in the ancient world took place—more than 600 ships, almost 200,000 men, and one woman—the Battle of Actium. Octavian prevailed over Antony and Cleopatra, who subsequently killed themselves. The Battle of Actium had great consequences for the empire. Had Antony and Cleopatra won, the empire’s capital might have moved from Rome to Alexandria, Cleopatra’s capital, and Latin might have become the empire’s second language after Greek, which was spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt. In this “superbly recounted” (The National Review) history, Barry Strauss, ancient history authority, describes this consequential battle with the drama and expertise that it deserves. The War That Made the Roman Empire is essential history that features three of the greatest figures of the ancient world.


The Fight for Rome

The Fight for Rome

Author: James Duffy

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2007-09-01

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 1590135644

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Continuing the adventures of Quintus Honorius Romanus (a.k.a. Taurus)—legendary gladiator of ancient Rome—this second book in the series picks up in AD 68, when the emperor is dead and the throne is up for grabs. Three contenders square off to take control of the government, and as civil unrest begins to build, Quintus and his friends, the beast hunter Lindani and the gladiatrix Amazonia, are forced to fight with the legionaries of Rome in what will soon become bloody civil war. Meanwhile, in a remote corner of the empire, Quintus’ former slave, Lucius Calidius, plots another rise to power—and not even Quintus will stand in his way.


How Rome Fell

How Rome Fell

Author: Adrian Goldsworthy

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2009-05-12

Total Pages: 558

ISBN-13: 0300155603

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The author discusses how the Roman Empire--an empire without a serious rival--rotted from within, its rulers and institutions putting short-term ambition and personal survival over the wider good of the state.


Battle For Rome

Battle For Rome

Author: Ian James Ross

Publisher: Abrams

Published: 2017-06-20

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1468315358

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this “well-crafted, atmospheric” war novel set in ancient Rome, an officer battles under Constantine while in the midst of personal turmoil.(Ben Kane, author of Fields of Blood) The Roman Empire is on the brink of civil war. Only Maxentius, tyrant of Rome, stands between the emperor Constantine and supreme power in the west. Aurelius Castus is now a tribune in Constantine's army. But great honor brings new challenges: Castus is tormented by suspicions that his young wife has been unfaithful. And as Constantine becomes increasingly devoted to Christianity, he is forced to ask himself whether he is backing the wrong man. The coming war will decide the fate of empire. But Castus's own battle will carry him much further. “Hugely enjoyable. The author winds up tension into an explosion of fast-paced events.” —Conn Iggulden, author of Stormbird ”A thumping good read . . . thoroughly enjoyable.” —Ben Kane, author of Lionheart “This is up there with Harry Sidebottom and Ben Kane.” —M.C. Scott, author of Into the Fire


Rome at War

Rome at War

Author: Nathan Rosenstein

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2005-12-15

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 0807864102

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Historians have long asserted that during and after the Hannibalic War, the Roman Republic's need to conscript men for long-term military service helped bring about the demise of Italy's small farms and that the misery of impoverished citizens then became fuel for the social and political conflagrations of the late republic. Nathan Rosenstein challenges this claim, showing how Rome reconciled the needs of war and agriculture throughout the middle republic. The key, Rosenstein argues, lies in recognizing the critical role of family formation. By analyzing models of families' needs for agricultural labor over their life cycles, he shows that families often had a surplus of manpower to meet the demands of military conscription. Did, then, Roman imperialism play any role in the social crisis of the later second century B.C.? Rosenstein argues that Roman warfare had critical demographic consequences that have gone unrecognized by previous historians: heavy military mortality paradoxically helped sustain a dramatic increase in the birthrate, ultimately leading to overpopulation and landlessness.


Romans at War

Romans at War

Author: Jeremy Armstrong

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-10-01

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 1351063480

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume addresses the fundamental importance of the army, warfare, and military service to the development of both the Roman Republic and wider Italic society in the second half of the first millennium BC. It brings together emerging and established scholars in the area of Roman military studies to engage with subjects such as the relationship between warfare and economic and demographic regimes; the interplay of war, aristocratic politics, and state formation; and the complex role the military played in the integration of Italy. The book demonstrates the centrality of war to Rome’s internal and external relationships during the Republic, as well as to the Romans’ sense of identity and history. It also illustrates the changing scholarly view of warfare as a social and cultural construct in antiquity, and how much work remains to be done in what is often thought of as a "traditional" area of research. Romans at War will be of interest to students and scholars of the Roman army and ancient warfare, and of Roman society more broadly.


Early Roman Warfare

Early Roman Warfare

Author: Jeremy Armstrong

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2016-09-19

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 1473880165

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

While copious amounts have been written about the Roman army, most study has focussed on the later Republic or the Imperial period when the legionary system was already well-developed. Here Dr Jeremy Armstrong traces the development of Rome's military might from its earliest discernible origins down to the First Punic War. He shows how her armies evolved from ad-hoc forces of warriors organized along clan lines and assembled for the city's survival, to the sophisticated organization of the legions that went on to dominate all of Italy and then (after the period covered) the entire Mediterranean world. The author reviews both the literary sources and the latest archaeological evidence to provide a fresh analysis of Roman military organization, equipment, tactics and strategy. He shows how Rome's military apparatus adapted to meet the changing strategic needs of new enemies and broader ambitions. This study of the origins of the Classical world's most formidable war machine will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in Classical, and especially Roman, military history.


Rome's Greatest Defeat

Rome's Greatest Defeat

Author: Adrian Murdoch

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2008-07-14

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 0752494554

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In AD 9 half of Rome's Western army was ambushed in a German forest and annihilated. Three legions, three cavalry units and six auxiliary regiments - some 25,000 men - were wiped out. It dealt a body blow to the empire's imperial pretensions and was Rome's greatest defeat. No other battle stopped the Roman empire dead in its tracks. Although one of the most significant and dramatic battles in European history, this is also one which has been largely overlooked. Drawing on primary sources and a vast wealth of new archaeological evidence, Adrian Murdoch brings to life the battle itself, the historical background and the effects of the Roman defeat as well as exploring the personalities of those who took part.


The Social War, 91 to 88 BCE

The Social War, 91 to 88 BCE

Author: Christopher J. Dart

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-02-24

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1317015487

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Social War was a significant uprising against the Roman state by Rome’s allies in Italy. The conflict lasted little more than two and a half years but it is widely recognised as having been immensely important in the unification of Roman Italy. Between 91 and 88 BCE a brutal campaign was waged but the ancient sources preserve scant information about the war. In turn, this has given rise to conflicting accounts of the war in modern scholarship and often contradictory interpretations. This book provides a new and comprehensive reassessment of the events surrounding the Social War, analysing both the long-term and the immediate context of the conflict and its causes. Critical to this study is discussion of the nexus of citizenship, political rights and land which dominated much of second century BCE politics. It provides a new chronological reconstruction of the conflict itself and analyses the strategies of both the Romans and the Italian insurgents. The work also assesses the repercussions of the Social War, investigating the legacy of the insurgency during the civil wars, and considers its role in reshaping Roman and Italian identity on the peninsula in the last decades of the Republic.