The History of Rome, Books 31-45: Rome and the Mediterranean

"The History of Rome" in Four Volumes #4

by Livy, Henry Bettenson (Translator), A.H. McDonald (Introduction)

After the decisive defeat of Hannibal in the Second Punic War (218-201), Rome faced a series of challenges from the East - to emerge as master of the Mediterranean in 167 B.C. It is Livy who, by the sheer power of his historical imagination, creates from the bald and often inaccurate souces an enthralling narrative, full of drama and color, compelling personalities and magnificent oratory. With her triumphs over the heirs of Alexander the Great in the Macedonian Wars, world leadership passed forever from Greece to Rome; and Livy shows us the men, heroic but human, who took part in an epoch-making event.

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Roman, Roman History, Ancient

699 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 31

About the author

Titus Livius (Patavinus) (64 or 59 BC – AD 17)—known as Livy in English, and Tite-Live in French—was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people – Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Books from the Foundation of the City) – covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time. He was on familiar terms with the Julio-Claudian dynasty, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history. Livy and Augustus's wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood.

Reviews

[Eadweard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artes intulit agresti Latio."


Aside from all the carnage, death and destruction, it could have been worse, right? Better the Romans, admirers of everything greek (minus grumpy Cato), than the Persians or some other eastern power, right?

This is the twilight of the Republic, their highpoint before their decline; before the killings of the Gracchi brothers, before Marius' reforms and Sulla's marching on Rome, before Caesar and the second set of civil wars which would culminate in Octavius assuming power and bringing order in the form of an authoritarian regime, the 'Roman Empire'.

Sadly there is no more Livy to read.

[Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've given this book 5 stars, so in the interest of full disclosure, I should probably concede that I originally began reading it around July 1988. Back in those days, I tended to read a handful of books at once, so things could progress slowly. By early 1990, I was at about page 245 -- and then I put it down, not to pick it up again until February of this year.

I probably had trouble getting through this book originally because I took it up right after finishing Livy's The War with Hannibal in its Penguin edition (676 pp.), and this was just too much Livy in too short a time. When I came back to it again this winter, I was able to bring a fresh perspective to my reading of him.

Livy has a reputation as a vivid writer of popular history, but he isn't considered as serious a historian as his predecessor Polybius, who wrote about some of the same periods. But I think this sells Livy short. Yes, it's true that he produced a historical account of Rome's early years that, while full of cracking good tales, credulously assumes that it is possible to write history about events 400-700 years ago in the absence of any remotely contemporary accounts. And he can't quite bring himself not to record various portents or prodigies that were reported at key points in his narrative (Book 43, Ch. 13). But his history of Rome's first centuries has preserved for us how the citizens of the early Empire themselves understood their past. Likewise, his accounts of various improbable prodigies serve to underline just how superstitious and credulous many Romans of this period were.

Also, you have to respect his discipline and diligence. It is simply amazing to think that anyone toiling in an age without typewriters or word processors, and with no photocopiers, could have researched and written a history in 142 books, of which the mere 35 that survive total 1800 pages in the somewhat abridged Penguin editions. Livy brought an informed critical judgment to his sources; he cites them with some frequency, and when his judgment of them is skeptical -- as it is at Book 39, ch. 52 -- he tells you what his sources say and sets out his reasons for disagreement in careful and scrupulous detail.

You can (and should) read Rome and the Mediterranean on two different levels. First, there is the volume's macro theme: Livy's account of the three wars between 200 and 167 BCE by which Rome came to dominate the entire eastern Mediterranean. These are: the Second Macedonian War against the kingdom of Macedon and Philip V (201-197 BCE) (pp. 23-129); the First Syrian War against the Seleucid Empire and Antiochus III (190-187 BCE) (pp. 203-334); and finally the Third Macedonian War against Philip's son Perseus (171-167 BCE) (pp. 415-648).

In addition to this, however, there are accounts of other Roman struggles in Spain, Gaul, and Liguria (I was constantly surprised by just how much other fighting the Romans did even aside from their most famous wars); of the complex politics and rivalries of the squabbling Greek states such as Sparta and the Aetolian and Achaean confederacies; of the domestic tragedy of Philip V's younger son Demetrius, outmaneuvered and ultimately murdered by his elder brother Perseus; and of various domestic events at Rome itself.

Perhaps my favorite of the latter were Livy's description (Book 34) of the campaign of Roman women in 195 BCE to secure repeal of the Lex Oppia, the anti-sumptuary law enacted during the darkest days of the Second Punic War following the battle of Cannae that prohibited women from wearing multi-colored dresses or more than the tiniest bit of gold jewelry, or riding in horse-drawn carriages. This resulted in a mass feminine protest that might be called "Occupy the Forum," until finally Rome's embattled and beset menfolk (perhaps somewhat reluctantly) overrode the protests of conservatives and repealed the statute.

There are other pleasures like his two-page description of the lengthy career of an obscure centurion who petitioned the Senate to be excused from further military duty (pp. 517-18), or of a remarkable archaeological find below the Janiculum Hill in 181 BCE of two huge stone chests with inscriptions dating to the sixth century, BCE reign of Numa Pompilius, one of Rome's Etruscan kings (pp. 464-65).

