Philippi 42 BC: The death of the Roman Republic (Campaign) [Paperback]

Si Sheppard (Author), Steve Noon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: August 19, 2008

Immortalized in Shakespeare's play on the life and death of Julius Caesar, the battle of Philippi was the final battle between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian against the forces of Caesar's assassins Brutus and Longinus during the Roman civil wars that took place in the 40s and 30s BC. Si Sheppard takes a detailed look at the campaign that was waged around the Macedonian city of Philipi. The first engagement on the 3rd of October was indecisive as Octavian's forces were routed by those of Brutus, but Cassius' camp was captured by Mark Antony's men; wrongly fearing that Brutus was dead and that all was lost for his cause, Cassius committed suicide - depriving the Republicans of their most gifted commander. In the meantime, the Republicans' naval forces had managed to intercept and destroy the supply ships of the Triumvirs in the Adriatic, a serious blow to Octavian and Mark Anthony. Expertly detailing the changing fates of the opposing sides, their successes and failures illustrated in a range of maps, the book then turns to the final stages of the campaign. As the Triumvirs' forces slowly moved their fieldworks towards their enemies' positions, Brutus, ignorant of the destruction of Calvinus's fleet and seeing few other options available to him, decided to give battle. In the bloody and close combat, legionary fought legionary amid great slaughter, until Brutus' forces were finally routed and his camp overrun. Brutus fled and committed suicide the following day. The Republican movement crushed, Rome now rested in the hands of the Second Triumvirate. This is the history of the Philippi campaign that sounded the final death knell for the Republican movement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[The book] is superbly illustrated using artwork from the ages and ... coins to show the people involved ... there are the superb illustrations and artwork of Steve Noon to add some color to things. I have to say that this is really an excellent book on this pivotal series of events. One that shaped this section of the world for a very long time to come. A book I know you will enjoy reading." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (September 2008)

About the Author

Si Sheppard is a graduate student of Political Science at John Hopkins University. He graduated with an MA Distinction from the University of Wellington and was winner of the Sir Desmond Todd Award for best thesis in a political subject. Simon Sheppard is a published author and has contributed a number of articles to leading journals, magazines and newspapers. For the Osprey Campaign series, he has previously written Pharsalus 48 BC. The author lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Steve Noon was born in Kent, UK, and attended art college in Cornwall. He has had a life-long passion for illustration, and since 1985 has worked as a professional artist. Steve has provided award-winning illustrations for renowned publishers Dorling Kindersley, where his interest in historical illustration began.The illustrator lives in Cardiff, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; First Edition edition (August 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846032652
• ISBN-13: 978-1846032653
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview., September 30, 2008

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philippi 42 BC: The death of the Roman Republic (Campaign) (Paperback)

Some time ago, I read Pharaslus, author's first effort with Osprey Campaign series and praised his insightful narrative while downgrading book's illustrations, photos and maps which I thought were inferior efforts. After reading Philippi, his second effort into the Osprey Campaign series, I am quite please to discover that his narrative is still quite excellent and his support material, illustrations, photos and maps proves to be quite excellent as well.

The book follows the typical Osprey Campaign series format. You got your background material, leaders, armies and campaign overview as you get to the main event. The author managed to handled it quite well and his narrative proves to be well written with clarity and understanding of the events at hand. I found many of his comments on leaders to be insightful and well thought-out. A good example would be that I enjoyed his insightful look at Mark Anthony who does so well in the crises but fades in every day duties. I agreed with the author on that score. Unlike his first book, this time around the author's narrative was well supported by illustrations, photos and maps. These elements clearly support the written words at hand. I did find it interesting that this campaign wasn't as cut and dry as I was led to believed. There were many political elements that made it near run thing for the victors. The author's narrative however, smoothly lay out the details in way easy to understand.

My knowledge on this campaign is somewhat limited so I welcome this book that gave me fresh information and insights into what happened at Philippi beside what Shakespeare wrote.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Legions of October, November 28, 2008

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Philippi 42 BC: The death of the Roman Republic (Campaign) (Paperback)

Most readers who pick up this volume, Philippi 42 BC, will already have some knowledge of the events depicted herein based upon high school memories of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar and perhaps the more recent HBO series Rome. Si Sheppard's narrative on the final showdown between the Republican conspirators who assassinated Julius Caesar in 44 BC and the Triumvir forces led by Mark Antony and young Octavian has all the drama of these popular sources but with the added benefit of historical accuracy. This is one of the most decisive battles of Roman history and here it is vividly conveyed in a solidly-researched and well-written volume. Although the author clearly leans toward Antony - it is difficult not to at this point - he gives Brutus and Cassius a fare shake. Overall, this is a very good volume in Osprey's campaign series and useful both for Roman specialist readers as well as general readers seeking more knowledge about the events in this tumultuous period in Roman history. After finishing this volume, most readers will eagerly anticipate the author's final installment of this Death-of-the-Roman Republic trilogy, on Actium.

