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    Rome at War
    Rome at War
    Rome at War
    Ebook202 pages2 hours

    Rome at War

    By Bloomsbury Publishing

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    About this ebook

    An attractively packaged, beautifully illustrated book telling the story of the wars of Ancient Rome.

    The Roman Empire was the greatest the world has ever seen, and its legendary military might was the foundation of this success.

    This compact volume tells the fascinating story of the major conflicts that shaped the empire, from Julius Caesar's bloody Gallic Wars and the Civil War against Pompey that left the victorious Caesar Dictator of Rome, through the wars of expansion to its decline and fragmentation.

    Beautiful full colour artwork of the soldiers and battles bring the Roman world to life, along with images and colour maps.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateAug 23, 2018
    ISBN9781472831453
    Rome at War

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      Book preview

      Rome at War - Bloomsbury Publishing

      CONTENTS

      Chronology

      The Early Republic 753–150BC

      The Late Republic 150–27BC

      The Early Empire 27BC–AD235

      The Late Empire AD235–500

      CHRONOLOGY

      This painting by Henry Motte depicts the Gallic chief Vercingetorix surrendering to Julius Caesar after the battle of Alesia in 52BC. Crozatier Museum, Le Puy en Velay, France. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

      THE EARLY REPUBLIC 753–150BC

      Statue on the Capitoline Hill in Rome of Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, suckled by a wolf. (Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)

      The powerful Italian neighbours of Rome vied constantly for land, trade and the spoils of war. Alliances were forged and broken as each city-state struggled for dominance. Rome’s greatest allies could quickly become her most feared enemies…

      FOUNDATION AND MONARCHY

      The story of how Rome was born is steeped in violence. The legend of orphaned twins Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf and founding a city on the Palatine Hill in 753BC soon descends into fratricide, as Romulus kills his brother whilst jealously defending his new city. The method by which Romulus set about populating the city involved kidnap and rape, as the neighbouring Sabine women were abducted to become Rome’s first mothers. Romulus himself eventually disappeared during a violent thunderstorm, believed to have been taken up by his father, Mars, the god of war. Although the stuff of fables, these violent beginnings seem most appropriate for a city that grew into an empire by the strength of its sword and the ferocity and skill of its armies.

      Records of the organisation of Rome’s military forces under the early monarchy are scarce, but the writings of Roman historians such as Livy and Dionysius can build a picture of the emphasis given to military organisation and war by Rome’s first seven kings.

      Romulus, the first king, was certainly military-minded, and built his power on his ability on the battlefield. This was considered a most appropriate kingly quality at a time when borders were constantly shifting, and the defence of one’s own land, as well as the acquisition of others, was the means to success and survival. Romulus’ successor, the Sabine Numa Pompilius (715–673BC), was a much more peaceful king, and concentrated on religious reform. Rome’s third king, Tullus Hostilius (673–641BC) was very war-minded, and destroyed neighbouring Alba Longa, effectively doubling the population of Rome with Alban refugees. The successor to Hostilius, Ancus Martius (641–617BC), made shrewd military reforms in order to defend his city, and expanded Rome’s frontiers and population through conquest. Although successful in war, the Roman army up to this time mainly consisted of groups of warriors fighting together under the command of wealthy nobles. This had some proven efficacy, but would have to adapt and become a more homogenous unit to be able to survive the battles ahead.

      The fifth king of Rome was the first Etruscan to hold the position. According to Livy, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (616–579BC) waged war with the neighbouring Latins in order to garner favour in his new kingdom. Certainly, the period of Etruscan rule in Rome saw its most significant military reforms of the early period, due to the introduction of the Etruscan form of phalanx warfare and Greek-style hoplite tactics in the Roman army around this time. The phalanx system worked by columns of men standing in tight formation, with overlapping shields, armed with long spears and swords. The resulting dense body of men was difficult to penetrate and operated almost like one vast weapon.

      Much of the conversion to hoplite tactics is associated with the sixth king of Rome, who was the second Etruscan in this role. Servius Tullius (579–534BC) was said to have introduced a sweeping reform, replacing the order of citizenship based on race with one based on residence, thus increasing the pool of military manpower. These newly defined citizens were divided into one of five classes, determined by their wealth. From these classes, groups of troops called centuries were drawn, providing the basis for an army where the wealthy were bound to serve and to provide their own military equipment. The class system also controlled who could vote at assemblies, which meant political and military life were unavoidably, and indeed deliberately, interwoven.

      BIRTH OF THE REPUBLIC

      The reign of Tarquinius Superbus (534–509BC), or ‘Tarquin the Proud’, is marked by cruelty and violence, but his success as a warmonger ensured the continued, and rapid, rise of Rome as an early superpower. It was, however, the cruel streak of Tarquinius and his family that resulted in the final toppling of the monarchy in Rome, and the establishment of the early Republic. Lucius Junius Brutus, the nephew of Tarquinius, is said to have led his fellow citizens in an uprising against the corrupt and violent monarchy, thus becoming the founder of the Roman Republic in 509BC. The new regime established in the new Republic was to be based on patriotism and courage. However, it was the strength of its armies, and the military resolve of its leaders, that would dictate the success or failure of the Republic.

      The Intervention of the Sabine Women: Hersilia and the Sabine women stopping the battle between their Roman husbands (right) and their Sabine brothers (left), showing them their children. Painting by J. L. David, 1799, Louvre Museum, Paris. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

      The Rape of Lucrece, painted by Rubens in 1610, depicts the incident which tradition holds led to the uprising against the monarchy. According to one story, the king’s son, Tarquin, was staying with Lucretia and her husband. Entering her room at night by stealth, he threatened to kill her and one of her slaves, then claim he had caught them in an adulterous relationship, unless she submitted to his advances. The next day she publicly accused him to her father and the chief magistrate, then stabbed herself, forcing her listeners to swear revenge. The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. (PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

      The Republic was ruled by a senate and two consuls – chief magistrates or judges – and these consuls were elected annually. The dominant power of the aristocratic class, or patricians, in the senate was a matter for protest, and was increasingly challenged by the common people, or plebeians, until by 300BC the plebeians had obtained the right to hold any office. More offices were added to the political organisation, including tribuni or tribunes (who were originally to protect the plebeians’ rights against the patricians, but later became military officers), quaestores (prosecutors or judges, later becoming paymasters or treasurers), aediles (magistrates responsible for supervising public building and games, the police, and the corn supply), censores (responsible for taking the census of citizens and regulating taxes) and praetores (magistrates junior to the consuls).

      Rome gradually extended her power to neighbouring peoples, and by the start of the fifth century BC, Rome was the most important city in Latium. The threat to the region from a number of Apennine hill tribes resulted in a common defensive alliance, aimed at presenting a united front against the enemy tribes. Much of the fifth century BC saw Rome at war alongside the Latins, defending Latium against the Sabines, Volsci and Aequi, who were eager to settle in more fertile territory. In 396BC, Rome effectively doubled the territory under the control of the Republic following a six-year-long siege of the important Etruscan city of Veii, about 20km north of Rome. However, a run of success and dominance was about to come to an end when Gallic Celts, who had been fighting their way south from northern Italy, came to within a few

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