In short, Rome and the Mediterranean is much more than just an account of Rome's wars against the Hellenistic monarchs of Macedon and Syria, vivid and important though its account of those conflicts is. It presents a panoramic and detailed portrait of the entire Mediterranean basin from Spain to Asia Minor during the years when Roman domination of that world became an inevitability. And it is an account filled with figures unforgettably sketched out by Livy's pen: Philip V, Antiochus III, Hannibal, Quinctus Flaminius, Nabis of Sparta, Philipoemen, Publius Scipio (Africanus), Lucius Aemilius Paulus, Perseus and Demetrius.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livy writes fine scenes and dialogue but I tire of the war, war, and more yawn.

[Frank Grobbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akhirnya selesai membaca Ab Urbe Condita

[Smiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this fourth book by Livy is a bit lengthy and complex since Rome engaged her various theaters of war in some cities in the Mediterranean. I didn't think I would read it at all, however, I decided to keep reading and sometime enjoyed his narrative as a matter of fact in which I couldn't help feeling hypnotized. Again, we have to forgive him because he's long been regarded as one of the great Roman historians, in other words, he should have deserved and thus been awarded innumerous doctorates from those prestigious universities worldwide in ancient history.

There are a few points I'd like to discus and take them as good lessons for us even nowadays:

1). I couldn't help chuckling when I read this excerpt:

It is said that at this point he (Aemilius Paulus) took off his clothes and recounted the wars in which he had received the various wounds. While he was displaying his scars he accidentally uncovered what should have beeen kept concealed, and the swelling in his groin raised a laugh among the nearest spectators. Then, he went on:
'Yes, you laugh at this; but I got this too by sitting on my horse fopr days and nights on end; and I have no more shame or regret about this than about these wounds, since it never hindered me from successful service to the state either at home or abroad. ... (p. 642)

And it's admiringly fantastic for us to know that Paulus, as a war hero, also had sense of humor while making a speech to his soldiers. Just imagine, what should have happened if he then didn't have a good mood at all?

2). And this excerpt, I think, is philosophically inspiring to the extent that we need to be aware of fortune. Therefore, be humble with ourselves, be not complacent at all times:

Perseus came into the camp in dark clothing, accompanied by his son, but without any other companion from his own people, whose presence as an associate in his downfall would have made him even more an object of pity. The crowd that rushed up to see the sight made it impossible for him to proceed, until lictors were sent by the consul to clear a way for the king to headquarters. The consul rose to receive him, though he had told the rest to remain seated, and going forward a little, he held out his right hand to the king as he entered, raised him when he bowed at his feet, not allowing him to clasp his knees, and brought him into the tent, where he bade him sit down facing the officers who had been summoned to the council.
The first question put in his interrogation was this: what wrong had been done to him that had driven him to undertake a war on the Roman people with such bitter hostility as to bring himself and his kingdom to the ultimate crisis?
While all waited for his answer he gazed at the ground for a long time without a word, and wept. Then the consul questioned him again: ... (pp. 606-607)

Of course, it was really such a dramatic, emotional scene between the victors and the vanguished in the ancient times as the just or unjust wars as waged by various countries, large or small, with various imaginable reasons all along in our two millenniums and beyond, for ever.

3). Moreover, making war is of course a matter of life and death, that is, any statecraft needs to be as wise as possible when a nation is at war. This excerpt, I think, should be read/studied in any military academy in the world since the consul, Lucius Aemilius, did make a speech in a public meeting on the dangers of idle talks in wartime:

' ... In all the clubs and even -- heaven help us! -- at dinner parties, there are strategists who take armies into Macedonia, who know where camps should be sited, which places should be held with garrisions; they know the right moment for the invasion of Macedonia, and the right pass to use; ... ; they know when we ought to join battle with the enemy and when it would be better to remain inactive. And they do not just lay down the law about what ought to be done; when anything has been done contrary to their decision they accuse the consul as if he were standing in the dock!

'Such talk is a great handicap to those on active service. For it is not everyone who is as steadfast and constant in resolution as was Quintus Fabius, who preferred to have his command restricted through the foolishness of the people rather than to fail the true interests of the commonwealth for the sake of popular applause. I am not, fellow citizens, one of those who consider that generals should never given advice; on the contrary, when a man takes his own opinion as his sole guide in all his conduct, that, in my judgement, is a sign of arrogance, not of wisdom ... (p. 573)

Note: Transliterated from 'consul', a Thai official term, กงสุล, has long been used in our language in the foreign affairs context.

Find a copy to read, however, you may start with his "The War with Hannibal" and you'd appreciate his godlike recorded episodes, humane narrative and logical dialogs.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penguin split Livy's 35 surviving chapters into 4 books. The first book has 5 chapters, the second book has 5 chapters, the third book has 10 chapters, and this book has 15. Therefore not only was this book by far the longest of the Penguin Livy books, but it was also by far the most boring. The first two books covered the legendary founders of Rome and early Republican history, full of exciting and important myths. The third book was on the Second Punic War and was epic and amazing. This book is basically a denouement that goes on forever and ever. On top of that, Penguin cut out significant chunks of these chapters, so I had to constantly switch over to the Perseus website to read the cut-out chunks. So a bad user experience on top of everything else. One of the most upsetting things to me was that they cut out Livy's reporting of the annual portents. The only set of portents they couldn't bring themselves to cut was this one, in which Livy scolds people for ignoring portents:

I am well aware that in these days no portents are ever reported officially or noted in our histories. This is the result of the same lack of interest in religion that makes men in general take it for granted that the gods give no warning of things to come. Nevertheless, my own outlook, as I write about events in time gone by, becomes in some way old-fashioned; and apart from that, a certain conscientious scruple restrains me from considering unworthy of record in my history, things which the wisest men of those days regarded as demanding official action.

