The Roman Army The Civil Wars 88–31 BC

by FIELDS, NIC

• ISBN13: 9781846032622
• ISBN10: 1846032628
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-10-21
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

The Roman Legions were the most highly organized troops of the ancient world, but the process of turning the Legions from what was essentially a part-time citizen militia into the professional force that first made Rome the dominant power in the Mediterranean and then built an empire that stretched across the known world, was no small feat Focusing on the organizational changes in the Roman Army during the Civil Wars, Nic Fields examines the role played by Caius Marius and his far-reaching reforms, which included having professional volunteers from the lowest social class enter the army in search of the possibility of plunder. He goes on to examine the consequences of encouraging these soldiers to follow their commanders without question, which broke the allegiance of the army to the Roman state, a trend that gave rise to militarily ambitious men such as Sulla, Pompeius, Caesar, Antonius, and Octavian. With the nuts and bolts detail that readers demand from the Battle Orders series, this is an intriguing description of how the Roman army grew, modernized, rebelled and finally helped build an empire, complete with full organizational charts, photographs and detailed maps.

Author Biography

Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines. Having left the military, he went back to University and completed a BA and PhD in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He was Assistant Director at the British School at Athens, Greece, and then a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh. Nic is now a freelance author and researcher.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 4
Roman military organization	p. 6
Legion
Auxiliaries
Cavalry
Weapons and equipment	p. 18
Legionaries
Auxiliaries
Cavalry
Command and control	p. 28
Legion command
Centuriate
Junior officers
Command and control in action
The Roman Army in battle	p. 36
Roman tactical doctrine and practice
Legion
Auxiliaries
Cavalry
Engineering	p. 43
Marching and permanent camps
Roads and bridges
Siegeworks
The civil wars	p. 50
Pharsalus, Pompey versus Caesar
Thapsus, the republican sunset
Philippi, the final bout
Actium, Antonius versus Octavianus
Poets, propaganda and absolute power	p. 80
Chronology	p. 82
Ancient authors	p. 85
Appian (b. ad 95)
Cassius Dio (b. ad 164)
Plutarch (c. ad 46-120)
Suetonius (b. c. ad 70)
The Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus	p. 89
Bibliography	p. 90
Glossary	p. 92
Legionary titles	p. 94
Index	p. 95
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