Swords Against the Senate: The Rise of the Roman Army and the Fall of the Republic - Hardcover

Hildinger, Erik

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306811685 ISBN 13: 9780306811685

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2002

Synopsis

After Rome defeated its age-old enemy, Carthage, it was the undisputed ruler of a vast empire.Yet, at the heart of the Roman Republic was a peculiar flaw: an uneradicable tension between the aristocracy and the plebians, and each regarded themselves as the foundation of Rome's military power.Swords Against the Senate relates how the republic began to come apart amid military and political turmoil-the smoldering anger of the common people, a petty war against a treacherous North African prince, an invasion by Germans and an Italian political uprising. In the crisis Gaius Marius, the "people's general," rises to despotic power but is eventually replaced by the brutal dictator Sulla, who in turn spawns the man who would transform turmoil into imperial triumph, Julius Caesar. In this fast-paced, fact-filled work, personal intrigue, treachery, and occasional moral virtue vie for the reins of power. The Roman army, once invincible against foreign antagonists, becomes a tool for the powerful and government its foe. Erik Hildinger has written a fascinating, insightful work of history.

About this title

About the Author

Erik Hildinger's first book was a translation, from the Latin, of The Story of the Mongols Whom We Call the Tartars. His following work was the widely acclaimed Warriors of the Steppe: A Military History of Central Asia from 500 B.C. to 1700 A.D. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Reviews

The epic decline of the Roman Republic into civil war and military dictatorship gets a fresh and engrossing retelling here. Hildinger (Warriors of the Steppe) covers the period 137-78 BC, when mounting conflict between the aristocratic Senate and the plebeian popular assemblies undermined Rome's constitution and fueled political violence. Meanwhile, the displacement of the Roman peasantry by slave labor transformed the legions from a force of yeoman farmers into one of professionals recruited from the destitute classes, who owed their allegiance to their commanders rather than the Republic. When political turmoil created an opening for charismatic generals, "the republic was toppled by men with private armies." Combining social and political analysis with detailed battle narratives, Hildinger, a military historian, provides a lucid account of the Roman army, its major campaigns and its growing importance in the Republic's volatile and bloodthirsty politics. Unfortunately, an almost Shakespearean contempt for the Roman "mob," who "envied the wealth of their betters," were "prey to demagogues" and "unfit to exercise power," makes his defense of constitutional niceties and senatorial privilege against the inroads of popular democracy rather unconvincing. Still, this is a gripping treatment of one of history's great tragedies.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0306811685
• ISBN 13: 9780306811685
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240