The events described in this book are pretty interesting, just not as interesting as the Second Punic War. Rome first went to war with Philip V of Macedon almost immediately after the defeat of Hannibal. I can kind of understand why - not only had Philip supported Hannibal, but after the trauma of ~17 years of Hannibal roaming and devastating Italy, it makes sense that the Romans wanted to ensure that no foreign power could ever threaten Italy again. After/during these wars the Romans also fought against the Spartans under the tyrant Nabis and against the troublesome Aetolian League. One of the most interesting aspects of this era was the amount of diplomacy going on. There were all sorts of powerful states that the Romans had to deal with in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Macedon, the Aetolian League, the Achaean League, Sparta, Rhodes, Pontus, Bithynia, Pergamum, the Seleucids, and Ptolemaic Egypt. A lot of the book is just Livy narrating various diplomatic missions and quarrels between these states.

After the First/Second Macedonian Wars, Antiochus the Great of the Seleucids was persuaded by the Aetolians to attack Rome. This did not work out, and the Seleucids got pushed out of Asia Minor, and Pergamum, Rhodes, and Rome split the spoils there. After the war with the Seleucids, Philip's son Perseus became king of Macedon. Livy spends a huge amount of time arguing the Philip and Perseus had made elaborate plans for a war with Rome and had committed all sorts of scheming, abominable deeds. However, when the war finally broke out, Perseus became a nervous wreck and completely misled the war effort. Furthermore, Perseus begged many other states to intervene at Rome for him and stop the war. This makes me think that the war may have been more of a Roman initiative than a Macedonian one. So yeah, that's kind of the story of these books - 3 wars with Macedon, one war with the Seleucids in between. It sounds interesting on the surface, but when you realize how outmatched the Hellenistic kingdoms were compared to Rome and when you have to suffer through all of the diplomatic missions, it become pretty boring.

That said, Livy includes a number of colorful stories to spice things up.

Reading about Philip V destroying Attica's works of art was heartbreaking.

The land of Attica was uniquely adorned with works of art of this kind, and with its abundance of native marble and the genius of its artists it offered the material for the exercise of the king’s fury. It was not enough for Philip simply to demolish the temples and to overturn the images; he went on to order the stones to be broken up so that they should not be heaped up whole in piles of ruins.

The astonishment of the Greeks at fighting the Romans:

When Philip observed the camp lying beneath him, it is said that he was astonished at the orderly arrangement of the whole, and its division into different sections, with the lines of tents and the streets at regular intervals; and that he declared that no one could imagine that such a camp was a camp of barbarians. .. The Greeks had never seen Roman arms and standards before this, and the unfamiliar sight, combined with the spirit of the Roman soldiers as they advanced so briskly up to the walls, inspired no ordinary terror.

The fetters of Greece:

It was made clear to all that if the king held Demetrias in Thessaly, Chalcis in Euboea, and Corinth in Achaea, then Greece could not be free. Philip himself, they pointed out, called them ‘the fetters of Greece’ – a description as true as it was insolent.

Livy's comparison of Roman vs Greek barricades:

The Macedonians, and the Greeks also, made use of palisades of stakes, but they did not adapt their practice to facilitate the conveyance of the stakes and to ensure the strength of the palisade itself. Their custom was to fell trees too large, and with too many branches, for the soldiers to carry easily in addition to their weapons; and when they had fenced off their camp by planting such stakes outside it, their palisade was easily demolished. For the trunks of the large trees, placed at wide intervals, were conspicuous, and their stout branches offered a ready handhold; and so it required no more than the combined effort of two or three young men to heave out a single tree; and as soon as a tree was thus wrenched out an opening was left like a gateway, and there was no ready means of plugging the gap. The Roman method, in contrast, is to cut light stakes, generally two-forked, with no more than three or four branches. A soldier can easily carry a number of these at once, with his weapons slung over his back; and these stakes, with their branches intertwined, are fixed so close together that it is impossible to detect which stock belongs to which upper branch, and vice versa.

Rome = US? (and Greece = Europe, and Macedon/Seleucids = Russia?)

There really was, it seemed, a nation on this earth prepared to fight for the freedom of other men, and to fight at her own expense, and at the cost of hardship and peril to herself; a nation prepared to do this service not just for her near neighbours, for those in her part of the world, for lands geographically connected with her own, but even prepared to cross the sea in order to prevent the establishment of an unjust dominion in any quarter of the globe, and to ensure that right and justice, and the rule of law, should everywhere be supreme.

