For eight years, one man held the Roman Empire at bay from the mountains of Spain. Quintus Sertorius — a Sabine outsider, a veteran of Rome's most catastrophic military defeats, a product of Gaius Marius's revolutionary army — transformed a provincial exile into the most audacious political experiment the Republic had ever witnessed. Landing on the Iberian coast in 80 BC with fewer than ten thousand soldiers, he built a functioning state: a counter-Senate, a legitimate currency, an academy...

The Military Institutions of the Romans is a classic treatise about Roman warfare and military principles. Its author emphasizes things such as training of soldiers as a disciplined force, orderly strategy, maintenance of supply lines and logistics, quality leadership and use of tactics and even deceit to ensure an advantage over the opposition.

NATIONAL BESTSELLERFor millennia, Carthage’s triumph over Rome at Cannae in 216 B.C. has inspired reverence and awe. No general since has matched Hannibal’s most unexpected, innovative, and brutal military victory. Now Robert L. O’Connell, one of the most admired names in military history, tells the whole story of Cannae for the first time, giving us a stirring account of this apocalyptic battle, its causes and consequences.O’Connell brilliantly conveys how...

This companion provides an extensive account of the Roman army, exploring its role in Roman politics and society as well as the reasons for its effectiveness as a fighting force.An extensive account of the Roman army, from its beginnings to its transformation in the later Roman EmpireExamines the army as a military machine – its recruitment, training, organization, tactics and weaponryExplores the relationship of the army to Roman politics...

By drawing on a very large number of German sources, many of them previously unpublished, Jack Sheldon throws new light on a familiar story.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...

From the moment its last king was expelled (traditionally in 753) the Roman republic had to fight for its very survival. Centuries of almost continuous warfare saw Romes armies evolve in response to a wide variety of threats which were met with mixed fortunes though always with ultimate success. As defence of the homeland turned to territorial expansion, Roman forces also had to adapt to sustained campaigns in varied terrain and climates, not to mention the changes in the Roman republic it...

A Companion to the Punic Wars offers a comprehensive new survey of the three wars fought between Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC.Offers a broad survey of the Punic Wars from a variety of perspectivesFeatures contributions from an outstanding cast of international scholars with unrivalled expertiseIncludes chapters on military and naval techniques, strategies, logistics, and Hannibal as a charismatic general and leaderGives balan...

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...

"…an accessible and carefully researched book that presents the reader with an up-to-date account of the conditions of life, service, and combat in Rome's legions during this period of rapid Roman expansion." - The Journal of Military History Inside the Roman Legions aims to tell the story of the Roman soldier through a holistic, empathetic examination of what the experience of military service in the Middle Republic was really like. It traces real examples of soldiers described in the anc...

"Taylor's study critically compares the manpower and revenues of Republican Rome with those of Carthage and the Antigonid, Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms." —Dominic Rathbone, author of Civilizations of the Ancient WorldBy the middle of the second century BCE, after nearly one hundred years of warfare, Rome had exerted its control over the entire Mediterranean world, forcing the other great powers of the region—Carthage, Macedonia, Egypt, and the Seleucid ...

A fresh narrative history of the rise of Rome's empire in Italy, that exposes the monumental expansion of the Roman familial, social, political, and militaristic way of living across Italy. Before the Romans could become masters of the Mediterranean, they had to first conquer the people of their own peninsula. This book explores the origins of Roman imperialism and the creation of Rome's early Italian empire, bringing new light and interpretations to this important but pro...

This paper examines the battle of Teutoburg (9 A.D.), its consequences on the Roman world, and the role cultural misunderstanding played on the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. The Roman commander's cultural misunderstanding of his enemy caused mistakes at the operational and tactical levels, while the Roman Emperor's cultural misunderstanding brought about mistakes at the strategic level and created poor policy decisions following the battle, which affected Rome like no other ...