Roman Warfare (Smithsonian History of Warfare)

by Adrian Goldsworthy

A brief, but highly enjoyable and important introductory text to Roman warfare. I'll admit that my study of ancient warfare has been to this point almost non-existent - particularly as it relates to Rome and this book has really done a lot to get rid of that. Goldsworthy in the space of only about two hundred pages describes the Roman military - starting from its earliest role as a citizens militia, through the Punic Wars, the wars of Julius Caesar, and up till the fall of the Western Roman Empire. With little space Goldsworthy gets more than a fair share of important facts into the text such as the composition of Roman Legions (and how they changed throughout the various periods), what weapons were used, the role of the military in Roman political life and Roman society at large. While the text itself is often exceedingly well written - I never really had to reread passages to soak up the details and overall themes of what Goldsworthy was talking about - it is also well supported by a variety of maps and illustrations, particularly the battle maps (Cannae, Zama, Magnesia, the Siege of Jerusalem, and Strasbourg).

Included at the end of the text is a well needed glossary of Latin terms used in the text, along with brief biographies of the most prominent Roman generals and of the most important primary sources consulted by the author.

***** out of *****