Killing for the Republic, Steele Brand
Killing for the Republic, Steele Brand
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Killing for the Republic
Citizen-Soldiers and the Roman Way of War

Author: Steele Brand

Narrator: Tom Parks

Unabridged: 14 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/10/2019


Synopsis

The year 146 BC marked the brutal end to the Roman Republic's 118-year struggle for the western Mediterranean. Breaching the walls of their great enemy, Carthage, Roman troops slaughtered countless citizens, enslaved those who survived, and leveled the 700-year-old city. That same year in the east, Rome destroyed Corinth and subdued Greece. Over little more than a century, Rome's triumphant armies of citizen-soldiers had shocked the world by conquering all of its neighbors.

How did armies made up of citizen-soldiers manage to pull off such a major triumph? And what made the republic so powerful? In Killing for the Republic, Steele Brand explains how Rome transformed average farmers into ambitious killers capable of conquering the entire Mediterranean. Rome instilled something violent and vicious in its soldiers, making them more effective than other empire builders. Unlike the Assyrians, Persians, and Macedonians, it fought with part-timers. Examining the relationship between the republican spirit and the citizen-soldier, Brand argues that Roman republican values and institutions prepared common men for the rigors and horrors of war.


About Steele Brand

Steele Brand is assistant professor of history at The King's College in New York City, where he teaches courses on the ancient Mediterranean world and medieval Europe. He received his PhD from Baylor University, his MA from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his BA from Texas A&M University. He previously served as the Director of Undergraduate Fellows for the Clements Center for National Security and as a tactical intelligence officer.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Pat on March 05, 2020

I overall enjoyed learning experience of the pre Empire army and how it developed, descriptions of the people, generals, and strategies of the early battles where Rome started taking over more of Italy. I did not realize that their were frequent incursions over the Alps into Roman territory so early......more

Goodreads review by Tom on April 15, 2023

I would have liked more depth to the both arguments being made and the events portrayed. Steele brings a light touch here and I think a heavier one would have served better. In particular, the closing argument needed more detail and contrast between Ancient Rome and Modern America. For people not fa......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on January 27, 2020

This book added nicely to a topic that I had read a lot on previously. I have read general histories of the time period, but the author's focus on the nature of a citizen's commitment to the army put this into a different context.......more

Goodreads review by Phillip on April 14, 2025

I loved the information but the writing was a little pretentious.......more