Limit search to available items
Book Cover
E-book
Author Santosuosso, Antonio, author.

Title Storming the heavens : soldiers, emperors, and civilians in the Roman Empire / Antonio Santosuosso
Published New York, NY : Routledge, 2018

Copies

Description 1 online resource
Contents Cover; Half Title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Figures; Acknowledgments; INTRODUCTION; 1 ALLâ#x80;#x94;RICH AND POOR, WELL-BORN AND COMMONERS- MUST DEFEND THE STATE; Recruiting All Citizens; Soldiers' Pay; The Equipment of the Roman Soldier; The Making of the Roman Man; 2 ARMIES OF PILLAGERS; The Social Wars; The Face of the New Soldier; Spartacus and the Slave Revolt; Caesar's Soldiers; Typology of Warfare in the Last Days of the Republic; 3 JULIUS CAESAR: THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS OF A COMMANDER; The Conquest of Gaul
War According to Caesar: Psychological, Strategic, and Tactical ConceptsThe Matter of Logistics; 4 OF GODS, MILITARY LEADERS, AND POLITICIANS; Murder as a Religious Sacrifice; The Symbols of Political Power; How to Deify a Leader; 5 ""MY SOLDIERS, MY ARMY, MY FLEET; The Emperor's Men; Commanders and the Rank and File; Discipline, Pay, and Rewards; Recruitment and Social Status; The New Army; The Reluctant God; A Physician for a Disease-Ridden Body; 6 HOW TÎ#x9F; MANAGE AN EMPIRE: STRENGTHS AND PITFALLS; The Limits of Roman Imperialism; The Emperor as Manager of War; The Verdict of the Battlefield
Boudicca's RebellionThe Germans; The Stand at Masada; How to Make Your Subjects Roman; 7 ENEMIES ON THE BORDERS, VIOLENCE AT HOME: SOLDIERS AS THE MAKERS OF EMPERORS; Blood on the Pretorians' Swords; The Emperor from Africa; The Field Army and the Cavalry; 8 ROME IS NO MORE: THE END OF THE EMPIRE; The Late Roman Army; The Invaders; Defeat at Adrianople; The Battles of Ad Salices and Strasburg; The Illnesses of the Empire; EPILOGUE; Glossary; Appendix I: Time Line, 218 B.C.-A.D. 476; Appendix II: Roman Emperors, 27 Î#x92;.C.-A.D. 476; Selected Bibliography; Index
Summary In the closing years of the second century B.C., the ancient world watched as the Roman armies maintained clear superiority over all they surveyed. But, social turmoil prevailed at the heart of her territories, led by an increasing number of dispossessed farmers, too little manpower for the army, and an inevitable conflict with the allies who had fought side by side with the Romans to establish Roman dominion. Storming the Heavens looks at this dramatic history from a variety of angles. What changed most radically, Santosuosso argues, was the behavior of soldiers in the Roman armies. The troops became the enemies within, their pillage and slaughter of fellow citizens indiscriminate, their loyalty not to the Republic but to their leaders, as long as they were ample providers of booty. By opening the military ranks to all, the new army abandoned its role as depository of the values of the upper classes and the propertied. Instead, it became an institution of the poor and drain on the power of the Empire. Santosuosso also investigates other topics, such as the monopoly of military power in the hands of a few, the connection between the armed forces and the cherished values of the state, the manipulation of the lower classes so that they would accept the view of life, control, and power dictated by the oligarchy, and the subjugation and dehumanization of subject peoples, whether they be Gauls, Britons, Germans, Africans, or even the Romans themselves
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Vendor-supplied metadata
Subject Social conflict -- Rome -- History
HISTORY -- Ancient -- Rome.
Armed Forces -- Political activity
Politics and government
Recruiting and enlistment
Social conflict
SUBJECT Rome -- Army -- Political activity. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2010015404
Rome -- Politics and government -- 30 B.C.-476 A.D. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85115183
Rome -- Army -- Recruiting, enlistment, etc. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2010015407
Rome -- History, Military -- 30 B.C.-476 A.D. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85115173
Subject Rome (Empire)
Genre/Form History
Military history
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780786743544
0786743549
9780429976735
0429976739
9780429965654
0429965656
9780429987816
0429987811
9780429497100
0429497105