The drama of repealing the Lex Oppia (banning women from flaunting their wealth):

There was a motion to repeal the Lex Oppia. This law had been brought in by the tribune Gaius Oppius in the consulate of Quintus Fabius and Tiberius Sempronius, when the Punic War was raging; it provided that no woman should possess more than half an ounce of gold, or wear parti-coloured clothing, or ride in a horse-drawn vehicle in a city or town, or within a mile therefrom, unless taking part in a public religious act. The tribunes Marcus and Publius Junius Brutus defended the Lex Oppia and declared that they would not allow its abrogation; many notable citizens came forward to speak for the proposal or to attack it; the Capitoline hill was thronged with crowds of supporters and opponents of the measure. The matrons could not be confined within doors by the advice of their husbands, by respect for their husbands, or by their husbands’ command; they beset all the streets of the city and all the approaches to the Forum... one of the consuls at least they found inflexible; that was MARCUS PORCIUS CATO.

A legendary (aka fake) conversation between Hannibal and Scipio:

He tells us that Africanus asked who, in Hannibal’s opinion, was the greatest general of all time. Hannibal replied: ‘Alexander, King of the Macedonians, because with a small force he routed armies of countless numbers, and because he traversed the remotest lands. Merely to visit such lands transcended human expectation.’ Asked whom he would place second, Hannibal said: ‘Pyrrhus. He was the first to teach the art of laying out a camp. Besides that, no one has ever shown nicer judgement in choosing his ground, or in disposing his forces. He also had the art of winning men to his side; so that the Italian peoples preferred the overlordship of a foreign king to that of the Roman people, who for so long had been the chief power in that country.’ When Africanus followed up by asking whom he ranked third, Hannibal unhesitatingly chose himself. Scipio burst out laughing at this, and said: ‘What would you be saying if you had defeated me?’ ‘In that case,’ replied Hannibal, ‘I should certainly put myself before Alexander and before Pyrrhus – in fact, before all other generals!’ This reply, with its elaborate Punic subtlety, and this unexpected kind of flattery, says Claudius, affected Scipio deeply, because Hannibal had set him apart from the general run of commanders, as one whose worth was beyond calculation.

Magnemite's final evolution:

The chief Magnesian official is called the Magnetarch.

A subterranean battle during a siege:

Thus the workings joined, a way was opened from the trench to the tunnel, and a hidden battle began underground. At first the diggers engaged with the actual tools they had been using in their work: but armed men also quickly came up and joined in. After a time the fighting slackened, since the sappers blocked off the tunnel where they wished, sometimes with hair-cloths stretched across, sometimes with doors hastily interposed. A novel engine was also devised against the enemy in the tunnel; it was a contrivance quite easily made. They pierced a hole in the bottom of a cask for the insertion of a tube of moderate size, and made an iron pipe and an iron lid for the cask, the lid also being perforated in many places. They filled this cask with small feathers and placed it with its mouth towards the tunnel; and through the holes in the lid very long spears, called sarissae, jutted out, to keep off the enemy. A small spark was introduced among the feathers, and they kindled it by blowing with a smith’s bellows applied to the end of the pipe. Then, when the whole tunnel was filled with a mass of smoke, and with smoke rendered more pungent by reason of the foul stench of burning feathers, scarcely anyone could endure to remain inside it.

Scipio Africanus was unfairly put on trial for his conduct during the war in Asia - apparently charged with peculation and over-chumminess with Rome's enemies. Scipio's brother Lucius was also charged for misconduct during the war. Scipio went into voluntary exile in a small town outside Rome and was even buried there. Interestingly, one of Scipio's main political opponents, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, vigorously defended the Scipios because of the huge contributions they had made to Rome, and Scipio married his daughter Cornelia to him. Their children were the famous Gracchi brothers.

There is a lengthy story about how one of the consuls had to root out a cult of Bacchus that was rapidly spreading through Italy. It involves a brave prostitute named Hispala Faecenia and her lover Publius Aebutius.

Livy's encomium on Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Elder):

But among all these patricians and plebeians of the most illustrious families it was Marcus Porcius Cato who stood out far above the rest. There was such force of character and such a wealth of natural endowments in this man that it was evident that he would have made his own fortune, whatever the station in which he had been born. He possessed every skill for conducting either private or public business; he was equally versed in affairs of the city and in country matters... Many of his speeches are extant, some delivered on his own behalf, some on behalf of others, some attacking other people; for he wore down his enemies by his speeches in defence as well as by his accusations... his character was proof against the assault of appetites; he was marked by a rigid integrity and a contempt for popularity and riches. In the austerity of his life, in his endurance of hardship and danger, he showed himself a man of iron constitution, in body, and in mind as well; for old age, that universal destroyer, did not break down his mental powers, and at the age of eighty-six he pleaded a case, he spoke and wrote in his own defence; and in his ninetieth year he brought Servius Galba to trial before the popular assembly.

