Kirjahaku

Written by a leading authority on Roman military history, this fascinating volume spans over a thousand years as it offers a memorable picture of one of the world's most noted fighting forces, paying special attention to the life of the common soldier. Southern here illuminates the Roman army's history, culture, and organization, providing fascinating details on topics such as military music, holidays, strategy, the construction of Roman fortresses and forts, the most common battle formations, and the many tools of war, from spears, bows and arrows, swords, and slingshots, to the large catapulta (which fired giant arrows and bolts) and the ballista (which hurled huge stones). Perhaps most interesting are the details Southern provides about everyday life in the Roman army, everything from the soldiers pay (they were paid three times per year, but money was deducted for such items as food, clothing, weapons, the burial club, the pension scheme, and so on) to their often brutal life--if whole units turned and ran, about one-tenth of the men concerned were chosen by lot and clubbed to death and the rest were put on barley rations instead of wheat. Moreover, soldiers who lost weapons or their shields would fight savagely to get them back or would die in the process, rather than suffer the shame that attached to throwing weapons away or running from the battle. Attractively illustrated, this book offers a fascinating look at the life of the Roman soldier, drawing on everything from Rome's rich historical and archaeological record to soldier's personal correspondence to depictions of military subjects in literature and art.

This is the first ever study to assess Emperor Domitian from a psychological point of view and covers his entire career from the early years and the civil war AD through the imperial rule to the dark years and the psychology of suspicion. Pat Southern strips away hyperbole and sensationalism from the literary record, revealing an individual who caused undoubted suffering which must be accounted for.

This is the first ever study to assess Emperor Domitian from a psychological point of view and covers his entire career from the early years and the civil war AD through the imperial rule to the dark years and the psychology of suspicion. Pat Southern strips away hyperbole and sensationalism from the literary record, revealing an individual who caused undoubted suffering which must be accounted for.

Most people have heard of Mark Antony - but usually only in association with Cleopatra or Caesar. This book looks at Mark Antony through his career and unfolding character in one of the most turbulent 50 years in Rome''s history.'

Cleopatra is one of the most famous and interesting women in history. This book details the Queen''s actions, the effect she had on others and the possible ambitions she may have had.'

This new study of Julius Caesar's life and achievements follows the author's widely acclaimed books on Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and completes her trilogy on the Late Republic.

Cleopatra was intimately involved in the critical years that saw the Roman Republic transformed into the Roman Empire. How this transition appeared to the Queen of Egypt--and the part she played in it--is the subject of Pat Southern's engrossing biography. Descended from the first Ptolemy, one of the companions of Alexander the Great, Cleopatra was the last in a long line of Macedonian rulers of Egypt. It was Julius Caesar's involvement in an Alexandrian civil war that led to her being set up as the Queen of Egypt. She had an affair with Caesar and for two years, was his guest in Rome. On his assassination, she returned to Alexandria, where Mark Antony was to become her guest and lover.

This long-overdue study of Pompey reveals his achievements as military commander, politician, international statesman and as a noted patron of literary men and the arts.

Shakepeare's "lass unparallel", the mistress of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, Cleopatra was born in 69 BC and died before she reached the age of forty, when Alexandria fell to Octavian-Augustus in 30 BC. She is portrayed as the supreme seductress, beautiful, unprincipled and licentious. These aspects of her character have been handed down to us through the centuries as a result of propaganda spread by her enemies in Rome. In reality Cleopatra was not beautiful in appearance, but it was her natural grace, intelligence and lively conversation that made her attractive. She was a wise judge of men and a shrewd and ambitious politician. She was charming, clever, courageous, cunning and chaste; despite her reputation for immorality. She had only two lovers, Caesar and Antony, the foremost Romans of their day, who helped her to keep her throne and her kingdom intact. The last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, she was the seventh queen to bear her name, but for most people there is only one Cleopatra.

The immortal lovers of novels, plays and films, Antony and Cleopatra were reviled by contemporary Romans, but history has transformed them into tragic heroes. Their blending of politics and sex led to the ruin of both, since their main rival Octavian-Augustus was able to portray Cleopatra as the arch enemy of Rome and Antony as her consort.

Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC in Ancient Rome. After an unspectacular beginning, he was elected consul in 59 BC. It was his methods rather than his political programme that made men turn against him, and strike him down on the Ides of March 44 BC. This work tells the story of Rome's greatest leader.

The immortal lovers of novels, plays and films, Antony and Cleopatra were reviled by contemporary Romans, but history has transformed them into tragic heroes. Somewhere between their vilification by Augustus and the judgement of a later age there were two vibrant people whose destinies were entwined after the assassination of Julius Caesar in March 44 BC. Mark Antony's reputation for recklessness, hard drinking, and womanising overshadowed his talents for leadership and astute administration. Cleopatra was determined to reconstitute the ancient empire of the Ptolemies, and Antony as legally appointed ruler of the east gave her much, but not all, of what she desired. This blending of politics and sex led to the ultimate ruin of both; when all was lost they committed suicide, and were buried side-by-side in Alexandria.

This book offers a fascinating insight into this key historical figure and her fight against the Romans. The ancient sources for the life and times of Zenobia are sparse. The surviving literary works that do exist are biased towards the Roman point of view, as are the sources for two other famous women who challenged Rome, Cleopatra and Boudica. Zenobia was acknowledged in her lifetime as beautiful and clever, gathering writers and poets, artists and philosophers around her at the Palmyrene court. It was said that Zenobia claimed descent from Cleopatra, which cannot be true but is indicative of how she saw herself and how she intended to be seen by others at home and abroad.This lively narrative explores the legendary queen and charts the progression of her unequivocal declaration, not only of independence of Rome, but of supremacy. Initially Zenobia acknowledged the suzerainty of the Roman Emperors but finally began to call herself Augusta and her son Vaballathus Augustus. There could be no clearer challenge to the authority of Rome in the east, drawing the Emperor Aurelian to the final battles and the submission of Palmyra in AD272.

This wide-ranging study of the Roman army covers its political, historical, and social aspects as well as its peacetime occupations and its operation in war.The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History offers a revealing portrait of a legendary fighting force in peacetime and at war from a soldier’s-eye view. Organized thematically, it explores the army’s history, culture, and organization, while providing fascinating details of the soldier’s daily life and of the army’s interactions with citizens, politicians, and the inhabitants of conquered territories.Written by a leading scholar of Roman military history, The Roman Army helps readers appreciate the distinctive traits that helped the army sustain itself for nearly 1,000 years, including its adaptability (soldiers did civilian police and military duty and the army continually modified its tactics and weapons), as well as its training methods, compensation system, strict regimen of punishment and rewards, and its skill at “Romanizing” foreign lands. Readers will also see how historians pieced together their understanding of the army’s way of life, drawing on everything from Rome’s rich historical record to depictions of military subjects in literature and art.Contains an appendix detailing the rank structure of the Roman armyIncludes illustrations of military equipment, sculptured tombstones, and portraits of generals and emperorsProvides further reading lists at the end of each chapter and a complete bibliography of major works for further researchOffers a glossary of important Latin and Greek terms as well as military and political terminology