Login

09-04-2002, 04:24 PM

Hello All, 
I'd like to read some of the primary sources such as Polybius, Tacitus, Suetonis, and Vegetius but am not literate in Latin. What translations are the favorites of forumites? 
 
Also, I'm looking for a single book on general Roman history from start to finish (of western empire anyway). I've searched through some of the online book sources such as abebooks, amazon etc. and have found a number of titles (including textbooks) but don't know their quality. Any recommendations? 
 
TIA! 
John

09-04-2002, 06:42 PM

John, 
My favorite one-book history is A History of Rome to 565 AD by William Finnegan and Arthur Boak (it's usually listed with Boak as the author). It's very detailed for a single volume history but written in a very readable style, not dry or academic, but in a way that captures your interest. It may be difficult to find but at the very least an interlibrary loan request should come up with it (it may take a while to read though, it's not a short book). Highly recommend. 
Jeff

09-04-2002, 07:05 PM

John, 
I hope you don't mind my recommending three others (not single volumes though): 
 
The Roman Republic 
The Roman Empire 
Constantinople: The Forgotten Empire 
 
all by Isaac Asimov. 
 
Though he is obviously well known for his science fiction novels he also wrote these very concise and well written histories of Rome of these three eras. I first read these as a teenager but I often go back to them to re-read portions. They are not meant for students who already have great knowledge of the history of Rome but for those who seek a base of knowledge from which to expand. I found them informative and entertaining.

09-04-2002, 07:12 PM

Adrian Goldsworthy's "Roman Warfare" is another good one, lots of pictures, maps, diagrams give this book a pretty good presentation. A fairly straight forward, and easy read. Deals mainly with combat tactics and battles from the early Republic to the end of the empire. "Only Trajan could go to Dacia." 
 
Magnus/Matt 
Optio 
Legio XXX "Ulpia Victrix"

09-04-2002, 10:24 PM

Is Goldsworthy's 'The Roman Army at War' (pub. Oxford University Press) considered a 'must-have'? I'd like to know what readers think of this book since I'm looking at purchasing it. Also, if the kind, knowledgeable people could recommend any other 'must-have' books on Roman military history (or other related subject matter), I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks. 
 
PS: One concern of mine is purchasing books that greatly 'overlap' or essentially repeat the same information in another book(s). Avoiding redundancy is important to me, since it saves $$$. Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/uauxilia.showPublicProfile?language=EN>Auxilia</A> at: 9/5/02 12:28:05 am

**richsc** · 09-05-2002, 12:57 AM

while I haven't updated it in a while, I know Sander has a list of books on topics discussed here: 
www.geocities.com/richsc5...ander.html 
 
As to cost, you might start looking through the online used book sellers, such as from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, as well as Abebooks.com and Bookfinder.com. 
With Amazon, you can put together a wish list and check periodically to see if one has become available. Richard Campbell, Legio XX.
http://www.geocities.com/richsc53/studies/

09-05-2002, 08:05 AM

IMO the Goldsworthy book is essential reading.

StrategyM · 09-05-2002, 08:26 AM

Check the bibliography list on: www.fenrir.dk/imperium/ga...biblio.php Strategy 
Designer/Developer 
Imperium - Rise of Rome

Gashford · 09-05-2002, 08:35 AM

Hi, 
 
I have found that Oxbow books do a lot of varied work from popular to academic. 
 
you can find their specific Greek and Roman section here: www.oxbowbooks.com/browse.cfm?&CatID=111 
 
They do a lot more besides, just click on the browse catalogue button on the left. 
 
Hope this helps 
 
Graham

09-05-2002, 02:55 PM

Salve, 
 
The Loeb series have a large range of translations with the original Greek and Latin texts, while the Penguin series offer English tranlsations without original texts, suffering though from the fact that they can be abbreviated and often lack clear indications of the divisions of the original which can make it hard to pinpoint references. An easy way to get translations is to use the internet, though the quality of translations differs greatly from good to what can be more precisely described as interpretations. One useful overview can be found here. The Perseus project offers a number of translations from Greek, while other notable online tranlsations are those of Cassius Dio and Polybius. 
 
Some translations with military content: 
 
Campbell, B., The Roman army 31 BC-AD 337: a source book (London 1994) 272p. 
Dennis, G.T., Maurice's Strategikon. Handbook of Byzantine military strategy ( Philadelphia 1984) 178p. 
DeVoto, J.G., Flavius Arrianus: TechnÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¨ Taktika (Tactical handbook) and Ektaxis kata Alanoon (The expedition against the Alans) (Chicago 1993) 132p. 
Miller, M.C.J., and J.G. DeVoto, Polybius and Pseudo-Hyginus: the fortification of the Roman camp (Chicago 1994) 120p. 
Milner, N.P., Vegetius: epitome of military science (Liverpool 1993) 152p. 
 
 
Some recommended reading on the Roman army: 
 
Bishop, M.C., and J.C. Coulston, Roman military equipment (London 1993) 256p. 
Bohec, Y. Le, L'armÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â©e Romaine (Paris 1989) 287p (=Bohec, Y. Le, The imperial Roman army (London 1994) 304p). 
Campbell, B., The emperor and the Roman army 31BC-AD235 (Oxford 1984) 468p. 
Campbell, B., War and society in imperial Rome (London 2002) 208p. 
Clauss, M., Lexicon lateinischer militÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¤rische FachausdrÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¼cke (Stuttgart 1999) 103p. 
Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at war (London 1981) 320p. 
Goldsworthy, A.K., The Roman army at war 100 BC-200AD (Oxford 1996) 311p. 
Goldsworthy, A., Roman warfare (London 2000) 224p. 
Keppie, L., The making of the Roman army from republic to empire (2nd edition) (London 1998) 272p. 
Nicasie, M.J., The twilight of empire. The Roman army from the reign of Diocletian until the battle of Adrianople (Amsterdam 1998) 321p. 
Saddington, D.B., The development of the Roman auxiliary forces from Caesar to Vespasian (Harare 1982). 
Speidel, M.P., The framework of an imperial legion (Cardiff 1992) 47p. 
 
For more publications see this list. 
 
 
Regards, 
 
Sander van Dorst

09-05-2002, 07:08 PM

Hello again John, 
I was inspired to pick up my treasured copy of Boak's History of Rome by our discussion since I haven't looked at it in a while. Back to your original question about a single volume general history of Rome I have to reiterate that this is the one you should look at. Intended as a text book it is far from being a dry read. It is interesting and well written. It's one of my few books that I haven't been able to put a highlighter to since I value it so much.

Login
Username:
Password:	Lost Password?
	Remember me