By drawing on a very large number of German sources, many of them previously unpublished, Jack Sheldon throws new light on a familiar story. In an account filled with graphic descriptions of life and death in the trenches, the author demonstrates that the dreadful losses of 1st July were a direct consequence of meticulous German planning and preparation. Although the Battle of the Somme was frequently a close-run affair, poor Allied co-ordination and persistence in attacking weakly on narr...

Using the results of archaeological techniques, and examining methodological debates, Tim Cornell provides a lucid and authoritative account of the rise of Rome.The Beginnings of Rome offers insight on major issues such as:Rome’s relations with the Etruscansthe conflict between patricians and plebeiansthe causes of Roman imperialismthe growth of slave-based economy.Answering the need for raising acute questions and...

Cities in the ancient world relied on private generosity to provide many basic amenities, as well as expecting leading citizens to pay for 'bread and circuses' - free food and public entertainment. This collection of essays by leading scholars from the UK and USA explores the important phenomenon of benefaction and public patronage in Roman Italy. Ranging from the late republican period to the later Roman Empire, the contributions cover a wide range of topics, including the impact of benef...

The fall and rise of ancient Rome from more than two decades of internal conflict, as its aristocracy took up arms against each other.By the early first century BC, the Roman Republic had already carved itself a massive empire and was easily the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. Roman armies had marched victoriously over enemies far and wide, but the Roman heartland was soon to feel the tramp of armies on campaign as the Republic was convulsed by civil war ...

Volume one of this sweeping history chronicles the turbulent ancient history of Syracuse from the rise of Gelon to the death of Dionysius I.Situated at the heart of the Mediterranean, Syracuse was one of the most important city-states of the classical Greek world. Coveted for its wealth and strategic location, it was caught in the middle as Carthage, Epirus, Athens and then Rome each battled to gain control of the region. The threat of expansionist enemies on all si...

"C apture[s] the essence of the struggle within Rome for reform and power and dominance . . . a page turner of a book . . . that offers fresh insight." — FiretrenchFollowing the First Civil War the Roman Republic was able to rebuild itself and restore stability. Yet the problems which had plagued the previous seventy years of the Republic, of political reform being met with violence and bloodshed, had not been resolved and once again resum...

"A very good read . . . and a reminder that the Romans were hardly the only imperialist warmongers of the ancient world." — StrategyPageCarthage was the western Mediterranean's first superpower, long before Rome, and her military history was powerful, eventful, and checkered even before her "Punic Wars" against Rome. Although characterized in the surviving sources and modern studies as a predominantly mercantile state, Carthage fought many wars, both aggre...

This military history of Ancient Rome analyses the empire's revitalized push against rising enemies to the East.In the century since Rome's defeat of the Seleucid Empire in the 180s BC, the East was dominated by the rise of new empires: Parthia, Armenia, and Pontus, each vying to recreate the glories of the Persian Empire. By the 80s BC, the Pontic Empire of Mithridates had grown so bold that it invaded and annexed the whole of Rome's eastern empire and occupied Gre...

A Roman historian examines the motivation and strategy behind Marc Anthony's invasion of Parthia and the reasons for its ultimate defeat.In the mid-first century BC, the Roman Empire was rivaled only by the Parthian Empire to the east. The first war between these two ancient superpowers resulted in the total defeat of Rome and the death of Marcus Crassus. When Rome collapsed into Civil War in the 1st century, BC, the Parthians took the opportunity conquer the Middle...

An investigation of how a man could become a Roman emperor, and the failure to create an enduring, consistent system for selecting the next emperor.John D. Grainger analyses the Roman imperial succession, demonstrating that the empire organized by Augustus was fundamentally flawed in the method it used to find emperors. Augustus's system was a mixture of heredity, senatorial, and military influences, and these were generally antagonistic. Consequently, the Empire we...

A biography of the notorious tribal leader whose empire challenged the Romans.Most know the name Attila the Hun—but few are familiar with the full history behind this historical figure. Rising to the Hunnic kingship around 434, he dominated European history for the next two decades. Attila bullied and manipulated both halves of the Roman Empire, forcing successive emperors to make tribute payments or face invasion.Here, Ian Hughes recounts Attila's rise to ...

This in-depth chronicle examines the series of political upheavals that led to division, violence, and civil war in the ancient Roman Republic.The last century of the Roman Republic saw the consensus of the ruling elite shattered by a series of high-profile politicians who proposed political or social reform programs, many of which culminated in acts of bloodshed on the streets of Rome itself. This began in 133 BC with the military recruitment reforms of Tiberius Gr...