The death of Hannibal:

Hannibal had always foreseen such an end to his life, both from his awareness of the implacable hatred of the Romans towards him, and from his utter distrust of the loyalty of kings – as for Prusias, he had already had a taste of his unreliability. And now he dreaded the arrival of Flamininus as the token that his hour had come. In view of the dangers which beset him, he had ensured that he would always have some way of escape ready to hand by making seven exits from his house, some of them concealed so as to avoid having them blocked by guards. But the overwhelming power of kings leaves nothing undiscovered when they wish to have it found out. The King’s men surrounded the whole area round the house with guard-posts so that no one could slip away from it. When the news came to Hannibal that the king’s soldiers were in the vestibule, he tried to escape by a side door which was out of the way and particularly suitable for an unobserved departure; but when he realized that even this exit was blocked by a group of soldiers, and that the whole area was shut off by guard-posts stationed at intervals, he called for the poison which he had had for a long time kept ready for such an emergency. ‘Let us’, he said, ‘free the Roman people from their long-standing anxiety, seeing that they find it tedious to wait for an old man’s death. It is no magnificent or memorable victory that Flamininus will win over a man unarmed and betrayed. This day will surely prove how far the moral standards of the Romans have changed. The fathers of these Romans sent a warning to King Pyrrhus, bidding him beware of poison – and he was an enemy in arms, with an army in Italy: these Romans themselves have sent an envoy of consular rank to suggest to Prusias the crime of murdering his guest.’ Then, calling down curses on the head of Prusias and on his kingdom, and invoking the gods of hospitality to be witnesses of his violation of faith, he drained the cup. So Hannibal’s life came to its end.

The discovery of amazing ancient books in Rome (which were then promptly burned):

In this year a find was made on the land of Lucius Petilius, a public clerk, under the Janiculum. Ploughmen were turning over the soil to a greater depth than usual, when two stone chests came to light, each about eight feet long and four feet wide, with their lids fastened with lead. Each chest bore an inscription in Latin and Greek letters, one saying that Numa Pompilius, son of Pompo, King of the Romans was entombed there, the other, that the books of Numa Pompilius were inside. On the advice of his friends the landowner opened the chests; and the one bearing the inscription about the entombment of the king was found to be empty, with no trace of a human body, or of anything else, since everything had been destroyed by the corruption of so many years. In the other were found two bundles, tied with waxed cord, each containing seven books, not merely intact but to all appearance in mint condition. There were Latin books, dealing with the law of the pontiffs, and seven Greek books teaching of a system of philosophy which could have belonged to that period. Valerius Antias adds that they were Pythagorean writings, thus affording confirmation, by a plausible falsehood, to the common belief that Numa was a disciple of Pythagoras. At first the books were read by the friends who were present at the finding; but soon, when their existence became widely known and others were reading them, the city praetor, Quintus Petilius, was eager to read them, and he collected the books from Lucius Petilius... When he had read the principal points in the books he realized that much of the contents was destructive of religion, and he told Lucius Petilius that he was going to throw the books into the fire... the books were burned in the Comitium in the sight of the people on a fire provided by the assistants in sacrifice.

Elephants sliding down a mountain:

The elephants produced almost as much confusion as an enemy attack, for on arriving at the trackless places they cast off their drivers and with their horrific trumpeting caused immense panic, especially among the horses, until a scheme was devised for lowering the elephants down the hill. On the hillside a line of descent was selected, and then two tall strong posts were fixed in the ground lower down, at a distance apart slightly greater than the width of an elephant; a cross-beam was laid on these posts, on which rested planks, thirty feet long, fastened together to make a platform, on top of which earth was thrown. At a slight distance below, a second platform of the same design was constructed, then a third, and a whole series where the cliffs were steep. An elephant would advance from solid ground onto the first platform; before he could reach the other end the posts were cut, and the fall of the platform forced the beast to slide gently to the edge of the next stage; some of the elephants slid down standing upright, others sank on their haunches. When the animals had been received by the level surface of the second platform, they were again carried down by a similar collapse of this lower stage, until they reached the valley where the going was easier.

[B.W. Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an easy read, but it is thanks to classics, like this, that we have such a rich understanding of the Greeks and Romans. I don't recommend anyone to sit and reat the whole thing at one go, but it is excellent for picking out sections, such as the war against Hannibal.

[James Carrigy · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

Still very valuable and essential ancient history if we're taking a scholarly view, but if Livy's Ab Urbe Condita could be compared to George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, then this would be it's Feast for Crows. In terms of pure narrative and style, it's gotten to the point where the cast of characters has just become far too sprawling to keep track of, and the stakes feel nowhere near as compelling as the existentialist threat conveyed in the books covering the Second Punic War. Then again that's the problem with history as narrative, because when you vanquish an antagonist like Hannibal, both Antiochus III and Perseus of Macedon are obviously going to feel like filler until the next big "storyline" comes along. Which, uh, sadly will never happen in Livy's case because these are the last surviving books of his history that we have. So maybe the comparison with A Song of Ice and Fire has more merit than I thought?

[Andrew Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books 31-45 Of Titus Livy's History Of Rome Narrate Rome's Conquest Of The Greek Mediterranean & The Struggle For Asia Minor.

