Rome and the Sword

Today Rome´s military is admired either as guardian of a brilliant civilization, or reviled as a brutal instrument of imperialism. The story of Rome and the sword seems a familiar one; yet it is in fact a modern myth obscuring a very different reality. Rome´s military was no "war machine" made up of mindless cogs. There was not even an ancient term for "the Roman Army"; rather, Romans spoke of "the soldiers" – of men, not institutions. Simon James provides a striking new "bottom-up" perspective on Roman history, focusing on soldiers and their actions. This groundbreaking narrative sweeps from the birth of Rome to the dawn of the Middle Ages. Through the story of the sword – both as supreme, bloodstained exemplar of technology and metaphor of imperial power – we learn the violent reality of Rome´s rule. Her soldiers were less sentinels of civilization than enforcers for aristocrats and autocrats against foreign foes and internal dissent alike. They were brutal and unruly, prone to mutiny and rebellion. How, then, to account for their sustained success and ultimate failure? Rome´s dominion was achieved through soldiers´ ferocity and excellent weaponry, but to maintain it the conquered had to be integrated; diplomacy accompanied the threat of the sword. Allies and subjects became Romans themselves – millions through military service, bringing with them new arms and tactics. Yet the soldiers´ aggression inadvertently precipitated the rise of enemies in the east and the north who would ultimately bring the empire to its knees.