by Michael Crawford (Author)
Between the Sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BC and the middle of the second century BC, a part-time army of Roman peasants, under the leadership of the ruling oligarchy, conquered first Italy and then the whole of the Mediterranean. The loyalty of these marrauding heroes, and of the Roman population as a whole, to their leaders was assured by a share in the rewards of victory, rewards which became steadily less accessible as the empire expanded - promoting a decline in loyalty of cataclysmic proportions. Wars, rural impoverishments, civil discord and slavery are a few of the subjects covered in this study.
Format: Illustrated
Pages: 264
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Fontana Press
Published: 15 Apr 2011
ISBN 10: 0006862500
ISBN 13: 9780006862505