The Roman Army at War, 100 BC-AD 200

by Adrian Goldsworthy

Goldsworthy examines how the Roman army operated on campaign and in battle. He compares the army's organization and strategic doctrine with those of its chief opponents and explores in detail the reality of tactics, weaponry, leadership, and, most of all, the important issue of morale.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Military History, Roman History, Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction

325 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 1996

About the author

Adrian Goldsworthy, born in 1969, is the author of numerous acclaimed books, including biographies of Julius Caesar and Augustus. He lectures widely and consults on historical documentaries for the History Channel, National Geographic, and the BBC. He lives in the UK.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect guide to the Roman Army (100 BC-AD 200), Goldsworthy's book stemmed from his PhD thesis and it shows. Rigorously academic, Goldsworthy discusses six main areas of the Roman Army (The Organisation, The Opposition, The Campaign, The General's Battle, The Unit's Battle, and The Individual's Battle) and offers a view unique to mainly modern scholars, building on John Keegan's methodology in The Face of Battle.

[Daniel Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrian Goldsworthy is an excellent historian and author. This was his dissertation, and it provides in-depth knowledge on all facets of the Roman Army. It is most useful as a reference book, because of its systematic analysis of the historical data.

[Bonnie_blu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is nothing less than a revolutionary analysis of the Roman legions and their auxiliaries at war. Goldsworthy deconstructs current theories about how the Roman legions waged war and shows how comparisons to modern armies leads to erroneous conclusions. He calls for historians to thoroughly consider the individual legionary, the culture within which he lived, the Roman culture as a whole, and specifically how Roman culture viewed war, courage, honor, and glory. A thoroughly riveting read.

Note: This is a very thorough analysis and is not for an amateur historian or a casual reader. At least a basic knowledge of Latin is needed, as well as, a firm grounding in Roman history, especially as it pertains to the legions, the men who led them, and the wars they fought.

[Philippe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart - this is his thesis paper. Excellent material for those looking for an in-depth study.

[Benjie Deford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is intricate scholarly work for my work in historiography, not NYT beat seller stuff but a wonderful compendium of primary source material organized efficiently.

[John Somers · Rating 5 out of 5]

19/20.

[Paul A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goldsworthy is an excellent historian and one that takes John Keegan's approach in the Face of Battle very seriously. In this book, Goldsworthy provides insight into areas of Roman military scholarship that are not commonly covered. Normally, military histories tend to focus on generalship and tactics or on the individual equipment of the soldiers involved. Instead, taking a page from Keegan's approach, the author approaches the Roman army from a cultural, psychological, and social standpoint, demonstrating how the organization of the army, the virtues expected to be displayed by its leaders, and the motivations that drove the individual soldier all shaped the way that the Roman army developed as an institution.

As this is a more scholarly work, expect a rigorous approach to the topics - it can be quite dense in some areas. Overall, this is a very good book on the Roman army and one that is definitely needed to understand both how and why the Romans fought.

[Endre Fodstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main failing of this book is its conservative approach. There is little genuinely new in it; the myths he tears down were already in ruin when he wrote it and his theories about the roman army are ultimately conventional. It was a decent read, but it isn't fantastic.