Warfare In The Roman Republic

This study looks at destroying the gods of Rome's enemies, wartime ceremonies, the role of women in Republican warfare and even the gruesome live burials of people during times of military crisis. Religion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Romans were certainly no exception. No campaign was undertaken, no battle risked, without first making sacrifice to propitiate the appropriate gods (such as Mars, god of War) or consulting oracles and omens to divine their plans. Yet the link between war and religion is an area that has been regularly overlooked by modern scholars examining the conflicts of these times. This volume addresses that omission by drawing together the work of experts from across the globe. The chapters have been carefully structured by the editors so that this wide array of scholarship combines to give a coherent, comprehensive study of the role of religion in the wars of the Roman Republic. Aspects considered in depth will include: declarations of war; evocatio and taking gods away from enemies; dedications and ceremonies; the cult of the legionary eagle; the role of women in Republican warfare; omens and divination; live burials of people in times of military crisis; and the rituals of the Roman triumph.

This volume focuses on the changing relationship between warfare and the Roman citizenry; from the Republic, when war was at the heart of Roman life, through to the Principate, when it was confined to professional soldiers, and to the Late Empire and the Roman army's eventual failure.

Descriptions of every significant battle fought by the Roman Republic between 480 and 31 BC—and most of the minor ones too: “Amazing” (Books Monthly). The information in each entry of this remarkable book is drawn exclusively from ancient texts in order to offer a brief description of each battle based solely on the information provided by the earliest surviving sources that chronicle the event. This approach provides the reader a concise foundation of information to which they can then confidently apply later scholarly interpretation presented in secondary sources, achieving a more accurate understanding of the most likely battlefield scenario. In writing the battle descriptions, the author has not sought to analyze the evidence contained in the surviving accounts, nor embellish them beyond that which was necessary to provide clarity to the modern reader. He allows the original writers to speak for themselves, presenting the reader with a succinct version of what the ancient chroniclers tell us of these dramatic events. It is an excellent first-stop reference to the many battles of the Roman Republic. “An indispensable reference guide for any student of the Roman military.” —The NYMAS Review

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.

This easy-to-use reference book covers the most important people, places, events, and technologies of Roman warfare during the republic (400–31 BCE), providing a wealth of reference material and invaluable primary source documents. The study of ancient Rome remains both a high-interest topic and a staple of high school and university curricula, while recent Hollywood movies continue to heighten popular interest in Rome. This multi-format handbook examines warfare in ancient Rome during the republic period, from approximately 400 BCE to 31 BCE. Presenting ready reference, primary source documents, statistical information, and a chronology, the title explore all aspects of conflict during this time period, including key military leaders, pivotal battles and sieges, new weapons and technologies, and the intersections of warfare and society in the ancient world. The reference entries provide detailed snapshots of key people, events, groups, places, weapons systems, and strategies that enable readers to easily understand the critical issues during 400 years of the Roman Republic, while various overview, causes, and consequences essays offer engaging, in-depth coverage of the most important wars. By providing students with in-depth information about how the Roman Army operated, they develop a fuller understanding Roman, ancient, and world history.

An extraordinary eBook. Over 800 pages, 42 full-color illustrations, out of the text, of Tancredi Scarpelli, Italian illustrator, 30 full-color illustrations, out of the text, of great painters, various illustrations black and white in the text. All the texts of this eBook are free available on the web. Why buy it? Because the book is a resource that provide to a considerable added-value: it coordinates, in logical way, to gather texts scattered on the web the images in full-color and in black and white list of films set in ancient Rome the Most Important Movies All the arguments of the eBook: The History of all roman legions: Organization, Equipment, Body armour, Tactics, Levy and conditions of service, Campaign record, Marching-order and camps, Social impact of military service. Political history of the Roman military, Roman kingdom, Roman Republic from late Republic to mid-Roman Empire, Middle Roman Empire, Late Roman Empire Other: Imperial cavalry, Privileges, Relations, Oligarchical rule, Composition of legions, Roman conquest of Italy, Pattern of Roman expansion, Benefits of Roman hegemony, Military organisation of the Roman alliance, Historical cohesion of the Roman alliance, Samnite Wars, Pyrrhic War, 2nd Punic War, Social War, Integration of socii, Causes of socii revolt, Outbreak of revolt, Roman unification of Italy, Expansion of the Roman Republic, Imperial times, Conquest of the Iberian peninsula (219–18 BC), Macedon, the Greek poleis, and Illyria (215–148 BC), Jugurthine War (112–105 BC), Resurgence of the Celtic threat (121 BC), New Germanic threat (113–101 BC), Conflicts with Mithridates (89–63 BC), Campaign against the Cilician pirates (67 BC), Caesar's early campaigns (59–50 BC), Triumvirates, Caesarian ascension, and revolt (53–30 BC). Empire: Imperial expansion (40 BC – 117 AD), Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD), Jewish revolts (66–135 AD), Struggle with Parthia (114–217 AD), Usurpers (193–394 AD), Struggle with the Sassanid Empire (230–363 AD), Collapse of the Western Empire (402–476 AD), Social War, Civil Wars. Documents: The Battle of The Metaurus, B.: 207, The War with Porsena, The Conquest of Gaul, The Cimbri and Teutones – Political Quarrels, The Battle of Chalons, A.D. 451, The First Punic War, The Praetorian Influence, The Great Enemies of Rome: Pyrrhus, Relation of the Augustan Age to other Literary Epochs, Roman Religion. Bibliography. List of films set in ancient Rome, The Most Important Movies, Source of the Texts.

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 itself. Michael Sage traces the development of the republics army from its foundation (having first set the context of their regal antecedents), down to the time of its most famous leader, Julius Caesar. The transition from clan-based forces, through the Servian levy and the development of the manipular and cohortal legion is examined along with the associated weapons, tactics and operational capabilities. We see how the legions shaped up against the challenges of successive enemies from the Celts and Samnites, the Carthaginians and the hitherto-dominant Hellenistic armies based on the Macedonian-style pike phalanx.

Between 327 and 70 B.C. the Romans expanded their empire throughout the Mediterranean world. This highly original study looks at Roman attitudes and behavior that lay behind their quest for power. How did Romans respond to warfare, year after year? How important were the material gains of military success--land, slaves, and other riches--commonly supposed to have been merely an incidental result? What value is there in the claim of the contemporary historian Polybius that the Romans were driven by a greater and greater ambition to expand their empire? The author answers these questions within an analytic framework, and comes to an interpretation of Roman imperialism that differs sharply from the conventional ones.