GLADIUS

The author has written a great number of books on the Roman world over the last 30 years and was part of Channel 4's archaeology series Time Team for 15 years. This is his richly researched, detailed and plausible portrait, bang up to date with all the latest archaeological finds, a 2021 paperback sub-titled 'Living, Fighting and Dying in the Roman Army.' He provides a remarkably precise picture of how the men were armed and billeted, what they ate, drank, wore, how they were promoted or punished, how they built their great, straight roads, and what they did for sexual relief. The Roman Army was the greatest fighting machine the ancient world produced, which depended on soldiers not just to win its wars, defend its frontiers and control the seas, but also to act as the engine of the state. Roman legionaries and auxiliaries came from across the Roman world and beyond and served as tax collectors, policeman, surveyors, civil engineers and if they survived, in retirement as civic worthies, craftsmen and politicians. Some even rose to become emperors. Through the words of Roman historians and those of the men themselves through their religious dedications, tombstones and even private letters and graffiti, Guy de la Bedoyere throws open a window on how the men, their wives and their children lived, from bleak frontier garrisons to guarding the emperor in Rome. A ringside seat to history, we see them fighting over the emperors' wars, mutinying over pay, marching in triumphs and throwing their weight around in the streets. 506pp, paperback with 16 pages of colour plates.