Of the original 142 books which consisted of Titus Livius' epic Roman history, the 'Ab Urbe Condita Libri', or 'Books From The Founding Of The City', a mere 35 remain to us at present day. They are divided into four groupings, each of which are titled accordingly : Books I - V are known as 'The Early History Of Rome', & they are concerned with Aeneas, the Trojan War, & the founding of the monarchy & reigns of the eight Roman kings, followed by the formation of the Roman Republic & the wars with the Etruscan city-states, Fidenae & Veii. Books VI - X are called, 'Rome & Italy' & chronicle Rome's conquering of the Etruria region & the three Samnite Wars which made them the dominant power on the Italian peninsula. Books XI - XX unfortunately are lost to us, & we know from a document called the 'Periochae Of Titus Livy', which is a summary of Livy's books written after his death, sort of like an index, that the missing books included the infamous 'Pyrrhic Wars' with Pyrrhus of Epirus & the First Punic War waged against the Carthaginian Empire & their legendary general, Hamilcar 'The Thunderer', & father of Hannibal, 'The Annihilator'. Books XXI - XXX, 'The War With Hannibal' are perhaps the most famous of Livius' history, & they consist of detailed accountings of the First Macedonian War, waged between an alliance consisting of Rome, Attalus I of Pergamum, & the Aetolian League against Philip V of the Kingdom of Macedonia, & the Second Punic War, which pitted the Beast Of Carthage, Hannibal Barca, & his unlikely army of Numantian mercenaries, Carthaginian barbarians & trained war elephants against the famed Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who was as benevolent & merciful to his opponents as he was kind & generous to his own people. The Romans loved Scipio Africanus, & he loved them as well.

The final 15 of Livy's surviving 35 books has been grouped into a sizeable, 649-page volume which is entitled, 'Books XXXI - XLV : Rome & The Mediterranean'. This Penguin Classics edition is translated by Henry Bettenson, a British scholar who taught at Charterhouse for 25 years. He lived from 1908 - 1979, & in my opinion, he did a spectacular job with this 1976 translation. The book's introduction, which is superb, was written by Alexander Hugh McDonald. He provides excellent context on Livy's life, his writing style, & also a generous helping of historical background on the Second & Third Macedonian Wars and the War Of Antiochus III, as all three of these conflicts serve as the primary focus in Livy's final 15 books. All four 'Penguin Classic' volumes of Livy's history feature a spectacular introduction penned by a different Livy scholar, each focusing on subjects specific to each volume. Did you know that as a writer, Livy was influenced by the Greek historian Polybius more than anyone else ? And according to Wikipedia, the interest in discovering the missing 107 books of the 'Ab Urbe Condita' was so great that during the Italian Renaissance the Catholic Pope, Nicholas V, & Francesco Petrarca, more widely known as 'Petrarch', launched a country-wide search to uncover them which unfortunately did not yield fruit. This volume is a challenging read to be sure, as the base MSS (manuscript) for these 15 books unfortunately has suffered the test of time, which is made evident by the frequent 'lacunae', or gaps, due to missing sections of the text; it renders what remains doubly valuable in my opinion.

The fifteen books are divided into three 'pentads' : 'The Second Macedonian War', 'The War With Antiochus', & 'The Third Macedonian War', & Livy's exciting narrative is carried admirably via a colorful cast of kings, tyrants, generals, pirate captains, bastard princes, & valiant Roman military commanders & consuls. King Philip V of Macedon & his two sons Perseus & Demetrius struggle to preserve the remnants of Alexander the Great's empire, & the tyrant, Nabis, reigns over the Spartans with an iron fist. In Syria, the mighty Seleukid Empire is governed by King Antiochus III 'The Great'. Antiochus' dreams of conquest are fueled by the counsel of the vanquished Carthaginian general, Hannibal Barca. Hannibal cunningly manages to convince Antiochus to award him command over a fleet of battleships in the powerful Seleukid navy. The valiant Roman generals Titus Quinctius Flamininus & Lucius Aemilius Paulus fight in numerous famous battles throughout the course of the book, & they became so famous as a result of their accomplishments on the battlefield that Plutarch would later in history write 'Lives' on both of these men, which you can read in the 'Rise Of Rome' compilation by the Penguin Classics. The hero of the Second Punic War, Scipio Africanus, is accused of putting his own personal glory before the needs of the republic & subsequently must stand trial to answer these accusations, which the Romans took very seriously. Also appearing is the father of the Gracchus brothers, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, & the Elder Cato, also known as Cato The Censor. The multitude of different people, locations, & events appearing in this volume give it an anecdotal atmosphere when held next to the other three Livy collections, & as a result, it reads almost like a large compendium of vignettes chronicling a series of episodes in Rome's history. Fortunately for his readers Livy does an admirable job of weaving everything together & telling his story in a way that makes sense & is easy to follow, which is crucial with the chaotic series of disparate events to be found here.

