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John D. Grainger

Egypt was the last of the Macedonian Successor states to be swallowed up by Roman expansion. The Ptolemaic rulers had allied themselves to Rome while their rivals went down fighting. However, Cleopatra's famous love affair with Marc Antony ensured she was on the wrong side of the Roman civil war between him and Octavian (later to become Caesar Augustus). 

After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at the naval battle of Actium, Octavian swiftly brought Egypt under direct Roman control, though it took several campaigns to fully subjugate the whole country. These campaigns have previously been largely neglected. Judaea was a constant source of trouble for the Romans, as it had been for the Seleucids, the previous overlords of the region. 

The Romans at first were content to rule through client kings like the infamous Herod but were increasingly sucked in to direct military involvement to suppress religiously-inspired revolts. John Grainger's clear narrative and insightful analysis of these campaigns allows the reader to understand how Rome eventually brought this strategically vital region fully within their empire.

Pen & Sword Military

Roman Conquests

Roman Conquests: Egypt & Judæa

Michael Sage

This Ancient Roman military history examines the famous Gallic Wars, in which Julius Caesar extended Roman rule across much of Europe.

 In 46 BC, Julius Caesar celebrated two historic victories: the conquest of Gaul and the defeat of his rival in the Roman civil war. This sweeping history details the decades of military conflict that led to this culminating celebration. Historian Michael Sage begins his narrative with the Roman Republic’s early forays across the Alps, clashing with the Gauls in what is now Provence. These battles, against one of ancient Europe’s greatest warrior societies, resulted in some of Rome’s heaviest defeats.

 This context makes all the more remarkable the dazzling success of the audacious campaigns, just half a century later, by which Caesar rapidly completed the initial conquest of the rest of Gaul. The subsequent revolts that occurred, culminating in the great unified rising under Vercingetorix, are also covered in detail, with the epic siege of Alesia as the dramatic climax.

 Michael Sage narrates and analyses all these campaigns, showing how the Roman war machine was ultimately able to overcome vastly superior numbers of Celtic warriors, to extend Rome’s rule from the Mediterranean to the English Channel.

Roman Conquests: Gaul

Richard Evans

An eminent historian examines ancient Roman warfare in West Asia in this authoritative and engaging chronicle.

 As the Romans conquered Greece and Macedonia, they were drawn east by a powerful new rival, the Seleucid Empire. Soon Roman armies were crossing into Asia for the first time, facing the most powerful Hellenistic state to be created by the successors of Alexander.

 Though Rome defeated the Seleucids at the epic battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, other states came to the fore as challengers. In the 1st century BC, Rome’s grip on its Asian provinces was shattered by the onslaught of Mithridates VI of Pontus, Rome’s most enduring foe. After many reversals, Mithridates was eventually overcome. But these wars in turn led to conflict with Armenia.

 In this edition of the Roman Conquests series, Richard Evans gives a clear narrative of the course of these wars, explaining how the Roman military evolved in the face of new enemies and unfamiliar terrain. This volume draws on Dr. Evans’ expertise in the relationship between topography and ancient events and specifically his original research into the battlefield of Magnesia.

Roman Conquests: Asia Minor, Syria and Armenia

Nic Fields

The third in the Roman Conquests series will briefly cover Rome's first forays into the dark continent during the First and Second Punic Wars, then cover in detail her vindictive final conquest and destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War. The subsequent long wars against the slippery Numidian prince, Jugurtha, which tested the Roman military system to the limit, also occupy a central place. With a cast of characters including Hannibal, the Scipios, Marius, Sulla and the wily Jugurtha, this is sure to be a popular addition to the series. Like the other volumes, this book gives a clear narrative of the course of these wars, explaining how the Roman war machine coped with formidable new foes and the challenges of unfamiliar terrain and climate. Specially-commissioned color plates by Graham Sumner bring the main troop types vividly to life in meticulously researched detail.

Roman Conquests: North Africa

Philip Matyszak

The acclaimed ancient world historian presents an accessible and authoritative account of the Macedonian Wars of the 3rd century, BCE.

 While the Roman Republic was struggling for survival against the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, Philip V of Macedon attempted to take advantage of its apparent vulnerability by allying with Hannibal and declaring war. The Romans first negated this threat by deploying allies to keep Philip occupied in Greece and Illyria. Once Carthage was defeated, however, the stage was set for the clash of two of the most successful military systems of the ancient world, the Roman legions versus the Macedonian phalanx.

 Though sorely tested, the legions emerged victorious from the epic battles of Cynoscephelae and Pydna. The home of Alexander the Great fell under the power of Rome, along with the rest of Greece, which had a profound effect on Roman culture and society. Like the other volumes in this series, this book chronicles these wars in a clear narrative, explaining how the Roman war machine coped with formidable new foes and the challenges of unfamiliar terrain and climate. Specially commissioned color plates bring the main troop types vividly to life in meticulously researched detail.

Roman Conquests: Macedonia and Greece

Ross Cowan

The author of For the Glory of Rome details the conflicts ancient Rome endured to defeat its neighbors and take over the Italian Peninsula.

The first of the exciting Roman Conquests series, this volume will look at how Rome went from just another Latin town under Etruscan rule, to a free republic that gradually conquered or dominated all her Italian neighbors. With hindsight we know that Rome, which won its independence from the Etruscan kings around 510 B.C., went on to conquer the greatest empire ever known, yet it took three hundred years just to become master of all the peninsula. This involved desperate struggles for survival against their Italian neighbors: Etruscans, Latins, Samnites, Umbrians, Lucanians, the Greek colonies in the south, and the ferocious Celts of northern Italy—plus invading armies from further abroad like those of Pyrrhus of Epirus and the Carthaginian genius, Hannibal. Rome’s survival, let alone her eventual greatness, was never a foregone conclusion while such formidable enemies were to be found so close to home.

Roman Conquests - The book series

Roman Conquests - The book series

Roman Conquests books in order

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