Ancient Rome was uniquely bellicose. Her legions marched out to war every year and the fury of legionaries in combat was terrible. Officers and common soldiers gloried in single combat, taking heads and despoiling their enemies. Long before the Vikings emerged, Roman warriors were discarding their armor to fight berserk and bare-chested in battle, going so far as to maul opponents with their bare teeth and sometimes even drinking their blood. Generals would occasionally perform the act of devotio – sacrificing themselves to the gods of the Underworld – to secure victory. Yet these same warriors read philosophy, wrote history and recited poetry. Singing, too, was popular – in battle as much as elsewhere. At Pharsalus in 48 BC, where Julius Caesar routed his rival Pompey the Great, his more psychotic legionaries sang gleefully as they killed. Regimental anthems were popular, but at Pharsalus lyrical pronouncements on the parentage of your opponent, virtue of his mother, and reputation of his city were most prominent. Warriors of the Roman Empire introduces the heroic, sometimes contradictory, and utterly ruthless men who carved out the Roman Empire. Men like Siccius Dentatus, victor of eight single combats; Decius Mus, the consul who charged into the midst of the enemy at Sentinum to 'devote' himself to the gods; Claudius Marcellus, the last Roman to dedicate the spoils of honor to Jupiter; and Ennius, centurion and epic poet.
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About the Author
Ross H. Cowan studied Classics at the University of Glasgow, where he also wrote his doctoral thesis about elite units of the Roman Imperial Army – the Praetorian Guard and Second Parthian Legion. He is the author of two books about the Imperial legions and has written many articles on all aspects of the Roman Army.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anecdotal Joy for serious students and those casually interested in Romans at war,
By Sojourner Wolf (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: For the Glory of Rome: A History of Warriors and Warfare (Hardcover)
Informative without being pedantic, light enough for pleasurable reading but by no means fluff, For the Glory Of Rome brings to life the Roman legionnaire in a fresh and exhilirating way. The author describes Roman military men as both soldiers and warriors, by no means always the ant-like disciplined troops as they are so often portrayed. Single combat, the "unofficial" rules and specific episodes, brings the participants to life worthy of the great illustrations, graphic and photographic. Not just the Romans, but their enemies are written with vivid empathy. Tired of wading through Tacitus? This book is the sort of change of pace that can revive flagging interest or spark a new one.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A survey of the role of single combat in battle,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: For the Glory of Rome: A History of Warriors and Warfare (Hardcover)
Ross Cowan's FOR THE GLORY OF ROME: A HISTORY OF WARRIORS AND WARFARE provides a survey of the Roman warrior, an analysis of strategy and campaigns, and a survey of the role of single combat in battle. College-level and in-depth collections strong in ancient military history will appreciate the depth of analysis here, which examines individuals and warriors, from their techniques to their motivations in defending the Roman Empire with their lives.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Warriors and Soldiers in Rome's Legions,
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This review is from: For the Glory of Rome: A History of Warriors and Warfare (Hardcover)
The author gives us a distinct perspective in the military history of the Legions of Rome and that is through the eyes of the soldiers. He confronts the idealized version of the roman legionnaire as perfectly disciplines quasi robotic killing machine and present us men in the flesh with their passions and flaws. The Romans presented were passionate warriors fighting at first for the survival of their city always surmounting great odds until they became the dominant power in the Mediterranean world and ultimately defend the vast empire against mass invasions of Barbarian nations. We are presented in detail with the campiagn of Pyrrhus of Epirus and his surprise at the discipline and valor displayed by the Romans confronting him, the role of single combat in deciding battles, the blood thirst but also the nobler passions such as the self sacrifice of the Roman commanders in order to achieve victory displayed by the Greatest warriors of the ancient world as were the Romans. This is a nice read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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