The first book to cover the social and political causes and consequences of Rome's major conflicts on land and sea during the Republican period



Wars and Battles of The Roman Republic is no arid list of military engagements. In each listed battle, individual points of military or sociological interest are highlighted and examined, including the use of elephants as weapons, the first deployment of incendiaries, psychological warfare, the rise of the Roman navy, the suicidal but valiant devotio, ethnic cleansing, siege machinery, and tactical strategies. This is a dynamic exploration of Rome's inexorable and endless battle to win control of the Italian peninsula and the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It tells the fascinating tale of Rome's initial conflicts, her aggressive expansionism, and her progress from a settlement of agrarian hill-dwellers to one of the world's most powerful empires.