After an excellent introduction outlining the events surrounding Julius Caesar's assassination and the development of rival factions led by Brutus/Cassius, Mark Antony and Octavian, the author provides short biographies of the opposing commanders and a brief discussion of the opposing armies. Although both armies were essentially trained and equipped along nearly identical lines (it was a civil war), the author notes that unlike earlier Roman armies, "political loyalties were fluid in the terminal Republic, and this had a commensurate impact on military discipline." Graphically, this volume has six 2-D maps (the Roman world, March 44 BC; two maps on the Battle of Forum Gallorum, April 43 BC; the approach to Philippi; the Italian theater of operations, 44-38 BC; the eastern theater of operations, 44-38 BC) and two 3-D BEV maps (First and Second Battles of Philippi). There are also three battle scenes by Steve Noon (the Fall of Xanthus, Antony victorious in the first battle of Philippi and the naval battle in the Adriatic) that are quite good, although all three are essentially from the viewpoint of the Triumvir forces. The author also provides a short section on the battlefield today and a 2-page bibliography. The other photos and illustrations in this volume are also quite good - no photos of broken vases, defaced wall murals or contemporary Greek cows chewing grass in a field that populate some other Osprey Ancient-era volumes.

The author devotes a 10-page section to discussing the initial outbreak of civil war, finally ending in the alliance of Mark Antony and Octavian to eliminate the Republican faction. This is followed by a 12-page section that discusses the approach to Philippi and which has the opposing plans section tucked in here as well. I found this the only section that was a bit hard to follow because the maps that support it appear much later in the volume. The two battles of Philippi are covered in a 29-page section which is adequate to summarize all the main actions. Given that the Triumvirs had about 123,000 troops and the Republicans 107,000, this was one of the largest battles of the Roman World. Readers will appreciate how Mark Antony cunningly attempted to outflank the Republicans by means of a covert path built through a marsh, but the author also notes that the Republicans' passivity was based upon the idea that their superior logistical position would ultimately give them the victory in a protracted campaign. Antony had to win quickly or his army would have fallen apart. In this account, Antony is clearly the superior commander, while Octavian is trounced in the first battle and plays little role in the second. The events after Philippi become a bit confusing with too many names and places mentioned in rapid succession without sufficient explanation; it would have been useful for the author to include a short chart or table summarizing who many of this minor characters were and which faction they supported. Nevertheless, this is a very good volume which accomplishes its purpose of melding political intrigue and military operations into a coherent story and even includes some information on the role of economics.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The end of the Roman Republican Oligarchy, July 23, 2009

By 

Anibal Madeira (Lisboa Portugal) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Philippi 42 BC: The death of the Roman Republic (Campaign) (Paperback)

The voting system of the roman republic led to certain citizens being much more politically important then others, creating a true oligarchy where the equites and patricians ruled over the masses (altough there was a certain social mobility)- This was the political system defended by the conspirators/republicans; not some romantic democracy like certain authors try to convince their audience.

The author is unbiased in this aspect, not taking sides. Although with different visions of Rome, Marcus Antonius, Octavianus, Cassius and Brutus, they where all warlords! Commanding powerfull personal armies loyal to them and not to the state. There was an huge revolution: the army realized its political power, even refusing to fight or demanding and mediating truces.

This book sumarizes with excelence the chain of events leading to the battle, with Mutina, Forum Galorum (with maps for both the versions of Sulpicius Galba and Appian) and the alliance of the second triunvirate. Impressive how the senate was dependent of certain privatus.

Also interesting is the description of training and organization of the belligerent forces and the impressive number of mobilized personnel at the time! The recruiters (conquistores) must have had a hell of a job.

Both battles of Philippi are very well described, with detail and emotion, analysing both ancient and modern sources. Although somewhat similar with the situation at Pharsalus, the author states very clearly the differences between them and the necessity of Brutus to attack at the second battle of Philippi.

The aftermath could lead to two great Osprey books: The Perusian War and the trashings that Ventidius gave the Parthians at Taurus Mountains, Amanus Gates and cyrrestica, pacifying the East and inverting the political leverage that the Parthians had won after Carrhae.

Good photos and maps. Absolutely gorgeous paintings by Steve Noon (a mixture of realism and expressionism that conveys a sense of movement and "you are there" feeling that is difficult to express).

This book has only one small mistake: The image on page 23 is not of a tribune; that stellae is of a centurion of legio martia named Minucius.

A great book with beautifull art - Mr. Si Sheppard, please,keep doing a good job.