Swords Against the Senate: The Rise of the Roman Army and the Fall of the Republic

by Erik Hildinger

After Rome defeated its age-old enemy, Carthage, it was the undisputed ruler of a vast empire.Yet, at the heart of the Roman Republic was a peculiar flaw: an uneradicable tension between the aristocracy and the plebians, and each regarded themselves as the foundation of Rome's military power.Swords Against the Senate relates how the republic began to come apart amid military and political turmoil-the smoldering anger of the common people, a petty war against a treacherous North African prince, an invasion by Germans and an Italian political uprising. In the crisis Gaius Marius, the "people's general," rises to despotic power but is eventually replaced by the brutal dictator Sulla, who in turn spawns the man who would transform turmoil into imperial triumph, Julius Caesar. In this fast-paced, fact-filled work, personal intrigue, treachery, and occasional moral virtue vie for the reins of power. The Roman army, once invincible against foreign antagonists, becomes a tool for the powerful and government its foe. Erik Hildinger has written a fascinating, insightful work of history.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Roman History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review forthcoming.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very excellent look at the events that started the cracking of the Senate and the Republic of Rome. Mainly examines Marius and Sulla, does not go much into Caesar and Pompey etc.

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The period in Roman history between the fall of Carthage and the rise of Caesar is relatively overlooked. But it's a very important part of Roman history. Much of what brought about the fall of the Republic occurred during these years, and much of it has relevance to what we see going on in the US and around the world today. All too often half-informed pundits use the fall of the Roman Empire as a warning (usually with gross misunderstandings of what caused that fall), but that's less important to a modern democracy than the fall of the Republic. The Roman empire was an autocracy -- a dictatorship -- and its fall is less relevant to us that the collapse of a functioning republic that had thrived for several hundred years.

Two key, intertwined things contributed to the fall of the Republic:
-- the willingness of those in various positions of power to ignore constitutional norms and precedents
-- the willingness of those in power to use violence in seeking their ends

Often those doing these things didn't look to the long term, but only at what was immediately in front of them. Sometimes they even did this for good reason (Tiberius Gracchus forcing out a lone tribune who was blocking reforms, for example), but the precedent set led to more and greater breaches in precedent.

Hildinger does an effective job detailing the steps in the collapse of the Republic, starting with the Gracchi, who ignored constitutional precedent (and the Senate response resulting in the murder of the elder brother, starting the escalating trend of violence being used within Rome for political ends), up through the violent clashes between Marius and Sulla, who lead armies against Rome itself.

My only real complaint with the book is that it violates what I think is one rule for good history books: it contains no maps, so some parts, including the descriptions of the wars within Italy and in the East, can be a bit hard to follow. Otherwise, though, I recommend it.

[Ron Atchison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needs maps for those not familiar with the geography of the Roman world.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good review of the fascinating Gracchi to Caesar period, though perhaps a bit plodding. He has a theory (revisions to the Roman Army necessitated by invasions, etc. altered the precarious political balance in Rome), and supports it well. The rhythm of the book is uneven, delving into detail where available and interesting, then moving quickly through other periods. Mostly this works, but only mostly.

Interesting after reading a lot of historical fiction about the period, which is a lot more colorful and fun to read, to have a more straightforward overview. Considerably better than the Victorian books of much the same type, that are sooooooooooo Victorian. Hildinger does a good job of tying together the various sources, stating where they differ and saying what he thinks is most likely. Overall, a good read but not a page-turner like the First Man of Rome series.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hildinger does a good job laying out the political, social, and military situation in Rome from the rise and fall of the Gracchi to the Dictatorship of Sulla. His main source for the account is Plutarch so it gives the average reader interested in Roman history the ability to read this history without reading Plutarch. The only problem I had with the book was the way it ended. Hildinger brings us to Sulla's rise to dictator of Rome and then just stops there. He only briefly mentions the retirement of Sulla in a one page epilouge. No real discussion of the ramifications of the actions of Sulla and the impact it had on the last years and eventual fall of the Republic. He didn't even mention how Caesar was spared in the massive killings of his pro-Marian rivals.

[Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good history but not a great one is Swords Against the Senate. The author attempted to show the three things that brought down the Roman Republic; dominating and reckless personalities, the army, and the rapid erosion of the Roman constitution. He does this very well with detailed action and excellent citations. He, also, is not afraid to take on Plutarch and other ancient historical writers for depending too much on the memoirs of the characters involved. I certainly recommend reading it as a general survey of events from Tiberius Gracchus to Marius to Sulla.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost done and in general the writing / research was solid. A bit too heavy in the intricacies of the Roman army (organization, training), lack of maps, and the occasional barely-related and not-going-anywhere tangent (ancient sources are big on this sort of thing) were the things that held it back. The first is understandable (although not my cup of tea) but the last two should have been fixed given that it seems to have been written for a more general audience.

[John Betts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a course on Ancient Rome I'm taking. It's not only informative but is also entertaining and interesting. There is a lot of material about the disastrous rivalry between Marius and Sulla that I didn't know before. I really enjoyed it!

[Michael Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

How the rise of the Roman army caused the fall of the Republic.

[Diocletian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book on a period of Roman history that unfortunately has been forgotten and, in many aspects, overshadowed by the rise of Julius Caesar.