The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire

The book was in good conditions, as new, it was also very informative, good for people that are studying the Roman Army.

This book was first published in 1984 and, in certain respects, it has become a bit dated. This is particularly the case because it does not make use of the archaeological discoveries of the last 25 years. It nevertheless remains a very useful reference and a fascinating book to read for anyone interesting in "the making of the Roman army."It is rather sketchy for the first centuries of Rome, although this is largely because little is known. It gets better and more detailed when it hits the third century BC. The core of the book, however, is about the Roman army between Marius and the Flavians - roughly from 100 BC to 100 AD. The main strongpoint of this book is to show how the army evolved little by little from an army of part-time soldiers made of conscripted citizens into the fully professional force of the Empire.A related point is the continuity that the author shows. The the evolutions were slow and progressive and, as the author puts it, the Romans were both inherently conservative but also, paradoxically, also very flexible, relentless and capable of adapting weapons and techniques from their various enemies. In fact, as Keppie shows, most of their equipment was borrowed - and improved over time - from their enemies, whether the Spanish sword and pugio or the Celtic mail shirts and helmets.Another interesting and well-known point is the key role played by the centurions who, rather than being equated to modern non-commissioned and despite having mostly risen from the ranks, should functionally be seen as captains that would be leading their troops by example and from the front. The author shows clearly how this led to rather high casualties among them. More generally, the book is a rather fascinating combination showing the army's life conditions, organization, commandment and performances on campaign and in battle during the whole period.What really comes out is the thoroughness of the training and the thoughtfulness and emphasis put on morale and small unit cohesion, whether the individual tent parties or the centuries, whether through standards, decorations or punishments. What it also shows is that the roman legionaries were no supermen, despite the reputation for invincibility that the legions earned. They were rebellions, mutinies and desertions and they were some crushing defeats and cases where they broke and ran. But, by and large, they won much more often than they lost and, even when they lost or did not win outright, they relentlessly came again, and again, and again...An interesting and valuable point is the use made by the author of the tombstones found across Europe to determine the positions of various legions and the campaigns they participated in. Here also, finding over the last quarter of a century have increased the amount of material that is available but the author's systematic research is nevertheless still valuable and used. Finally, they are the numerous annexes tracing the history of the various legions that fought for Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian and what they became under the Empire during the first century AD. While some of the reconstructions and statements may be conjectural, the author's work in this respect largely pioneered research in this areaStill a very useful reference and a great read. I warmly recommend this book for all. It is, despite its age, one of the best starting points for someone wanting to get involved with the Roman army.

This is a pretty solid book on the Roman legions, and (rather refreshingly) includes a lot of battle maps showing the tactics used in the various battles. There's also a few useful photographs and illustrations showing the types of armour used at various times, diagrams of the layout of Roman military camps and so on. Why can't more authors do the same?The only bone I have to pick with the author is that the text itself is rather lean. There's nothing wrong with being factual, but I would have enjoyed a few more anecdotes and set-pieces to get a better idea of what sorts of men marched in the legions and what made them tick.Still, this is quite a good read and definitely worth buying.