

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
Categories: Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Military History
Synopsis
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.