The military engagements chronicled in 'Rome & The Mediterranean' are some of the most dramatic portions of the book's narrative. They occur in a variety of unique locales, & Livius' writing is exceptional at keeping you immersed as he skillfully describes these titanic set-piece battles which unfold like strategic chess matches played between the Roman generals & their adversaries, the Mediterranean sovereigns. The Battle of Cynoscephalae was the decisive skirmish of the Second Macedonian War, it pitted a Roman army of roughly 26,000 led by Titus Flaminius against a coalition force of 25,500 Macedonian & Thessalian infantry & cavalry under the command of the Macedonian king, Philip V. The battle was fought on hilly, mountainous terrain, & the strong-but-inflexible Macedonian phalanx formation was unable to overcome the versatility of the adaptable Roman manipulus. The tide turned for good when Flaminius used his African war-elephants to push the Macedonian left flank uphill, & after the fight was over, Philip had sustained a staggering 13,000 casualties compared to 700 losses on the Roman side. Later, during the Antiochal War, the naval clash at Sidê was the final battle in the legendary career of Hannibal Barca. Alongside a Syrian nobleman, Apollonius, Hannibal led a powerful Seleukid fleet of 47 ships, including 30 mighty quinqueremes, against a Roman-allied squadron of 38 agile Rhodian warships under the command of the experienced Rhodian admiral Eudamus, & his deputies, Pamphilidas & Charikleitos. After some confusion early in the battle the Rhodians quickly recovered, & their nimble ships successfully executed a naval maneuver known as a 'diekplous', which is when an attacking force rows through the gaps between the ships of the opposing fleet & specifically attacks their sides & sterns. After 20 of his ships sustain heavy damage, Hannibal successfully withdrew the Seleukid fleet from battle & escapes with the majority of his fleet intact. He does manage to inflict moderate damage upon the Rhodians by damaging 10 of their ships. Years later, after the Romans had won the Antiochal War, the exiled Hannibal would seek refuge in Bithynia at the court of King Prusias I. The Romans eventually threatened Prusias into relinquishing their lifelong enemy, but Hannibal refused to fall into Roman hands, opting to end his life by poison rather than submit to Roman captivity. According to the ancient historians, he wrote a letter, dripping with scorn, in the hours before his death. It read : "Let us relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death."

I think that you will have a fantastic time with Livius' final 15 books, 'Rome & The Mediterranean'. It is quite a challenging piece to read but also immensely satisfying when you have completed it. There are also loads of exciting events that I didn't mention because of just how many of them there are to be found in the book. Political intrigue, assassinations, power struggles --- you can find a bit of everything here. Nabis of Sparta seizes control of the Spartan state through brute force, & he is summarily removed from power by a group of vicious Aetolians led by the treacherous Alexamenus. While the tyrant gives orders to his Spartan troops, Alexamenus boldly takes his thugs directly up to Nabis, making no attempt to disguise his ill intentions as he warns his Aetolians against backing down from the vile deed before it has been carried out : 'If anyone hesitates, if anyone introduces a plan of his own in place of mine, let him be well assured that for him there is no returning to his hearth and home.' Livy goes on to describe Nabis' cold-blooded murder : 'Alexamenus ordered the cavalry to couch their lances and to keep their eyes on him. He for his part summoned up his courage - for his mind was confused by the contemplation of the great task that faced him - when Nabis drew near, he charged, piercing the tyrant's horse & bringing down its rider. As he lay there, the horsemen thrust at him with their spears. Many blows fell ineffectively upon his breastplate; but at length the stabs pierced through to his body, & before help could reach him from the centre of the line, Nabis had breathed his last.'

There are also quite a few tragic deaths & suicides that are extremely sad when you see how easily they could have been averted. If you end up reading this book & would like to learn more about the Roman generals Titus Flaminius & Aemilius Paulus, I would highly recommend the Penguin Classics Plutarch compilation, 'The Rise Of Rome'. If you would like to learn about the son of Lucius Aemilius Paulus, who was also the adopted grandson of Scipio Africanus, try E.A. Astin's monograph, 'Scipio Aemilianus', published by Oxford University Press. It has some fantastic chapters on the wars Rome fought after what is chronicled in this book, such as the Numantine & Celtiberian Wars, both waged in Spain, & the Third Punic War, which was fought to permanently subdue the empire of Carthage.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE FOURTH PART OF LIVY'S MONUMENTAL "HISTORY OF ROME"

Titus Livius Patavinus (anglicized as "Livy"; 59 BCE-17 CE) was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history (142 books) of Rome and the Roman people; this book contains books XXXI-XLV of the History, and covers the period up to the 2nd century BCE, when Rome emerged as ruler of the Mediterranean.

He records that when Quinctius heard of an adverse decision, "he felt that he ought to go to Aetolia. He might, he thought, have some effect on them, or at least all men would be witnesses that the responsibility for war would rest with the Aetolians, while the Romans would take up arms with justice, and practically under compulsion." (Pg. 218)

He observes, "It was then that the cook, who had been to the ancient Romans the least valuable of slaves, and had been priced and treated accordingly, began to be highly valued, and what had been a mere service came to be regarded as an art. And yet the things that were at that time viewed with wonder were scarcely even the seeds of the luxury that was to come." (Pg. 401)

After Perseus had retreated, Paulus "reached Amphipolis on the fourth day's march. The fact that the whole populace streamed out to meet him was good evidence to any observer that Paulus had not bereaved the people of a good and just king." (Pg. 599)

He notes, "The consul imposed laws for Macedonia with such care as to seem to be laying them down for vanquished enemies but for well-deserving allies; they were laws which not even employment over a long period of time---the only genuine improver of legislation---could find fault with by the test of experience." (Pg. 632)

Livy is one of the most fascinating of ancient historians, and this is an excellent edition.

