Rome: Republic into Empire: The Civil Wars of the First Century BCE

Rome: Republic into Empire looks at the political and social reasons why Rome repeatedly descended into civil war in the early 1st century BCE and why these conflicts continued for most of the century; it describes and examines the protagonists, their military skills, their political aims and the battles they fought and lost; it discusses the consequences of each battle and how the final conflict led to a seismic change in the Roman political system with the establishment of an autocratic empire. 20 colour illustrations This is not just another arid chronological list of battles, their winners and their losers. Using a wide range of literary and archaeological evidence, Paul Chrystal offers a rare insight into the wars, battles and politics of this most turbulent and consequential of ancient world centuries; in so doing, it gives us an eloquent and exciting political, military and social history of ancient Rome during one of its most cataclysmic and crucial periods, explaining why and how the civil wars led to the establishment of one of the greatest empires the world has known. AUTHOR: Paul Chrystal has classics degrees from the Universities of Hull and Southampton; he is the author of 100 or so books, a number of which are on classical subjects: they include Wars and Battles of the Roman Republic (753 BC - 100 BC); Roman Military Disasters; and Women at War in the Classical World. He is a contributor to Minerva magazine, BBC History magazine, Ancient History magazine, Omnibus and Ad Familiares; he is a reviewer for Classics for All, writes for a national daily newspaper and has appeared on the BBC World Service, Radio 4’s PM programme and various BBC local radio stations.