The birth of the mighty Roman Navy was anchored in the Romans' extraordinary ability to absorb and perfect the technology of other states and empires. This is the story of the design, development and operation of the Republican Roman warship in the age of the conquest of the Mediterranean, from the first Roman naval adventure of 394 BC and the Punic Wars, to Pompey's operations against the Cilician Pirates and Caesar's victorious naval campaigns in Armorica, concluding with the consolidation of the Mediterranean Sea as Mare Nostrum with the battle of Actium in 31 BC. Archaeological photography, including those of exciting new finds, such as the Roman warship rosta (rams) found in the Aegates Islands, accompany lavish artistic reconstructions in illustrating the ships of the first Roman navy.

The Roman Empire was not only built by the strength of the legions but also by a navy that was the most powerful maritime force ever to have existed. It was the presence of this fleet that secured the trade routes and maintained the communications within the huge Empire. The superior design of their warships, coupled with skilled naval commanders such as Agrippa, Sextus Pompeius and Pontus Euxinus, gave the Roman Empire a formidable navy that could defend the coasts of the three continents under the rule of the Caesars. Featuring archaeological photography and lavish artistic reconstructions, this book reveals the design and development history of Rome's naval force at the height of its Imperial power. As well as examining its warships, it reveals the navy's structure and the tactics that were developed to make the most of Rome's naval design superiority.

The period of relative peace enjoyed by the Roman Empire in its first two centuries ended with the Marcomannic Wars. The following centuries saw near-constant warfare, which brought new challenges for the Roman Navy. It was now not just patrolling the Mediterranean but also fighting against invaders with real naval skill such as Genseric and his Vandals. With research from newly discovered shipwrecks and archaeological finds as well as the rich contemporary source material, this study examines the equipment and tactics used by the navy and the battles they fought in this tumultuous period, which includes the fall of Rome and the resurgence of the Eastern Empire under Justinian the Great. Using spectacular illustrations, carefully researched ship profiles, and maps, this third volume in Osprey's Roman Warships miniseries charts the ultimate evolution of the Roman fleet in one of the most fascinating periods of its history.

Takes the career of Spurius Ligustinus, detailed by the Roman historian Livy, as a focus, giving a very human and empathetic approachability to the author’s lucid and thorough analysis. Inside the Roman Legions aims to tell the story of the Roman soldier through a holistic, empathetic examination of what the experience of military service in the Middle Republic was really like. It traces real examples of soldiers described in the ancient sources to reveal how they traveled, how they were organized and what campaign objectives they faced. Specifically, the author follows the ordinary soldier Spurius Ligustinus, whose life is related by the historian Livy, as an example, detailing the experiences of his career. The book begins by discussing the young future soldier’s background and what military values were conveyed to him through the prevailing culture of the time. It then follows him through a range of potential experiences, examining camp conditions and training with various types of weapons and armor, and proceeds to take the reader through the experience of fighting in a pitched battle step by step. It also addresses experiences that only some soldiers would have had, such as escaping a total defeat, deserting, or being subject to unusual punishments. Throughout, the focus of the book is on how the individual might be shaped by the experiences as they are described.

An attractively packaged, beautifully illustrated book telling the story of the wars of Ancient Rome. The Roman Empire was the greatest the world has ever seen, and its legendary military might was the foundation of this success. This compact volume tells the fascinating story of the major conflicts that shaped the empire, from Julius Caesar's bloody Gallic Wars and the Civil War against Pompey that left the victorious Caesar Dictator of Rome, through the wars of expansion to its decline and fragmentation. Beautiful full colour artwork of the soldiers and battles bring the Roman world to life, along with images and colour maps.

Poseidon's Warriors is a set of wargaming rules for large-scale naval actions between fleets of Classical galleys from the Greek and Persian clash at the battle of Salamis to the battle of Actium that decided the fate of Rome. With so many of these battles taking place around islands or in narrow channels and shallow waters, sneaky tactics and cunning manoeuvres are a hallmark of warfare of this era, and the rules use an integrated turn system to allow a commander to position ships to go in and ram without being rammed in return, or to employ feints and traps to tempt the enemy out of position and leave his ships vulnerable to a follow-up strike. With data for ships throughout the period, rules for famous admirals, historical scenarios, a campaign system and a brief historical summary for those who wish to refresh their memory of the era, Poseidon's Warriors offers everything players need to bring to the tabletop the battles and campaigns of the first great age of naval warfare.

Julian Romane examines the campaigns of Julius Caesar throughout the civil wars that followed his famous crossing of the Rubicon, through to the defeat of the final Pompeian diehards at the battle of Munda. He analyzes Caesar's generalship in the widest sense, with a strong emphasis on the logistical and financial effort required to put his legions in the field and keep them equipped, fed and paid. The attention given to this important but often-neglected aspect sets this account apart from many others. The author discusses the nature of late Republican Roman armies, describing their organization, tactics and equipment. The fact that such armies were employed both by and against Caesar only emphasizes the role of generalship in the outcome. This is followed by a detailed account of the strategic maneuvers in Caesar's epochal duel with Pompey the Great and the resultant battles at Dyrrhachium and Pharsalus. The final campaigns to mop up opposition in Spain and Africa are studied in equal detail to give a complete picture of Caesar's command performance in these history-shaping events.

In its long history, the Roman Republic suffered many defeats, but none as humiliating as the Caudine Forks in the summer of 321 BC. Rome had been at war with the Samnites – one of early Rome's most formidable foes – since 326 BC in what would turn out to be a long and bitter conflict now known as the Second Samnite War. The rising, rival Italic powers vied for supremacy in central and southern Italy, and their leaders were contemplating the conquest of the entire Italian peninsula. Driven by the ambitions of Titus Veturius Calvinus and Spurius Postumius Albinus, Roman forces were determined to inflict a crippling blow on the Samnites, but their combined armies were instead surprised, surrounded, and forced to surrender by the Samnites led by Gavius Pontius. The Roman soldiers, citizens of Rome to a man, were required to quit the field by passing under the yoke of spears in a humiliating ritual worse than death itself. This new study, using specially commissioned artwork and maps, analyses why the Romans were so comprehensively defeated at the Caudine Forks, and explains why the protracted aftermath of their dismal defeat was so humiliating and how it spurred them on to their eventual triumph over the Samnites. With this in mind, this study will widen its focus to take account of other major events in the Second Samnite War.

The world's first war machines were ships built two millennia before the dawn of the Classical world. Their influence on the course of history cannot be overstated. A wide variety of galleys and other types of warships were built by successive civilisations, each with their own distinctive appearance, capability and utility. The earliest of these were the Punt ships and the war galleys of Egypt which defeated the Sea People in the first known naval battle. Following the fall of these civilisations, the Phoenicians built biremes and other vessels, while in Greece the ships described in detail in the 'Trojan' epics established a tradition of warship building culminating in the pentekonters and triaconters. The warships of the period are abundantly illustrated on pottery and carved seals, and depicted in inscriptions and on bas-reliefs. The subject has been intensively studied for two and a half millennia, culminating in the contemporary works of authoritative scholars such as Morrison, Wallinga, Rodgers and Casson. To date there are no works covering the subject which are accessible and available to non-academics.

Readers may not think of technology as being from the ancient world, but advances in agriculture, weaponry, art, and food preparation have influenced the development of both human history and the physical development of humans themselves, as well as human migration all over the world. Using photographs, this book thoroughly examines the earliest human technologies, including irrigation, metal work, and ancient artillery, to show readers just how technologically advanced ancient cultures were and to show how human history began to develop because of each of the advancements.