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'A remarkably precise picture of life in the Roman army - 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, what they did for sexual relief'
Telegraph The Roman army was the greatest fighting machine the ancient world produced. The Roman Empire 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.
Gladius takes the reader right into the heart of what it meant to be a part of the Roman army, throwing open a window on how the men, their wives and their children lived, from bleak frontier garrisons to guarding the emperor in Rome, enjoying a ringside seat to history fighting the emperors' wars, mutinying over pay, marching in triumphs, throwing their weight around in city streets, and enjoying esteem in honorable retirement.
This is vital, exciting history, told by the men who lived it.
About the author
Guy de la Bédoyère has written extensively on the ancient world over the last thirty years, most recently
Gladius: Living, Fighting and Dying in the Roman Army (which was described by the
Sunday Times as 'highly enjoyable') and
Pharaohs of the Sun: How Egypt's Despots and Dreamers drove the Rise and Fall of Tutankhamun's Dynasty. He was part of Channel 4's archaeology series
Time Team for fifteen years. He has degrees from Durham, London and University College, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
Summary
Guy de la Bédoyère's gripping narrative history gives a sense of what it was like to be a soldier in the army that brought the Romans their empire
Foreword
Guy de la Bédoyère's gripping narrative history gives a sense of what it was like to be a soldier in the army that brought the Romans their empire
Additional text
A remarkably precise picture of life in the Roman army - 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, what they did for sexual relief