[Marcos Augusto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livy was unique among Roman historians in that he played no part in politics. This was a disadvantage in that his exclusion from the Senate and the magistracies meant that he had no personal experience of how the Roman government worked, and this ignorance shows itself from time to time in his work. It also deprived him of firsthand access to much material (minutes of Senate meetings, texts of treaties, laws, etc.) that was preserved in official quarters. So, too, if he had been a priest or an augur, he would have acquired inside information of great historical value and been able to consult the copious documents and records of the priestly colleges. But the chief effect is that Livy did not seek historical explanations in political terms. The novelty and impact of his history lay in the fact that he saw history in personal and moral terms.

Although Sallust and earlier historians had also adopted the outlook that morality was in steady decline and had argued that people do the sort of things they do because they are the sort of people they are, for Livy these beliefs were a matter of passionate concern. He saw history in terms of human personalities and representative individuals rather than of partisan politics. And his own experience, going back perhaps to his youth in Patavium, made him feel the moral evils of his time with peculiar intensity.

It would be misplaced criticism to draw attention to his technical shortcomings. He reshaped history for his generation so that it was alive and meaningful. It is recorded that the audiences who went to his recitations were impressed by his nobility of character and his eloquence. It is this eloquence that is Livy’s second claim to distinction.

[Jesse Morrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third volume of Livy’s history- the War with Hannibal- is a masterpiece. This is not. As Rome eclipses the power of Alexander’s successors in Asia and Greece, Livy goes into excruciating detail of the amounts of gold and silver each kingdom has… Lordy I just wanted this thing to be over.

Livy attempts to make the wars with the Macedons and the Seleucids as interesting and as important as that with Carthage. But they aren’t. Imperial wars do not offer the same value as wars of survival.

One could never tell a fulfilling story of Vietnam or Iraq while hiding the imperialism. This is the same here. The Patriots History of Rome disguises the true interest of Rome extending domination under the pretense of making the world safe for liberty… as long as you pay Rome when we’re done.

[Eetu Kirsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livyn Rooman historia paranee loppua kohden huomattavasti.

[Kenneth Lund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livy's History of Rome started as a slog, but I came to appreciate Livy's encyclopedic attention to year-by-year detail. His detailed accounts of the Macedonian Wars adds much value to history.

[Joe Michalak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all 4 of the Penguin Editions in the series - they've all been wonderfully translated and published. As it relates to the historical subject matter, Livy can't be beat!

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livy. Either you like Livy or you don't. I, speaking for myself, like Livy. It is unfortunate that so many of the books of his History of Rome from its Foundations have been lost. Still, the four volumes in the Penguin Classics series, cover through Book XLV, which is to say, through the Third Macedonian War. What happens in books XXXI-XLV? In a single phrase, Rome conquers the Eastern Mediterranean.

In particular, through a series of military and political maneuvers, Rome assumes the role of protector of Greece, as the city-states are no longer able to maintain their independence. Rome takes on Macedon, which has been dominant in the Balkan Peninsula since the days of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Rome intervenes in the affairs of Asia Minor, and either conquers the local kings or converts them into allies.

Where Livy is very good is on the characters and personalities of the Roman consuls who carried out this mission of conquest, and those of the kings who opposed them. This is most of what we know about the kingdoms of Asia Minor before their entry into the Roman Empire. We have some glimpses into the series of migrations into this area, including, for one example, how the Gauls became the Galatians, and, by the time the Romans came, were no longer quite the ferocious warriors they had been.

The story of the island kingdom of Rhodes is woven here and illustrates the dangers to a small state of trying to temporize between two great powers.

For anyone interested in politics and warfare and their interplay in human affairs, Rome and the Mediterranean has an enormous amount of material for contemplation.

[Aaron Crofut · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last segment of Livy's great work that remains to us (about three quarters are missing), I can't help but wonder how such a book could be mass published in that age. The completed work must have numbered close to 5000 pages. These particular books deal with Rome immediately after the Second Punic War and witnesses her conflicts in the east against Macedonia and Syria. By coming to the aid of her allies, Rome is constantly dragged into foreign conflicts which lead to Rome's supremacy in the West.

It is a great shame that the later works are lost. Even with what we have, we can see how a government created to govern a city-state manages to be flexible enough to rule an empire of roughly the same size as the United States. Internal conflicts between the classes were a prominent feature of early Rome but faded away during the time covered in books XX through XLV. In the lost books, the story changes back to that of internal discord, of the Gracchi and Social Wars, Sulla and Marius, the Triumvirates, and the final victory of Augustus Caesar.

2,000 pages or so, it took a lot of time to complete reading Livy, but it was worth it. Rome is an amazing story with important lessons for the superpower of today.

[Dan Weiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some vital things in this book concerning Rome's growth and the retrospective values of the Augustan period. Nevertheless, Livy is a wordy fellow and the translation seemed a bit unwieldy at times.

[Arbitrista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read both books in this edition. Livy is a compelling writer. The interview between Scipio and Hannibal before the Battle of Zama is one of the finer passages I've read.

[Tinkwelborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who else around here knows the Romans as well?

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rome begins to defeat the Greeks after Alexander and establishes their power base around the great sea.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad to finish reading all the extant Livy. Will miss his matter-of-fact narratives of Roman conquest and politics.

[Arthur Kyriazis · Rating 5 out of 5]

machiavelli's discourses are about these histories by Livy.